Online Scheduling and Appointment Reminders – Case Study

Protein Box

(From America to Kuwait)

The Client:
Protein Box is a food prep company for athletes. Run by Ali Mohammad, We design make and deliver food on a daily basis. We consult with clients on a one on one setting once a week. Our tests include a fat pinch in 7 places, body circumferences in 17 places and blood draw with lab results to prescribe vitamins and supplements customized for each client.

The Problem:
The Elephant Group is an organization operating in the United States (worldwide) that recently set up a new branch, Protein Box in Kuwait. Although I am situated in America it is still my role to oversee the establishment and running of our new company whilst managing customer appointments from both sides of the world.
We searched the market thoroughly for a professional solution to provide us with scheduling and SMS notifications for appointments. However, none of the solutions worked within our market (Kuwait). Each solution we tested required lengthy customizations.

Call to Action:
I needed a system that would allow me to keep track all our Kuwaiti appointments and a means of communicating with our Kuwaiti customers about their appointments from the US office. Before I set about researching systems I wrote up the main features tailored to fit my demands, these included an online scheduler that I could access from both sides of the globe, a system that could sustain more than one user at a time depending on bookings, and lastly the ability to send automated text reminders to our customers from America to Kuwait.

The Solution:
Most software products today can give off an intimidating feel about them with their overwhelming amount of unnecessary features. YellowSchedule was the complete opposite. They don’t over complicate things; although they do provide a variety of handy features, they manage to keep their system simple. Upon logging in I followed through with their quick start tutorial guide and before I knew it I got all of my contacts up on the database, our booking hours organized, each user was color coded for ease of visibility on the calendar, automated text reminders composed and what benefited me most, I could use my scheduler in the Kuwaiti time zone for timing my outgoing texts, which really eases the fact Kuwait is 8 hours ahead of where we are situated.

The Verdict:
I couldn’t ask for anymore, it’s as if YellowSchedule had based their whole product around me. For our company YellowSchedule was the perfect choice. Now I can operate our bookings from the other side of the world and still keep on top of confirmed, cancelled and no-show bookings. Very few scheduling systems I researched could operate their appointment reminders abroad and this was the key feature for me. Additionally, none were able to satisfy real time text messages with the ease of both communication and automated reminders. The analytics tool is also a brilliant feature, no analysis is required by the user, but is all done in the background. It’s great to be able to monitor our no-shows even though I’m not around and since using YellowSchedule I have notice these no-shows reduced by 80% of our old rate.

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Mental Health Scheduling Software – Case Study

Dionne Mahaffey

(TherapySites User)

The Client:

Dionne is a business-psychologist, author, technologist, entrepreneur, professor and a Life & Business Strategies Coach. She specializes in personal growth, business, leadership and career coaching with private practices in Atlanta, Los-Angeles and Washington, DC. Dionne’s agency has helped celebrities, athletes and other high-profile clients identify their “purpose” and through proven techniques she has guided them toward success.

The Problem:

We needed a website with a built in content management solution. Our site was taking us a long time to update and our appointment scheduler wasn’t integrated with our site.

Call to Action:

I signed up to TherapySites which now hosts my website. Upon signing up with TherapySites I was offered an account with YellowSchedule, an online CRM appointment scheduling tool. At first I was hesitant to sign up to the first scheduling tool I came across so decided I would check out for myself who they are, what they can offer me, and what, if any, their competitors might be able to offer me.

The Solution:

At first I was overwhelmed by the amount of appointment scheduling systems available to me and decided I would compile a list to compare the pros and cons of each scheduling tool before settling on one. For me the key features required were to have an online scheduler that was quick and easy to use, simple to navigate my way around, an option to use the scheduler on the go (via the YellowSchedule Mobile App) or to give clients the opportunity to book directly from my website. More importantly, I wanted access to an automated messenger service that would give real-time response based reminders and lastly but not least, It needed to meet the HIPAA compliance requirements.

The Verdict:

It took less than two weeks to know that YellowSchedule is the software solution for me. They pay particular attention to being HIPAA compliant and their security encryption is at the highest level, more than required by HIPAA. YellowSchedule truly has helped streamline my clients’ appointments allowing for more time to prepare between sessions. Giving clients the option to book available slots online via my website, at any time of the day or night has given me total control over my bookings and clients. This has enabled me to run a more efficient business and I have found my bookings dramatically increase by over 75% and my no-show rate reduced to an incredible 2% as potential clients are no longer put off chasing me over the phone and awaiting confirmation for their appointments.

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How to Accept Payments Online For Your Appointments

Billing your clients just got easier!

We’re really excited to announce the launch of YellowSchedule Payments which allows you to take payments from your clients directly via your YellowSchedule account.

Payments, deposits, prepayments and receipts are all handled simply and securely. Read on to find out more about this great new, highly requested, feature.

This can be set up through your appointment scheduling software in three simple stages:

1. Enabling Client Payments

2. Gathering Client Payment Details

3. Making Client Payments

Stage 1. Enabling Client Payments

Enable Client Payments is located in the settings menu on your appointment scheduler. Once you have accessed ‘enable client payments’ you will be asked to ‘Connect to Stripe’ – our payments partner.

