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Zoho Bookings
- Free forever plan
- 30+ integrations
- Two-way calendar sync
- Mobile apps
- Slightly tricky interface
- Difficult managing multiple bookings
Using several calendars and applications can become highly challenging for businesses that hold multiple meetings every day.
Enter Zoho Bookings, a scheduling app that is part of the wider Zoho network of business software.
It makes it simple for small businesses or single entrepreneurs to schedule appointments with clients, whether it’s for an online meeting or in-person service.
Keep reading to find out more.
SMB Guide’s Verdict for Zoho Bookings
SMB Guide’s overall rating for Zoho Bookings is 8 out of 10. This rating was arrived at after evaluating this software on specific and detailed criteria.
Here’s the detailed breakdown of the scoring for each factor:
Zoho Bookings is reasonably priced and simple to use. The free plan has sufficient capabilities for one individual to use for scheduling appointments.
It also has some great additional features like two-way calendar synchronization and resource management.
However, it can be challenging to figure out where to change the settings for notifications, working hours, and resources due to the interface having a confusing layout.
You can read more about these in our criteria evaluation guide.
Pricing & Plans
There are three pricing plans offered by Zoho Bookings: Free, Basic, and Premium Plan, making it suitable for solopreneurs and businesses of every type.
It also works with every Zoho product and a few third-party apps. You can use the Premium plan’s 15-day free trial to try out the features of the Zoho Booking plans.
During this time, you can try all of the features and evaluate how they function for your business. After the free plan expires, you can either remain with the permanently free plan or upgrade to a premium subscription.
At your convenience, you can choose to pay monthly or go for the yearly plans. Zoho Bookings offers a 25% discount on yearly subscriptions.
All of the plans include unlimited amounts of users, one-on-one service bookings, online and manual bookings, online meetings with Zoom and Zoho Meeting, seamless scheduling and cancelling, two-way calendar sync, automatic notifications, reminders, and cancellation emails, mobile-responsive booking page, notes on bookings, and a mobile app for staff and administrators.
Zoho Bookings’ free plan offers all the essential tools required to schedule meetings with clients. You can only link to one calendar account and integrate with online meeting applications; however, you can’t link to payment gateways, SMS providers, or Zapier.
The Basic plan allows you a little more flexibility. It provides two calendar connections per user with Zapier integration.
Additionally, you can use layouts and themes to personalize your booking page. You will need to upgrade to Zoho Bookings’ Premium plan to accept payments online.
This is also the plan to select if you wish to send SMS text reminders to clients. With this plan level, Zoho gives you access to all of its apps, including its live chat and customer relationship management (CRM) software.
Free Plan
There are enough basic tools in Zoho Bookings’ free version for you to make appointments with clients. It covers all the features you need to make your scheduling smooth and easy.
Price
- Free
Features
- 1 staff
- Online meetings
- Notification emails.
- Two-way calendar sync – Zoho, Google, O365/Outlook.com
- Automatic confirmation, reminder, and cancelation emails
- Automatic notification when rescheduled by admin
- Mobile app for admin and staff
- Automatic time zone conversion for customers
Who it’s for: Individual business owners who schedule multiple free virtual meetings or in-person appointments.
Basic Plan
This plan offers more advanced features and Zapier integration and more customization options. It also lets you unlock and access staff and meeting reports.
Price
- $6 per user per month
Features
- Two-way calendar sync – Zoho calendar, Google, O365/Outlook.com
- One-on-one service booking
- Collective bookings (multiple hosts)
- Online meetings – Microsoft Teams, Zoom, Zoho Meeting, Google Meet
- Customizable confirmation, reminder, and cancelation emails
- Round robin allocation
- Invite multiple guests
- Reports on appointments and staff
- Zapier integration
- Automatic time zone conversion for customers
- Brand color palette for the booking page
- Add custom fields to booking forms
- Browser extension
- Mobile apps for admin and staff
Who it’s for: Groups looking to optimize their client appointments and virtual meetings.
Premium Plan
This plan unlocks the full feature set offered by Zoho Bookings. Additionally, it gives you access to all of its apps, including its live chat and customer relationship management (CRM) software.
Price
- $9 per user per month
Features
- Online payments
- Zoho CRM sync
- 3 workspaces included
- Add workspaces for $12/month
- Book resources (Resources are not part of the plan. Purchase them as add-ons)
- Portal sign-up for customers
- Booking page hosted in your domain
- Remove ‘Powered by Zoho Bookings’ branding
- Group bookings (classes, workshops, webinars etc)
- Recurring group bookings
- Reports on revenue
- Customizable text notification templates
- Zoho Assist integration for scheduling remote support sessions
Who it’s for: Businesses hoping to give their customers a customized experience.
