July Newsletter: Hot SimplyBook.me News for a Scorching Summer

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Wow! July is over, and a scorching one it’s been too – not just here in Cyprus, but in many places across the northern hemisphere. While we are in our slowest period of the year, we have been tackling feature enhancements, improvements in our service, and preparing for new product releases in September.

July has been a month of cleaning house, tidying up loose ends, and coming back refreshed.

As the Simply family grows, so too must the teams behind it. So this summer sees us welcoming new support staff, new developers and a new graphic designer and getting them up to speed with the SimplyBook.me method of working.

By the time everyone is back into work mode, the new starters should be raring to go on the new growth roadmap for SimplyBook.me (and SimplyMeet.me) – you’ll see them soon enough on the team page.

What’s the July News?

While July has seen a slow down in new releases, we have made some fantastic enhancements to the way your SimplyBook.me system works for you. Those little things that make life a little easier, the business run a little smoother and let you have a few more details you didn’t realise you needed.

User SEO enhancements & Facebook meta tag

We know from experience that the most crucial SEO to be found is good link names, Title tags and meta description. 

Users can find these settings in the company settings interface (where they insert company name, description, etc.)

Previously we had only custom link names, and now we’ve added: Title tag, Meta description (up to 600 chars). For example, if users don’t change it, we have the main page title [*CompanyName | Scheduling and Booking Website]. However, now users can change their title tag to [“Scheduling…”].

In addition, now users can verify SimplyBook.me booking sites to advertise on Facebook. We’ve added a field so users can add their tag and confirm it. You can find out more here.

Custom Email Templates

We had so many requests for cloning existing email templates, so we decided to enable the ability to do it yourself.

If you have created a custom template for your emails, and you need to make minor changes to make it appropriate for different notifications and messages, you don’t want to recreate the whole thing to make a little change.

Now it is possible to clone an existing template and simply tweak the bits you need to.

Intake Forms & Invoicing Enhancements

We’ve had a lot of requests for the ability to add extra information to the invoice. Some countries require additional information by law, while others just want to ensure they list all the pertinent details on the invoice. For example, it is necessary to display the client’s VAT number in the invoice in Italy. 

Now users can specify which custom fields and intake forms answers will show on the invoice. 

Direct Google Meet links 

A lot of people have been asking to be able to use Google Meet for remote online appointments. As an enhancement to the calendar sync feature with Google calendars, it is now possible to invite clients to a Google Meet appointment.

Google Meet links will be created with a simple checkbox in the calendar sync feature that user tick if they want a Meet appointment making for that booking.

Individual banner for Client APP

If you want to customise your client app for the easy recognition of your clients, you can now create custom banners and logos for your app. It makes it a lot easier for your app users to find a recognisable logo on their smartphone screens. It enhances your brand identity too.

Enhancements in Weekly slots timeline

When your booking website shows the slots available for the week (weekly slots timeline type), we have enhanced this feature to remove weekdays that have already passed. For example, today is Friday, so Mon, Tues, Weds & Thurs would not show on the week’s display. Clients would only see Fri & Sun (closed on Sat).

Multiple options are available in the configuration of the weekly slots timeline you can enable or disable with the defined checkboxes.

Choose the options that fit your timeline requirements.

Coming Up

So that was July…

The following features and improvements are due for release in late August or September – we’ve had to let the developers take some vacation time for their summer holidays. Given the lack of travel options last year, it only seemed fair that we let them go this year.

The Waiting List Feature

I know this feature has been long-awaited by many of you. After pausing for a while due to compatibility issues with other functionality, the concept has been redesigned. From a different perspective, it is now on its way to completion. 

As the waiting list has to integrate with so many different aspects of the SimplyBook.me platform, it takes some time to iron out all of the bugs. It is currently entering another round of testing, and we are hoping for all the kinks to be ironed out by September. You wouldn’t want a waiting list the didn’t work with the features, would you?

