If there’s one thing that excites us more than color-coded files and checklists, it’s a neatly organized schedule. Our calendars give us a sense of control in a chaotic world. And the best scheduling apps help us keep our calendars under control without having to organize everything by hand. ?
Don’t get us wrong—we love handmade objects. But we don’t love typing up tons of emails to find a meeting time that works for everyone.
With scheduling apps, we can do everything from organizing team meetings to allowing clients to book appointments to planning employee shifts. And we can do it in less time. ⏰
Here’s a look at 10 of the best scheduling apps for small businesses of all kinds. These apps can save you time and help you manage your time at the same—err—time. So let’s get to it!
10 Best Scheduling Apps for Small Business Owners in 2024
Summarize this article for me pleaseWhat Should You Look for in Scheduling Apps?
Some features you need in your scheduling app will depend on what you’re scheduling. But at a minimum, the best scheduling apps for small businesses should offer these three things:
- Intuitive user interface: Your clients, team members, and customers will all schedule time with you through this app. Choose a platform that prioritizes ease of use with straightforward scheduling features and a user-friendly design
- Calendar integrations: Good scheduling apps integrate with your favorite calendar app so you can see all your appointments in one place. But the best apps offer two-way calendar syncing, so you can see all your appointments in two places: your calendar app and your scheduling app ?️
- Notifications: Your scheduling app should notify you when someone books time with you. It should also send you and your guest reminders before the appointment. Even better if you can customize your notifications and choose between email, text message, and calendar reminders
Summarize this article for me pleaseThe 10 Best Appointment Scheduling Apps to Use
We’ve chosen 10 scheduling apps that excel at different things. From workload management and employee scheduling to task scheduling and booking customer appointments, there’s an app with the right features to fit your business needs.
1. ClickUp
For freelancers and small businesses who want to schedule meetings, build project schedules, and plan shiftwork, ClickUp makes it easy to keep track of everything—so you can stop hopping between apps. ?
ClickUp integrates with the apps your team uses already. It connects to all the major calendar apps and syncs in real time. That means your ClickUp tasks appear in your calendar app, and your calendar appointments appear in your ClickUp Workspace. You can also reorganize your schedule with an intuitive drag-and-drop interface that helps you prioritize your work.
If you regularly schedule online appointments with your team or clients, connect ClickUp to Zoom to schedule and host your meetings without ever leaving the app. You can also sync it with Calendly to allow people to add meetings to your calendar.
With multiple views, you can visualize your work on a calendar, in a daily planner, or on a timeline.
ClickUp best features
- ClickUp Calendar view, plus automatic two-way syncing with Google Calendar, Outlook, and Apple Calendar
- Ability to reschedule dependencies to adjust project schedules simultaneously, plus Zapier integrations for “If this, then that” scheduling
- Free templates to schedule more complicated workflows like project schedules, employee shifts, content calendars, and time management processes
- Additional time management features, including widgets for time tracking, timesheets, and billable time for easy invoicing
- Free training and 24-hour customer support
ClickUp limitations
- Because ClickUp offers so many features and integrations, there can be a learning curve when getting started
- Features on the ClickUp mobile app aren’t as robust as they are in the web app
ClickUp pricing
- Free Forever
- Unlimited: $7/month per user
- Business: $12/month per user
- Enterprise: Contact for pricing
- ClickUp AI is available on all paid plans for $5 per Workspace member per month
ClickUp ratings and reviews
- G2: 4.7/5 (8,400+ reviews)
- Capterra: 4.7/5 (3,700+ reviews)
2. Appoint.ly
There’s nothing complicated about Appoint.ly, and that’s part of this online scheduling tool’s charm. It allows you to set your schedule and share your availability through a link you can send to anyone.
This appointment scheduling software has an easy-to-use interface and is great for remote workers, distributed teams, and sales teams. It’s also ideal for professional service providers with clients in multiple time zones.
Appoint.ly best features
- The online scheduling features allow you to share your availability through a link that you can share via messages, emails, or your website
- Time zone synchronization makes it easier to plan meetings with people around the world and reduces the risk of no-shows
- Integrations with Google Calendar, iCloud, Outlook, Office 365, and Exchange
Appoint.ly limitations
- Some users report they don’t receive notifications when new appointments are booked, so they have to check their calendars regularly for changes
- This app doesn’t offer integrations with payment processing systems
Appoint.ly pricing
- Basic plan: Free
- Pro plan: $8 per user per month
- Enterprise plan: Custom pricing
Appoint.ly ratings and reviews
- G2: 4.4/5 (12+ reviews)
- Capterra: 3.3/5 (3+ reviews)
3. HoneyBook
HoneyBook is here for freelancers and small companies whose businesses run on proposals, contracts, and invoices—and lots of coffee. ☕️
While HoneyBook won’t supply your daily caffeine intake, it will help you run the rest of your business. Yes, it’s a scheduling app, but it’s not just a scheduling app.