Zoho Bookings is an appointment scheduling software that empowers any business to effortlessly schedule meetings with clients.
Appointment Workflow Automation
Zoho Bookings is a scheduling program that lets you create a personalized booking page, schedule appointments, and send automated reminders and confirmations by text message or email (SMS).
You only need to enter a few details to create an account and can choose your time zone, currency, and business name upon signing up.
It also lets you choose a time to add your availability and the services you provide. Setting your availability from each user’s profile is quite simple.
There’s also a date range option for custom service access, which works well for services that are only available for a short time.
Zoho Bookings also allows you to block time and add special working hours at your convenience.
Customization Options
Zoho Bookings lets you set your service time with a custom service name, duration, price, and preferred meeting mode.
In addition to this, you can also set your availability for dates and times and add pre and post-buffers after each meeting.
These buffer times help ensure that you’re not packed with non-stop meetings and give you some time to rest or prepare between your appointments.
The booking page can also be customized completely to match your brand identity. You can personalize your booking site’s design by choosing your preferred colors for the template.
In addition to this, you can also add your own logo, title, description, and layout and customize the URL of your booking page.
Calendar Management Features
Zoho Bookings features a two-way syncing for Google Calendar, Outlook, and Zoho’s own calendar.
This is a special feature, not available on most scheduling apps. You can check all your calendars and workspaces on one page to manage all your appointments at a centralized location.
If you’re a super admin, you can easily manage your staff’s information, working hours, assigned services, and booking page settings.
It gives you access to edit your staff’s availability and add special working hours to ensure smooth operations even if any of your employees are unable to change their information.
Zoho Bookings also features automatic time zone conversion and time zone presets. This feature allows your customers in different time zones to view the availability and scheduled meetings in their time zone.
It helps avoid confusion, double bookings, and booking at any inconvenient timings. You can also set your rescheduling and cancellation terms and choose when to allow your customers to opt for rescheduling and cancellation options.
Zoho Bookings also lets you send automatic notifications in case of a meeting cancellation or rescheduling.
Automated Reminders and Notifications
Zoho Bookings allows you to set automated notifications for rescheduled, canceled, completed, or no-show appointments via email or SMS for customers and staff.
While Zoho does not have a native SMS text messaging service, you can configure SMS notifications by linking an app to allow it.
Staff members can receive in-app notifications from Zoho Bookings whenever a new appointment is scheduled, modified, or canceled.
You can also customize these notifications for each employee in the general menu. Additionally, you can decide when these notifications should be sent in advance of an appointment.
Client Management and Communication
Zoho Bookings makes it fairly simple for your customers to book appointments with you and lets you embed the booking page as a widget.
You can easily add and save your customer information including their name, email, and phone number, and track your appointment history with them.
The platform also lets you set up a meeting with a saved customer quickly by letting you choose the customer from the saved list when setting up an appointment.
Clients can receive appointment reminders and notifications via SMS or email, depending on their preference.
With this option, you have the freedom to communicate directly with your clients through a channel that works for both of you.
User Interface and User Experience
Setting up a Zoho Bookings account is easy, but it’s not always clear where you go to control resources, notifications, and other options.
The user interface lacks coherence and organization. Three different kinds of booking pages are offered by Zoho Bookings: staff, service, and workspace.
The booking pages can be linked within your website on your domain to enhance user experience; the templates are easily configurable.
All of the client’s basic information is stored in the customer profiles, along with personalized notes for every kind of visit.
With the team scheduling tool, clients can choose a specific employee for meetings. While you can navigate through the services, staff, and my profile tabs, finding the necessary feature adjustments is not easy.
The platform lets you add services from two distinct locations and the settings option is not easily findable.
Integrations, Compatibility, & Supported Platforms
Zoho Bookings supports plenty of integrations with different applications including these top integrations:
Calendars
- Microsoft Office 365/Outlook
- Zoho Calendars
Online Meetings
- Zoho Meeting
- Zoom
- Google Meet
- Microsoft Teams
Online Payments
- PayPal
- Stripe
- Razorpay
- + more
Others
- Zapier
- CRMs
- Twilio
- + more
Zoho Bookings also connects to all Zoho apps and you can make maximum use of all integrations if you’re already a Zoho customer.
If not, connecting to those apps for automation will require you to rely on Zapier. Zoho Bookings also offers API integrations.
While it’s web-based, it’s also available on Windows, macOS, and Linux and also has a dedicated mobile application for iOS and Android.
Customer Support
Zoho Bookings uses the same customer service as the other Zoho apps.
You can reach the customer service team by phone, email, or live chat. All client inquiries are handled by competent and helpful support representatives.
Live chat is your best option if you want to speak with Zoho Bookings customer service as soon as possible.
The chatbot can quickly respond and answer queries and connect with a live agent within minutes. You can also schedule a call with the support staff which is available five days a week, twenty-four hours a day.
