Business Tools Tip: Why I Love Acuity

One of the most frustrating parts of running a business online (or running any business where you’re teaching classes, meeting with clients, or in any other situation when two or more people need to be at a certain place at a certain time) is setting appointments.

It seems like a simple thing, but how many times have you showed up at the wrong time or completely missed an appointment request in your inbox?

I’m an OBM with clients and several team members, and meetings are what keep my business running. My clients and team members are all in different time zones, so it’s important to keep everyone organized and on the same page so we aren’t messaging back and forth “Wait, is that my time or your time? Does your state do daylight savings?”

Early on, I knew I needed a program that could keep everyone organized and on the same time track, and it had to be easy! I tried quite a few. Some were okay, others meh.

Then I found Acuity and I was head over heels!

Let me tell you, I LOVE Acuity. I’ve used it for years and now I couldn’t imagine using anything else. 

Back up. What’s Acuity?

At its most basic, Acuity is an online appointment scheduling software.

But it’s so much more than that.

Acuity integrates with a bunch of other programs so you can automate not only your meeting scheduling, but time zone conversion, meeting reminders, payment collection, accounting, and so much more.

Business owners love Acuity. I’ve seen VAs, OBMs, coaches, massage therapists, chiropractors, Feng Shui specialists, counselors, workout studios, and all kinds of businesses use this program beautifully. 

 

Don't lose money on lost or missed appointments! You need a scheduling software that keeps everyone organized. Click To Tweet

 

As for me, one of the things I appreciate most is that it integrates with Zoom. This is a game changer for me because I’m always meeting with clients and team members. The automation of Acuity frees up someone on my team from having to look at the calendar and schedule Zoom meetings. This saves me money and saves everyone lots of time and headaches. I have lots of flexibility with Acuity that I didn’t have with some of the other programs.

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Here are just a few of the cool things can you do with Acuity:

• Your clients can schedule appointments with you at a time that works for them so you don’t have to email a million times back and forth.
• Acuity takes care of all the time zone conversions and schedules the event on everyone’s calendars in their own time zone. No more accidentally showing up two hours early (or late!) because you got the conversions mixed up or because of daylight savings time.
• You can set your availability ahead of time and clients can choose an appointment that’s convenient for them.
• Sends text or email reminders to all parties so no one forgets. You can also brand and customize those reminders!
• You can also receive payments through Acuity with Stripe, Square, Paypal, etc. You can even accept tips!
• Integrates beautifully with WordPress, Mailchimp, Squarespace, Quickbooks, and lots of other programs you might already be using.
• You can adapt Acuity to your own business with your own branding, so it works whether you’re a freelance consultant with one calendar to manage or if you run a larger business and might have several appointments going on at once.

 

• You can actually create a whole website with Acuity that has the scheduling software built right in. Customers can just go to the page and schedule an appointment. You might not want to do this if it’s just you, but it’s super handy if you’re running a larger business with lots of schedules to manage (dentist, chiropractors, etc.)
• Also includes the ability to create handy intake forms so your client can fill out all their info before they talk to you. This can save a lot of time at the actual appointment!
• You can use Acuity to sell memberships, gift certificates, subscriptions, and packages.
• View which customers have paid and which haven’t. This makes accounting so much easier.
• Acuity can sync with Google Calendar, Zoom, and GoToMeeting for booking really simple online meetings. I LOVE this feature because I conduct all my client and team meetings in Zoom. Someone schedules a meeting with me and then they automatically get an email with the date, time, and Zoom link. Simple!
• You can include add-ons at checkout, which means upselling can become automatic.
• Advanced plans even comply with HIPAA, which is perfect if you run any kind of medical practice.
• Does your business have several locations? No problem! Acuity can manage several different calendars for you to accommodate for more locations and staff members.

Acuity has a lot of cool features and works really well for entrepreneurs in all industries and stages of business. Whether you’re a freelancer with just one calendar to manage or running a dental practice with lots of customers and employees, Acuity is amazing.

Even if you don’t use all the features, the ease of scheduling is soooo important all on its own, because it can make you money.

Think about it: Have you ever tried to book a massage or nail appointment online, got frustrated with the complicated system and just threw up your hands and scheduled with a different place instead?

Acuity is super simple for you AND your clients to use, so you’ll never have this problem. Easy is good! Seriously, it’s that important.

If you’re ready to grow your business and make scheduling painless for you AND your clients or prospects, I can’t recommend Acuity enough!

Tech not your thing? We can help put your plans into action! Let’s talk.