Free booking systems: what you pay for anyway

01Why anything is free at all

Running a booking system costs money:servers, developers, support, emails and SMS. If users don't pay for it directly, the company earns in another way. There is nothing wrong with that, but it is worth knowing exactly how, because it decides what the system really costs you.

Free systems usually earn in one or more of these ways:

• they take a commission on clients they bring through their platform;
• they put important features behind a paid plan;
• they take a larger cut of card payments;
• they show other businesses on your page or on their platform.

02Commission on new clients

Some systems are also marketplaces: clients browse services there, and the platform takes a share of the price for each new client it brings. That sounds fair, and sometimes it is. But look at the details:

• Who counts as a “new” client?Sometimes a client who found you on Instagram but booked through the platform's app counts as the platform's client.
• Is the commission only on the first visit? Or on later ones too?
• What does the client see next to you? On a marketplace, other professionals nearby sit right next to your profile.

Example: if a platform takes 20% of a new client's first €50 visit, that is €10 per such client. Ten new clients a month means €100 a month that never shows up as a “subscription fee”.

03Features that turn out to be paid

A free plan often works only as long as you need nothing beyond the basics. Check whether these are free:

• reminders for clients before the visit (email and SMS);
• a deposit or prepayment for when clients don't show up;
• a second specialist, if there are several of you;
• removing the system's logo from your page;
• exporting your client list.

Look especially at per-specialist fees. While you work alone, you don't feel them. When a second and a third person join, the bill grows with them.

04Card payment fees

When clients pay by card online, someone takes a share of every payment. Part of it is the bank's or payment processor's fee, which everyone pays. The system itself may add another part.

So don't compare whether a system “takes a commission”. Compare how much, in percent and fixed fees, you pay in total on each €50 payment. Small differences across a few hundred payments a year turn into real money.

05Who owns your client list

This is the question asked least often, and it is the most important one. Ask or check:

• Can you download all your clients with their contacts in one file?
• Does the system itself advertise other businesses to your clients?
• What happens to your data if you stop using the system?

If you can't leave without losing your clients, you are effectively paying with your freedom to choose. It isn't on any invoice, but it shows up the day you want to switch.

06Your time and your language

Time is a cost too. A system in a language you don't work in, where you have to hunt for how to set up a service, and support that replies two days later in a chat window, takes hours you could spend with clients.

Language matters to clients as well. A booking page in their own language, with familiar dates and clear notifications, is simpler than a translated one.

07What a small business really needs from a system

Before comparing prices, decide what you can't do without. For a small business this is usually enough, and everything else is extra:

• clients book themselves through one link, including on their phone;
• a reminder for the client before the visit;
• the option to ask at least new clients for a deposit;
• a client list with contacts, history and notes;
• clients can cancel or move their visit themselves;
• exporting your client list.

If a system gives you all of this with no extra fees, compare only price and ease of use from there. If something is missing, sooner or later it will cost you time.

08How to compare fairly

Take one typical month and add up everything you would pay:

1. The monthly fee for the plan you really need, not just the free plan.
2. Per-specialist fees, if there are several of you.
3. Commission on new clients, if there is any.
4. Card payment fees on your typical turnover.
5. SMS and other extras.

Then compare the totals and what you get for them. Sometimes the free system really is the cheapest. Sometimes a €19-a-month system turns out cheaper than a “free” one after just a few new clients.

09A five-minute test before you switch

During the trial, do this before you give the link to clients:

1. Book yourself as a client from your own phone. How many steps does it take? Is everything clear?
2. Look at the confirmation email. Does it have the time, the address and a link to cancel?
3. Cancel the visit as a client. Can you do it without a phone call?
4. Export the client list. Does it work, and are the contacts in the file?
5. Ask support a question. How fast do they reply, and in which language?

This test tells you more than any price table, because it shows how the system works day to day.

10How RINDIQ does it

RINDIQ isn't free, and we don't hide it. There is a 14-day trial with no card needed, then plans at €19, €35 and €59 a month. The price is per plan, not per specialist, and there is no commission on clients, because RINDIQ isn't a marketplace where your clients see other professionals.

When clients pay by card, a small platform fee and Stripe's processing fee are taken from the payment. You can export your client list to a file (on the Professional plan and up), and a real person answers your questions.

What to do when clients still don't show up: A client didn't show up. What it costs you and how a deposit prevents it.