Online booking
A branded journey for choosing a service, checking availability and making or managing a booking, with agreed capacity and cancellation rules.
[Service] Booking & Business Systems
Custom booking and business systems.
Make it easier for customers to book, pay and manage their account, and give your team the tools to manage the work behind it. I design and build systems around your services, your rules and the way your business runs.
- For
- Bookings, classes & memberships
- Approach
- Built around your workflow
- Price
- Fixed quote after discovery
When the admin starts getting in the way.
For studios and service businesses whose everyday work has become a chain of messages, spreadsheets and manual checks.
Bookings happen in your inbox.
Customers message to check a time, staff check a calendar, then someone follows up for payment.
The rules live in someone’s head.
Class credits, membership access and cancellation windows all need checking by hand.
Your records are spread around.
Customer details, bookings and payments sit in different places, making a simple question harder to answer.
We start by reviewing the tools you already use. Sometimes the right answer is a better connection between existing services; sometimes it is a custom system.
Customer journeys. Staff tools. Your rules.
The scope follows what your business needs. These are the building blocks we can bring together.
Customer accounts
A place for customers to see their bookings, manage their details and access the information or services included in their account.
Payments & memberships
Connect an agreed payment provider and define how payments, class packs, membership access and credits work for your business.
Staff administration
Manage schedules, customers and bookings with suitable staff permissions. Reporting, portals and connected workflows can be included where useful.
One connected journey
-
Customer
Choose a class or appointment
-
Your business rules
Check availability, payment or membership
-
Your team
Manage bookings and customer records
Discuss your system
Or call 07958 429676 — a direct line to Shaun.
Development example
A studio booking & membership system.
An anonymous example from my development work: bringing class booking, customer accounts, memberships and staff administration into one branded experience.
The customer
Book and manage a class.
Find a session, use an eligible pack or membership, then view or cancel a booking under the agreed rules.
The business rules
Make access consistent.
Connect class capacity, pack credits, membership eligibility and cancellation windows to the booking journey.
The staff
Manage the work behind it.
Bring schedules, booking records and customer administration into an area for authorised staff.
Built around class capacity, membership allowances and cancellation rules, with customer and staff journeys designed together.
Plan the work.
Then build the system.
You work directly with me, from the first conversation to handover.
Discovery & workflow mapping
Walk through what customers and staff need to do, review the current software and identify the rules, permissions and exceptions.
Agreed scope, quote & milestones
Define the interfaces, integrations and acceptance checks. Assess any migration, including exports, trial imports and the changeover plan, before setting the price and timeline.
Design & build
Design the customer and staff journeys, then build the agreed functionality with review points so you can check it against everyday work.
Acceptance & launch
Check the agreed journeys, permissions and integrations, including failure and cancellation paths where relevant. Complete acceptance and any migration checks before the planned launch.
Handover & ongoing support
Document how the system is managed and provide the agreed staff training and access. Confirm ownership, provider accounts and support responsibilities before launch.
A clear scope.
A fixed build quote.
Scoped individually. Fixed quote after discovery. The price depends on the journeys, business rules, integrations and migration involved. If discovery itself is chargeable, I will state that before it is booked.
Hosting, payment fees and other provider costs are set out separately. Ongoing application support has its own scope and price, agreed around the responsibilities your system needs.
The website care plan covers marketing websites. Support for a system handling bookings, accounts or payments is assessed separately.
Before we start.
A few practical questions about cost, existing software and what happens after launch.
How much does a booking or business system cost?
Each system is scoped individually, with a fixed quote after discovery. The quote separates the build from hosting, payment fees, other provider costs and ongoing application support. If a discovery stage is chargeable, its cost is agreed before it is booked.
How long will the project take?
The timeline is agreed after reviewing the customer and staff journeys, integrations and any data migration. You receive milestones before the build starts. The website-build timeline advertised elsewhere on this site does not apply to a custom business system.
Can it work with my existing website and software?
Often, yes. Discovery looks at what you already use and whether it supports the connections you need. The recommendation may be a custom system, an integration with existing software, or a combination. Any provider limits, access requirements and recurring fees are checked before the scope is agreed.
Can you move existing bookings or members?
Migration is assessed during discovery. We review the available exports, data quality, account and payment restrictions, and what needs to move. The scope then sets out trial imports, checks, responsibilities and the changeover plan. Some records or payment arrangements may need a different approach, which is agreed before the move.
Who owns the system and its accounts?
The project agreement sets out source code and customer data ownership, provider accounts, licences and ongoing access. Handover covers the agreed documentation and staff training, so you know what you control and how the system is managed.
What happens after launch?
Application support is scoped and priced separately, with responsibilities for maintenance, monitoring, backups, incident response and future changes agreed before launch. A system that handles bookings, accounts or payments is assessed separately from the standard website care plan.
Do I need a detailed specification first?
No. Start with what customers need to do, what your team manages today and where the process gets difficult. I map the workflows with you, then turn the agreed requirements into a scope, acceptance checks and a fixed quote.
Start with the way you work
Let’s talk about your system.
Tell me what customers need to do, what your team manages today, and where the current process gets difficult. You don’t need a detailed specification to start.
- Emailshaun.dower@gmail.com
- Phone07958 429676
- StudioStevenage · Hertfordshire
Reply within 24h Taking on new projects