You can advertise your services, book client meetings, manage your project documents (like proposals, contracts, and invoices), and collect credit card payments in one place. You can even send out branded forms and questionnaires. Essentially, you can streamline your client management process by collecting all of your client communication in one place.
HoneyBook best features
- Share your availability through a link that allows clients to book a meeting
- Set multiple appointment types so your clients book you for the right service and the right amount of time
- Schedule, invoice, and accept payments from within the same app
- Brand your scheduling, contracts, invoicing, and payment portal so clients know they’re contacting the right business
HoneyBook limitations
- Many users report difficulty getting setup and experience a steep learning curve when they start working with HoneyBook’s features
- While you can use HoneyBook for both scheduling and payment processing, users report that the payment processing time is slow
HoneyBook pricing
- Starter: $8 per month
- Essentials: $16 per month
- Premium: $33 per month
HoneyBook ratings and reviews
- G2: 4.5/5 (135+ reviews)
- Capterra: 4.8/5 (580+ reviews)
4. Calendly
Perhaps the best-known scheduling app, Calendly is one of the originators of online booking. All Calendly plans allow you to share your schedule through a link—because sharing is caring. ?
Once you share your link, people can see your availability and book a time with you. Calendly is great for freelancers, but it’s also an excellent choice for small and large teams.
Depending on your plan, set up anywhere from one appointment type (like a 30-minute meeting) to unlimited appointment types (like a 15-minute coffee klatsch, a 40-minute interview, and a one-hour onboarding).
If you have a paid plan, you can even use Calendly to organize complex meetings—such as conference calls or round-robin discussions—without going back and forth with your team about availability.
Calendly best features
- Easy online booking with a shareable link
- Customizable workflows that let you send personalized text or email reminders and follow-ups
- Ability to embed your Calendly link on your website or in your email signature to streamline your scheduling process
- Integrations with multiple calendar apps, point-of-sale systems, CRMs, and communication platforms
Calendly limitations
- Features are extremely limited on the free plan, only allowing you to set up free appointment scheduling for one type of event and one calendar integration
- Some users report glitches in the calendar integration that have led to double bookings or have failed to update and show their additional availability after cancelations
Calendly pricing
- Basic: Free
- Essentials: $8 per person per month
- Professionals: $12 per person per month
- Teams: $16 per person per month
- Enterprise: Custom pricing
Calendly ratings and reviews
- G2: 4.7/5 (1,895+ reviews)
- Capterra: 4.7/5 (2,800+ reviews)
5. Square Appointments
If you’re looking for the best appointment-scheduling app for salons, spas, yoga studios, fitness centers, and other appointment-based services, then Square Appointments definitely makes the cut. ?♀️
This app is made by the same company that makes Square, the popular point-of-sale system. For businesses that already use Square to process payments, this scheduling program will fit seamlessly into your existing workflow.
Square Appointments best features
- Let customers book appointments or classes from your website
- Send out automatic appointment reminders
- Set your own cancelation policy and add no-show fees
- Create customer profiles and allow clients to keep cards on file
- Use e-commerce features to sell products online in addition to your appointment-based services
Square Appointments limitations
- The appointment times always appear in the business owner’s timezone. They don’t update to the user’s time, which can make it confusing for clients in different timezones
- The app has limited options for adding extra client information, categorizing your services, posting policies, and adding intake forms
Square Appointments pricing
- Free
- Plus: $29 per month
- Premium: Custom pricing
Square Appointments ratings and reviews
- G2: 4.3/5 (35+ reviews)
- Capterra: 4.4/5 (175+ reviews)
6. Picktime
Picktime is made for various businesses, but it’s ideal for companies that need to schedule locations and equipment for appointments.
Maybe you run a salon where each of your stylists needs to schedule their chair when they choose their availability. Perhaps you run continuing education classes, and you need to book a classroom and a projector. Or maybe you work at a big company with limited conference rooms—and the competition to book one can be fierce! ?♀️
Picktime will not only help you schedule client appointments, it will help you plan all the little details you need to make your meeting a success.
Picktime best features
- A booking widget on your website lets customers book online 24/7
- Booking forms help you understand your customers’ needs before their first appointment
- Recurring appointments in your digital planner to allow your clients to set standing meetings with you
- Emails and SMS reminders decrease no-shows
- Team management features will add appointments to your team member’s personal calendars as you assign them
- Integrations with Stripe and PayPal allow you to take customer payments when they book their appointment
Picktime limitations
- It’s difficult to duplicate schedules and other data, so you’ll have to enter information manually each time
- You have to send out notifications individually, as there’s no way to simultaneously notify everyone of a change in time or location
Picktime pricing
- Free
- Starter: $3 per user per month
- Pro: $2.25 per user per month
Picktime ratings and reviews
- G2: 4.8/5 (10+ reviews)
- Capterra: 4.8/5 (45+ reviews)
7. Setmore
Another scheduling app built for small businesses, Setmore has features for beauty, wellness, healthcare, creative services, professional services, and trade professionals.
