11 reasons why I love Acuity Scheduling
If you’ve been browsing this website you may have noticed that the primary call to action is Set Up a Discovery Call.
This takes you to our Contact page where there is a schedule of available times and dates when you can book a free Discovery Call with Lucy.
The tool we use for this is Acuity Scheduling, an app that was bought by Squarespace a couple of years ago but which works as a scheduler in its own right and which can be used on any website, not just a Squarespace one.
So, what are the benefits of using Acuity? There are so many, I’m not sure where to begin!
Ok, so here are the obvious reasons:
it facilitates appointment bookings on your website for potential clients
they can book a time that suits them (and your) without any to-ing and fro-ing via email to check availability
the confirmation email is automated (youget one and so does your potential client)
you both get a reminder email 24 hours before the appointment (this can be 12 hours, 48 hours…whatever you want)
the emails can be customised and branded and if you have different appointment types you can customise the email for each
you can add an intake form, in other words when someone schedules a call with you, you can ask them questions such as ‘which of my services are you interested in?’ and give a list of my services, ‘how did you hear about me’, ‘what is your budget’ etc etc This helps you prepare for the call and, if it’s clear at this point that you are not a good fit, you can take action to cancel the appointment and not waste anyone’s time. For example, if someone wants a Wordpress designer, I’m not their gal!
you can integrate the scheduler with a whole host of other commonly-used apps, such as Zoom (so that my Zoom link is automatically inserted into the confirmation email), Stripe for taking payments at the time of booking (for example I have a paid Ask Me Anything service that can be booked on my scheduler and my clients pay when they book the call.)
we can integrate the scheduler with your Google calendar so that there are no double bookings between Acuity and anything that goes directly into your Google calendar (other invites, personal appointments, family stuff) aaaaand, you get to see everything on my Google calendar on my phone or desktop - your Acuity bookings and your Google appointments. Acuity also integrates with iCal, Office 365 etc
you save a whole heap of time!
you can direct people to a thank you page on your website once they have scheduled an appointment. This could be a text-only thank you page, or you could pop a video on there letting the person know what to expect on our call etc This gives them an idea of who I am and what I am like, increasing trust and likeability.
you can create multiple appointment-types, and not all of them have to be visible on my website. Some can be ‘private’ and accessed only via a link that you can send to clients via email. For example, we have a training call with all clients as part of our off-boarding process. The can book this directly on our scheduler via a link that we send them privately, which shows our availability for training calls.
Acuity has a whole host of other benefits and functionalities if you are selling classes, coaching or any other service for groups or that are recurring. You can also send text reminders, manage multiple calendars (if you have a team for example) and, of course you can close of days/weeks/months as per your own schedule. I am in Acuity every day closing off times that I am not available or releasing times when I am available. My clients can also reschedule a meeting automatically, without having to contact me. They get a confirmation email and so do I, automatically.
Does Acuity Scheduling cost money?
Yes, there is a monthly fee to use Acuity, even for their most basic plan, but it is so worth it. You will save so much time on admin, your customers will be impressed at your efficiency and the ease with which they can book, reschedule or cancel a session with you. As I mentioned above, you can take payments, organise classes, group bookings and so on. Once it’s all set up, the system does the rest!
If you are thinking of applying for the Trading Online Voucher, having a scheduler on your site ticks the ‘ecommerce’ requirement too for the Local Enterprise Office. So, even if you are not taking payment for your service through your website or even with your scheduler, just having one on your site is enough to be eligible for the funding.
Can I change my schedule once it’s on my website?
Yes, by logging in to the backend of Acuity, you have complete control over which days and times you want to make available. If you only want to take Intro Calls on Friday mornings, for example, you can just have Friday mornings show up on your calendar on your website. You can make other times available for other appointment types that maybe you share privately with clients over email.
Is Acuity better than Calendly?
Calendly looks to be very similar to Acuity and even has a free version. Kajabi have done a deal with them whereby they have an automatic integration as part of Kajabi’s Coaching product. So, it’s really six of one and half a dozen of the other. I like Acuity because the aesthetic fits perfectly on Squarespace websites, more so than Calendly, but if you want to save a couple of pennies and use the Calendly free version, then that will work well too. Be aware that you have to make do with Calendly branding, however, on your scheduler, if you are using their free plan.
Do I have to create a separate Acuity account or can I get it as part of my Squarespace subscription?
If you wish to add Acuity to your Squarespace website, you can do so directly by adding a Scheduling block to your site. When you do so, you will be prompted to set up a 14 day Acuity trial. If you already have an Acuity account and want to add it to your Squarespace website, add the Scheduling block to your page and follow the prompt for add an existing Acuity account.
Take your site to a new level with Acuity Scheduling
Apart from the brilliant functionalities offered by Acuity, it also takes your website to a new level.
You are making it easier for people to get in touch with you, to book that call without having to email you first. It looks way more professional than having a standard contact form (who fills those out anyway! Don’t have a standard contact form on your site unless there are specific questions on it. Just make your email address clickable so people can drop you a line instead of a form. (To make your email clickable, create a hyperlink that goes mailto:youremail@yourdomain.com).