Step 1:

Step 2:

When you click connect to Stripe you will be redirected to a Stripe form for completion where you will be required to enter a few details about your business.

Step 3:

Upon completions scroll to the bottom of the form and click ‘Authorize access to this account’. By authorizing access to this account you can grant different access levels to users.

These include:

– Full Payments Access.

– View Payments Only. (Staff can see payments, but not create or refund them).

– No Payments Access. (All payments details will be hidden for those staff).

Once access has been authorized your YellowSchedule appointment software and Stripe payments account are now linked allowing you to start charging clients!

Stage 2. Gathering Client Payment Details

There are two ways you can gather a clients payment details for charging them.

You can manually add them or gather their details from their online scheduling appointment on your booking calendar.

2.1 Manually Adding Card Details

Using your client scheduling software go to ‘Contacts’. When viewing a contact , click the ‘Add Card’ option on payment details. Now you can manually enter the payment details for a client.

2.2 Gather Payment Details via Online Booking Calendar

Go to ‘Online Booking Setup’. Scroll down to ‘Client online booking validated by’ and change the validation method to ‘Credit Card’ option.

Once you have changed your validation method to ‘Credit Card’ clients using the online booking calendar will be required to confirm their appointment by entering their payment details like so;

Step 3. Making Client Payments

Raising new payments for a client is easy. When viewing a contract with billing details already included, simply click the ‘Raise new payment’ option and enter the amount and an optional description. The description will show up on the receipt which is emailed to the client.

Payments are never automatically taken allowing you to manage when payments are made.

Refunding a payment is just as easy. Highlight the payment and click ‘Refund’ option. You will then be prompted to enter the amount you wish to refund.

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And the Best Start-Up/Emerging Business Award goes to . . .

So this weekend YellowSchedule donned their finest outfits, went out for dinner, had a few drinks (just a few, we swear) and returned home with more in hand than we went with (and no it wasn’t heartburn or indigestion tablets).

– 2014 Limerick Chamber Regional Business Award for Best Start-Up/Emerging Business. Cathal Treacy, (Limerick Chamber President), Martina Skelly (YellowSchedule) and Gillian Barry (Enterprise Development and Business Liaison Manager, LIT)

On Friday night we attended the Limerick Chamber President’s Dinner where we were delighted to be announced winners of the Best Start-Up/Emerging Business Award category at this years 2014 Limerick Chamber Regional Business Awards.

The Limerick Strand Hotel held a fantastic evening where we got to meet some of Limerick regions top business leaders and government officials in attendance for the Limerick Chamber and sponsor Limerick Institute of Technology awards ceremony celebrating success and excellence in business.

With a short list of 21 companies judged across seven categories each award was based on businesses demonstrating a commitment to success through innovation, investment expansion, strategic acquisition or service performance to increase business over the past 12 months.

Not only is winning the award for Best Start-Up/Emerging Business a great achievement for the team here at YellowSchedule but it also nicely rounds off a successful 2014. We look forward to a bright 2015.

Web Summit – Your Business Networking Guide

So 2014 was another successful year for Paddy Cosgrave and the Web Summit team in Dublin. Having come along way from their first event of around 500 attendees in 2010 this years Summit managed to attract over 22,000 attendees from all over the world!

For some the thoughts of that amount of people in one venue is enough to give you a panic attack and start sweating through your shirt, we know, we were in the thick of it! So to prepare you for next year’s event here’s our stress free guide to get over those dreaded anxiety attacks and sweaty hands allowing you to seal the deal with confidence.

Here is our own Web Summit psychology to prepare you for next year’s big event:

Who, what and where to research!

Use your time leading up to the event to go through the seemingly endless list of – updated attendees posted online. Compile a broad list of people worth researching before gradually narrow it down to those worth contacting. Prior to the Web Summit, email, during the Summit, Tweet, Tweet, Tweet!

Mobile credit and internet.

While you may meet some interesting characters at the RDS, the real networking takes place at night. Ensure you have a way of being able to arrange meeting over a pint . . or a few with potential partners and/or investors. Needless to say with over 22,000 tech savvy attendees in one area, it’s going to be a struggle for some wi-fi signal. The data from your mobile network will be a life saver in this case. If you’re a visitor to Ireland we recommend you buy a prepay sim card for your phone. It’s important to be contactable, the small spend is worth it.

It’s a networking event – not door to door sales.

Although you may be tempted to bring your entire sales team along, armed with their pitch in hand and ready to convert every person you approach or are approached by, the reality is, most attendees aren’t interested in buying from you, but are more interested in what you do and how it can benefit them. The key thing about these sort of events is building relationships you can follow up with at a less frantic stage.

Believe in your own product and others will too.

You’re surrounded by some of the most influential and inspiring people in modern technology, enjoy yourself! Be happy you’re there, be excited about your business plan and the people you meet will too.

It’s a long day and if you’re the nervous type bring a spare t-shirt and deodorant to freshen up throughout (it can get hot in there if you’re not used to it). With a quick change it’s amazing how much this can boost your confidence and get you back onto the playing field.

Warm up to guests.