This app has a list of functions that we’d describe as not too much and not too little for most local businesses. With this app, your customers can book and pay online. And while that’s about all this app does, it may be all you need.
Setmore best features
- An online booking page with a service menu helps customers book the right appointment
- Customer reviews display on your booking page to encourage new customer appointments
- Automatic confirmations, email reminders, and text message reminders discourage no-shows
- Integrations with Square and Stripe allow you to take payments directly from your booking page
Setmore limitations
- Instead of the appointment scheduler appearing on your website, clients must go through a Setmore URL for scheduling appointments
- You cannot create multiple formats for follow-up emails, so customers will see the same instructions regardless of which type of appointment they book
Setmore pricing
- Free
- Pro: $5 per user per month
- Team: $5 per user per month
Setmore ratings and reviews
- G2: 4.5/5 (240+ reviews)
- Capterra: 4.6/5 (940+ reviews)
8. Planable
This one is for our content kings and queens. ?
Planable is a content scheduling app that also lets you build content, format it for different platforms, and get approval in the same space. It’s one part scheduling app and a one-part project management app designed specifically for content creators, teams, and agencies.
All the content you build in Planable is laid out just like it will be in its final, published form. Content is visual, content creators are visual, and your stakeholders definitely want to see visuals. ?
This app helps you go from visualizing your posts to approving and scheduling them in one place.
Planable best features
- Comment and approve right next to the post
- Schedule your seasonal and evergreen content to post automatically
- Post to Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, Pinterest, X, LinkedIn, and Google My Business
Planable limitations
- In-app photo editing is limited, so you’ll need to edit and resize your images for each social media platform before you upload them to your post scheduler
- It can be difficult to duplicate targets and tags from previous posts, so you may end up manually inputting the same information multiple times
Planable pricing
- Free plan
- Basic plan: $11 per user per month
- Pro plan: $22 per user per month
- Enterprise plan: Custom pricing
Planable ratings and reviews
- G2: 4.6/5 (585+ reviews)
- Capterra: 4.5/5 (305+ reviews)
9. Deputy
This shift scheduling app allows you to see employee availability, create a shift schedule, and share it online. If you have open shifts, you can post them and allow team members to claim them. Or you can let employees swap their shifts with anyone who’s qualified. It’s all done through the app.
When call-outs come up, manage the schedule through the mobile app, no matter where you are. You can clearly visualize your labor costs and even use AI to create a smart schedule.
Deputy best features
- Create and share your employee shift schedule online
- Fill shifts and manage call-outs in real-time
- Track employee timesheets
- Integrate it with your payroll, point-of-sale, or human resources systems
Deputy limitations
- It can be challenging to duplicate a custom scheduling template, and it doesn’t remember your employee availability month after month, so you may find yourself manually inputting the same information each time you schedule
- This app performs best on iOS devices. If you use Microsoft, Linux, or Android, you may not have access to all the features
Deputy pricing
- Free
- Premium: $4.90 per user per month
- Enterprise: Custom pricing
Deputy ratings and reviews
- G2: 4.6/5 (240+ reviews)
- Capterra: 4.6/5 (685+ reviews)
10. Acuity Scheduling
Acuity Scheduling is another great app for salons, beauty and wellness professionals, fitness studios, life coaches, and companies that take in-person and online appointments.
Manage schedules for multiple locations and employees, and allow your customers to book their own appointments online. Acuity Scheduling is also a good option for professionals who do all their business through online meetings.
Acuity Scheduling best features
- Customization options for your booking page, email reminders, and SMS reminders create a branded experience
- Auto-adjustment for different timezones allows clients to see your schedule in their local time
- Integrations with video conferencing software make it easy to join online appointments
- Intake forms help you understand a customer’s needs before their first appointment
- Integrations with Stripe, Square, and PayPal allow you to take payment when customers book
Acuity Scheduling limitations
- There’s no multi-team calendar selection, so this may not be the best option for large teams with complex scheduling needs
- With no free plan, this app might be out of reach for new businesses
Acuity Scheduling pricing
- Emerging: $16 per month
- Growing: $27 per month
- Powerhouse: $49 per month
Acuity Scheduling ratings and reviews
- G2: 4.7/5 (395+ reviews)
- Capterra: 4.8/5 (5,450+ reviews)
Summarize this article for me pleaseTiming is Everything
The best scheduling apps allow you to plan tasks, appointments, and meetings when it works for everyone. Provide your availability, then let customers and team members pick a time so you’re all in sync.
If you’re a solopreneur or small business owner, you’re likely swamped trying to schedule daily tasks, project timelines, team meetings, client meetings, and employee shifts. That means the timing couldn’t be better to sign up for ClickUp.
Start using ClickUp’s all-in-one platform for free and see how an organized schedule frees up more time in your day! ?
Everything you need to stay organized and get work done.
