February Newsletter: Continuous Development & Responding to User Feedback

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Wow! What a February. While we have a few cool updates to the Simplybook.me system, nothing compares to the events surrounding the conflict in Eastern Europe that have erupted at the end of the month. While we all hope for a peaceful resolution and an end to the conflict between Russia and Ukraine, all we can do is hope for the safety of our colleagues and their families and support them however we can.

Yet, with all of this happening, our devs have been working hard to develop existing features, implement user feedback requests, and develop cool new features.

So what have the devs been up to this February to enhance and develop the SimplyBook.me scheduling system?

New In February

QR login in the admin app

For easy log in with the admin app on a user’s phone, we’ve created a QR code that users can scan to automatically login to the mobile admin app.

If the user is logged in to his account in the admin application on their phone and opens the login page in the desktop browser, there will be a unique QR code in the desktop browser. They can scan this code with the scanning option in the SimplyBook.me app and automatically log in with the same user in the desktop browser.

Edit: – Unfortunately there has been a delay in the release of this feature. It should happen very soon.

In the meantime, this is how it will look.

2-factor authentication (2-FA) enhancements

Some actions on the SimplyBook.me system require the 2-factor authentication feature for confirmation for added data security. 

It makes sense that some options in the account related to personal data to account access require a higher level of security than others.

Examples of account actions requiring additional authentication include changing passwords, disabling the Google Authenticator feature and altering the HIPAA feature. 

If passwords become compromised, you don’t want just anyone to be able to change them without proper authorisation. Additional security measures are particularly important when dealing with patient data protection. 

Viewing and Closing User Sessions

When you open your desktop application and log in on the “Welcome ” page, you will be able to see some fundamental elements of your account on the right side of the screen. At the bottom of that list is a session heading.

If you click on the session link, it will bring up a pop-up screen with a list of active and inactive open sessions. You can close idle sessions leaving only the active ones open. 

This is crucial when configuring different features as these will often open in multiple windows. It’s important to ensure you always set up and configure your booking page on active sessions. Otherwise, you might lose the data you intended to save.

Scheduled for March

Telegram alternative to SMS for USA

Many SMS gateways do not deliver security codes when users try to use two-factor authentication to log in. Most notably, with the HIPAA custom feature or an alternative to Google Authenticator.
Consequently, we need an alternative option to set up notifications for security codes through another medium. Soon we will have enabled the ability to set up notifications for security codes via the Telegram bot.

Users will need to enable the Telegram notifications custom feature to use this alternative method of receiving security notifications.

New Templates for Custom Email Feature

Our designers and HTML coders have been working on new ready-to-use templates for the custom email design feature in response to user requests.

These beautiful new templates will expand the current selection and are based on different occasions, business categories and promotional intent.
Moreover, just as before, these ready to use templates are also fully customisable to your company branding.

These new templates are currently in testing and should be with us soon. There are quite a few, so it might take a while to test them all.

Cloud Fields Support in Admin App

What’s the point of having Google Translate language selections when it doesn’t display on button widgets? Unfortunately, that is what has been happening to some people.

After the latest fixes have been tested – it’s happening now – the language selection bar will display on the button widget, and there will also be a fix for the appearance and aesthetic.

We really hope this will be useful to you; it’s definitely important to us. So far, the file uploader for client fields and intake forms is only useable when working on a desktop browser – it’s not available via the mobile admin app.

Currently in development, the newest version of our mobile admin app will enable uploading and accessing uploaded cloud files, even when working on a mobile device. So you will still have access to all the necessary information, even when you are on the go.

In case you missed it in February

We’ve had an exciting mix of guest posters this month. Stuart Cooke had some fascinating insight into the five social media platforms to leverage for 2022. Meanwhile, Sam O’Brien had some valuable advice on how to improve your affiliate marketing with video content – really interesting stuff. However, Emily Rollwitz had some super helpful information about how A/B testing can help you to fill up your booking calendar, and who doesn’t want that?

In case you missed it in February

We’ve had an exciting mix of guest posters this month. Stuart Cooke had some fascinating insight into the five social media platforms to leverage for 2022. Meanwhile, Sam O’Brien had some valuable advice on how to improve your affiliate marketing with video content – really interesting stuff. However, Emily Rollwitz had some super helpful information about how A/B testing can help you to fill up your booking calendar; and who doesn’t want that?

Maybe it’s business tips and advice that excite you. In that case, you might want to check out the ten steps to building an effective marketing funnel for a consultancy or the six things you really ought to know before starting a counselling business. If neither of those does it for you, you could try looking at a bit of competition beating advice to challenge even your fiercest rivals.

Alternatively, if it’s system information you seek this month, think about how group bookings could boost your income stream and grow your client base. You know not all of your services have to be 1-2-1. 

Well, that’s all for February, but it’s a short month. 

I’m sure we can all hope for peace and resolution the next time our newsletter comes around.  

“The most shocking fact about war is that its victims and its instruments are individual human beings, and that these individual beings are condemned by the monstrous conventions of politics to murder or be murdered in quarrels not their own.”

-Aldous Huxley.