New Navigation for Admin Interface

One of our most common feedback comments is that the interface is not so easy to navigate. After analysing feedback from our users, we have begun redesigning and restructuring the admin interface navigation. This is to make the interface more intuitive and easier to use. As this is a huge undertaking, these enhancements will be released shortly after each aspect is completed.

Security Enhancements

These features are all in the testing phase and should be ready very soon to keep your data and your clients’ safe.

• “Log out from all devices” functionality  – Each user session will be stored separately, and an admin can end sessions individually or all together with a single click. There will also be an “auto-log-out option after a predefined idle interval added to the security custom feature. 
• If 2FA is enabled and set, we need a one-time security code (GA or SMS) when the user changes their password, email, or access level. In response to the OWASP recommendations. 

Every few years, OWASP revises its list of the top 10 web application security vulnerabilities. Their list includes the OWASP top ten threats and the potential impact of each exposure, and how to avoid them. Check out the most recent one here.

Google reviews widget

Coming soon is the ability to show your Google reviews on your booking page. Some customers have said they want to display reviews from other sources, so Google is the first on the list.

Users will display a button on their booking pages to “See Google Reviews” with this feature enabled. A Google-native widget will pop up showing reviews collected on the company’s Google Business Profile.

Google Drive Upload Feature

If you’ve been waiting to have clients upload documents, we have the first option available coming soon. Upload to Google Drive is under development now.

Right now, we have the Intake Forms feature that allows users to collect pertinent data for their clients per booking. However, sometimes users must upload documents (scans of supporting documents, signed release forms, etc.). This new plugin will allow a client to upload documents to a booking for access by the company.

The uploaded documents will either connect to a client record or a specific booking. For example, a client might upload a driver’s licence scan to use a dune buggy. This would connect to the client record. However, they might have to sign and upload an insurance form for the specific booking. All documents will be accessible from the client history and booking details. For increased security and client data protection, you’ll be able to restrict document access to admin and senior roles.

In case you missed it in July…

In July, we’ve had some interesting articles from experts in their field share their knowledge.  We have also released and explained some updates and enhancements to the SimplyBook.me system.

Guest posts

Our latest guest post from Sheikh Adil talks about looking into your clients’ minds and using the information you know about them to create the best possible customer experience. 

Staff scheduling can be difficult, but somehow you really can’t see the benefits of using staff scheduling software. If you are still thinking about whether it’s worth investing, Alexey Kutsenko has the information for you on the five major benefits of staff scheduling software.

One of my favourite articles this month is from Marcus Beilin. If writing advertising copy is not your strong suit, he has some fabulous tips on letting AI write high-converting copy for you.

Hailey Lucas has given us the lowdown on how to increase email opt-in for your blog, and Kate Parish has five tricks to help you grow online appointment booking numbers.

If you’re looking at developing a regular newsletter for your regular clients, you might want to accept a little advice from Andrian Valeanu at DesignModo. Andrian has provided a complete guide to creating a successful company newsletter.

Case Studies & What our Clients Say

Did you see the case study on Blue Spinach? A white glove resale by consignment and retail company that has been in business since 1996 – and still going from strength to strength. Blue Spinach has used the COVID situation to take their business online and create shopping experiences in their showroom while also employing a complete eCommerce business at the same time. We love their business model and how they have used SimplyBook.me to streamline their booking process.

System Updates & Enhancements

If you didn’t already see the links above, we have the full lowdown on using Google Meet with the Calendar Sync feature. We also detailed some of the ways that a SimplyBook.me system can help you improve your SEO.

Advice & Tutorials

Have you ever wondered how to pitch an introductory offer that will make clients want to come back time and again? We looked at some tried and tested intro offers that frequently lead to increased customer retention rather than significant churn.

We also had a talk with the head of our support team about the representatives who take care of all your support queries via Live Chat. Thomas shared some of the incredible feedback that our support team have received in July alone. He also detailed some of the most common and easy fixes that come across on the live chat discussions – Check them out!