In addition to its customer service representatives, Zoho Bookings offers:
- A forum
- Guides
- Articles
- Community Portal
- Help Center
- Knowledge base
- FAQs
You can also raise a ticket for any concerns or queries.
Zoho Bookings — Unique Features
Here are two unique features I loved about Zoho Bookings.
Resource management
Most service-based scheduling systems do not offer a mechanism to manage rooms or equipment that can be needed for various kinds of businesses.
Resource management is a unique feature offered by Zoho Bookings. To see all of the available resources, select Resources from the gear icon or use the plus sign icon to add a new resource.
What you can classify as a resource is not restricted. For each resource, you can set up a booking page so that staff can schedule resources around their appointments.
Routing choices
With Zoho bookings, you can allocate staff members to particular services and give customers the freedom to choose the staff member they want when setting up services and staff.
In addition, Zoho Bookings can also choose employees according to their availability for automated routing.
What the Experts Say About Zoho Bookings
It is praised for its pricing and customer service. Most users find it easy to embed and count it as their first choice if they are already using Zoho for other requirements.
- 4.5/5 stars at Capterra (20+ reviews)
- 3.7/5 stars at G2 (15+ reviews)
- 9.1/10 votes at TrustRadius (15+ votes)
Zoho Bookings can make scheduling meetings with customers a straightforward process. The platform offers customization of your reservation page as well as an option to accept payments from customers via third-party payment gateways.
Liya A., Digital Marketing Strategist – Verified Capterra review
Gone are the days of phone and email tag to set up meetings with clients. A few clicks, and clients (and staff) choose meeting days and times that work for them. Huge boost in productivity and workflow.
Paul L., Recovery Specialist – Verified Capterra review
Zoho Bookings Alternatives
Although Zoho Booking has great and affordable plans with many unique features, it might not be the perfect option for everyone.
Let’s look at a few more choices that might be better suited to your requirements.
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4.0
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4.6
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4.1
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Free - $12/user/mo
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$20/mo - $61/mo
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Free - $29
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Setmore
Setmore is pretty much your basic run-of-the-mill scheduling app, but it has a very generous free plan.
- Starting Price: $0/user per month (up to 4 users)
- Best For: Small to medium-sized businesses that rely heavily on appointments
Acuity Scheduling
Acuity Scheduling provides a high level of customization for scheduling and appointment booking. This makes it great for businesses that require flexibility and intricate booking scenarios.
It’s a better for for businesses that require advanced customization, while Zoho Bookings is better suited for smaller companies looking for an easy-to-use, cost-effective solution.
Start your free trial of Acuity today!
TidyCal
At a very affordable price, TidyCal offers top-notch online tools for scheduling appointments. It includes all of the regularly used calendars and functions in an extremely user-friendly style.
TidyCal’s automated features also simplify the process of scheduling and confirming meetings. You can opt for the free plan or pay $29 one time to unlock all features of the paid plan.
Even with its free plan, this platform allows an infinite number of bookings per month as well as an unlimited number of booking kinds.
This tool is a great choice for project managers, sales teams, and other individuals or organizations that schedule meetings and manage multiple staff.
Other options: Best Zoho Bookings Alternatives
Getting Started with Zoho Bookings
Zoho Bookings is a great software that can be very helpful for individuals, small organizations, and corporations, especially the ones that are already Zoho customers.
It enables you to easily manage your calendar, arrange different types of meetings, manage resources, share your calendar with your staff, and manage your staff availability.
This application is designed to help you with all your booking needs, including automated time zone translations and payment connections.
Sign up for Zoho Bookings for free today!
FAQs
Is Zoho CRM inclusive of Zoho Bookings?
Yes, you can access Zoho Bookings appointments through the Activities feature in Zoho CRM. Additionally, every event will be synchronized with your Zoho CRM Calendar.
Does Zoho One contain Zoho Bookings as well?
Absolutely. You can have access to Zoho Bookings’ Premium package if you’re a Zoho One subscriber.
What languages are supported by Zoho Bookings?
Languages supported by Zoho Bookings include: Arabic, Dutch, English, French, German, Italian, Japanese, Portuguese, and Vietnamese.
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Zoho Bookings is an appointment scheduling software that empowers any business to effortlessly schedule meetings with clients.
Zoho Bookings
Zoho Bookings is an appointment scheduling software that empowers any business to effortlessly schedule meetings with clients.
Product Brand: Zoho
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Beatrice is a seasoned productivity writer with a knack for uncovering game-changing productivity hacks that simplify life routines. Armed with a triple major in Commerce, Accounting, and Insurance, she also runs her own digital consulting firm. You'll usually find her immersed in crafting captivating literary novels and traveling the world.