Booking software is a program that lets customers see what is available, book a time and pay online, while the business manages its times, places, payments and customers in one place. It replaces the diary, the inbox and the spreadsheet. Booking software, an online booking system, reservation software and a reservation system are all names for the same thing.
This guide explains how an online booking system works, the main types of booking software, what features to expect and what it usually costs. It is written for small businesses that are new to booking software, such as tour operators, cooking schools, workshop studios and escape rooms.
What is booking software?
Booking software is a tool that takes bookings for you. It shows customers only the times and places that are still free, takes their details and often their payment, confirms the booking straight away, and keeps one up-to-date list of who is coming. The business sets the rules once: what it sells, when, for how many people and at what price.
Most booking software today runs online, as a website or a web app. Customers book on a booking page, and the business uses the same system on a phone or a computer to see and change bookings.
How an online booking system works
You set what you sell, when it runs and how many places each time has. Customers open your booking page, pick a time and pay, and the system holds their places while they pay, so nobody else can take them. It then sends the confirmation, the ticket and a reminder, and on the day you check guests in from one list. Our guide How does an online booking system work? follows one booking through every step.
Booking software, booking system or reservation system?
Each name leans a little differently:
- Booking software is the most common term in product names and reviews.
- Online booking system puts the focus on customers booking online, through a booking page.
- Reservation system and reservation software are more common in hotels, restaurants and travel, and among tour operators in North America.
- Scheduling software usually means appointment booking, where each customer books time with one person.
The main types of booking software
Booking software is built around how a business sells its time. Picking the wrong type is the most common mistake, so start here.
| Type | What customers book | Typical businesses |
|---|---|---|
| Appointment scheduling | Time with one person, at a time they choose | Hairdressers, therapists, consultants, tutors |
| Time slot or activity booking | A place at a start time, shared with others | Tours, classes, workshops, escape rooms, tastings |
| Rental booking | An item for a length of time | Bike, kayak, boat and equipment hire |
| Accommodation booking | Nights in a room or a property | Hotels, guesthouses, holiday rentals |
| Restaurant reservations | A table at a time | Restaurants, bars, cafes |
| Event ticketing | A ticket, often a seat, for a one-off event | Concerts, theatre, conferences |
The difference matters. Appointment software is built around one person's calendar, so it struggles when twelve guests share one start time. Event ticketing is built for one-off dates and seat maps, so it struggles with a tour that runs every day. Time slot booking software is built for exactly that: the same activity, at set times, with a number of places each time. Our guide to the online ticket booking system shows how ticketing works for time slots.
TicketPa is time slot booking software, for tours, classes, workshops, escape rooms, boat trips and tastings.
What booking software does for a small business
- Takes bookings while you sleep. Customers book at 11pm on a Sunday, without waiting for a reply.
- Stops double bookings. The system counts the places on every time and never sells more.
- Gets you paid. Customers pay online when they book, or the system records what is still to collect on the day.
- Cuts no-shows. Automatic reminders and payment at booking mean fewer empty places. Our guide to reducing no-shows shows which settings help most.
- Saves admin. No copying bookings from messages into a spreadsheet, and no working out refunds by hand.
- Shows how the business is doing. Reports turn bookings into numbers you can act on, such as your busiest times and your best-selling activity.
Our guide to the benefits of an online booking system goes through ten of them, with the downsides and how to handle them.
Features to expect in booking software
Most booking systems for time slot businesses include:
- A booking page with live availability, which works well on phones.
- An availability calendar where you set schedules, change capacity and close dates.
- Ticket types and extras, such as adult and child tickets, private groups and paid add-ons.
- Payments, online by card and on arrival, with refunds.
- Automatic emails: confirmations with a ticket, reminders and change notices.
- Cancellation rules that decide refunds automatically.
- A guest list and check-in for every time, ideally with QR tickets you scan with a phone.
- Team access, with different rights for owners, managers and staff.
- Reports and exports of bookings and money.
- A way onto your website, such as a Book now button.
Larger systems add channel managers that connect to online travel agencies, gift vouchers, resellers and multi-language booking pages. Our guide on how to choose booking software has ten questions to sort what you need from what is nice to have.
Do you need booking software?
You probably do if two or more of these sound familiar:
- You answer the same "is there space on Saturday?" message several times a day.
- You have double-booked a time, or turned guests away by mistake.
- You chase payments, or forget who has paid.
- Guests book and then don't turn up.
- Your team needs your phone or your spreadsheet to know who is coming.
- You can't say which activity or which day earns the most.
If you take a handful of bookings a month, a shared calendar and a payment link may be enough. Once bookings arrive every day, booking software usually pays for itself in time saved alone.
How much does booking software cost?
Booking software is usually priced in one of four ways: a monthly subscription, a fee per booking, a fee charged to your customers, or a mix of a subscription and a smaller booking fee. Plans for small businesses commonly start between €10 and €50 a month, and card fees are charged on top by the payment provider. Our guide to booking software cost compares the models with real examples.
TicketPa, for example, costs from €19 a month, plus a small fee only on bookings paid online. Bookings paid on arrival carry no fee. See pricing.
How TicketPa fits
TicketPa is online booking software for small businesses that sell time slots. You get your own booking page, schedules that fill your calendar months ahead, tickets, private groups and extras, payments online or on arrival, QR tickets and reminders, guest self-service changes, mobile check-in and reports, all in the browser. See every feature, or start with the page for your kind of activity from the homepage.