For some it can be both a daunting and overwhelming experience having person after person jump at every opportunity to tell you about their company or new product. Don’t be the guy whose only function is pitch mode! You’re in Ireland, be more Irish, we love to talk about the weather or recommend the best place to order the perfect Guinness. It doesn’t have to be all business, enjoy the social aspect too, let them ask you about your company, this is where you’ll receive the most honest feedback.

It’s all about the swag . . . and business cards.

We’re not talking about the Justin Bieber kind of swag here (oversized pants hanging by your knees). We’re talking about finding creative ways to stand out. We used brightly coloured yellow hoodies and carried around helium balloons with ‘Ask me about Yellowschedule’ and it worked. For the more interested parties we handed out business cards and USB business cards loaded with our presentation and some PR articles. Unlike the majority of companies who opted for handing out pens, we handed out bottle opener lighters – insert typical Irish joke here – These went down a great success at the night summit!

As the event ends, business begins.

Only trade cards with people you are interested in following up with after. Think of the trees. It’s easy to just give and take cards so relax and ask whether you’ll need this, you don’t want to misplace the more important contacts. Although the Web Summit has ended now is the time to follow up your newly formed contacts and embark on new and exciting relationships.

Online Scheduling for My Wix Website

We’re often asked if YellowSchedule can be embedded into a Wix Website. It works extremely well with Wix and it’s easy to do. Here’s a quick guide on how to get your Online Scheduling Widget onto your Wix website.

Step 1:
When logged into your Wix account, navigate to where you edit your Website. As per the image below, click on ‘Apps’

Step 2:
On the Apps menu, click on the ‘HTML’ option as below.

Step 3:
This will place a small gray box on your website. Double click on this box and the HTML dialogue box will appear. For Mode, please select the ‘HTML code’ option as per the image below.

Step 4:
You’ll need to copy and paste the install code from your YellowSchedule Account into the html field. You’ll find this piece of code in your YellowSchedule Account, under the ‘Bookings Setup’ Tab on the top, and the ‘Install Code’ option on the left hand navigation. Copy the code highlighted in the box below.

Step 5:
Paste this YellowSchedule code into the HTML box as per the image below and click the ‘Update’ button. Your appointment widget will show up on your screen as per the image below. You can simple drag the widget to the correct size and place it where you need it to be on your page.

That’s it, 5 steps and you’re done. Happy Scheduling!

A brief security note on CVE-2014-0160, aka ‘Heartbleed’

We have been working to assess the impact for our customers in the wake of the April 7th’s disclosure of CVE-2014-0160, more commonly known as Heartbleed.

Customers are not directly affected by the bug on YellowSchedule and we have never used the OpenSSL version which exhibits the problem.

But even though you would have not been exposed to the bug through us, unfortunately this issue has affected a large percentage of other online services on the internet. If you use the same password on YellowSchedule as you do for other services then we recommend you change your password. (We always recommend that your password with us is unique and not shared with any other services!)

YellowSchedule win again!

Winner of Most Indispensable Cloud Service for SMEs. Michael Skelly, Martina Skelly (YellowSchedule), Kevin Barry (Telecity Group) and JoanMulvihill (IIA)

We were thrilled to win the award for most indespensable cloud service for SME’s at the prestigious 2013 IIA net visionary awards last Friday.

It was a great opportunity to let the hair down, put on a bright yellow tie and have great craic with the other excited people on our table including the Currency Fair guys (who were deserving winners themselves), the RSM Farrell Grant Sparks guys (including my namesake Michael Shelley!) and Christian from FoneSense.

We’d really like to thank the IIA for putting on such a great show and we’d like to also thank our category sponsors, Telecity Group.

New Group Scheduling & Booking functionality

We’ve regularly been asked for it and now here it is.. our new group scheduling & booking functionality. We’re very excited to be adding this feature which allows users to now schedule a class or group of clients for an event or setup an event and let your clients book directly into that from your website with the easy to use booking widget! Each client will be notified before the event and you will see green/red dots to indicate their attendance.

Group Scheduling showing confirmations and a cancellation. Easily add or remove other contacts.

At the moment we are in final testing of this functionality (current users can click “My Settings” > “Calendar Settings” > “Enable class bookings” to see it) Please use the feedback form to let us know your thoughts on it. We are very interested in feedback on this functionality and are offering a limited number of free accounts to business who would like to help us test this feature.

If you would be interested in trying it for free please give me a shout on michael@YellowSchedule.com telling me:

Your name

Company name

Address (incl Country)

and Email Address,

oh and if it’s not obvious from the company name then please mention what you do too!

Group Scheduling snapshot view showing confirmations and client messaging and replies

Big win at Vodafone Startup Awards!

We were delighted that YellowSchedule were winners in each of the three categories we were nominated for.

Gold in ‘Best Online Startup.

Gold in the ‘Women in Business’.

Silver in the ‘Best Service Startup’.

We were in excellent company, the awards ceremony was great fun and it felt like a good opportunity to let the hair down and enjoy some of the rewards.

2013 Startup Awards – Best Online/Digital Startup – Gold

2013 Startup Awards – Women in Business – Gold