When someone calls and you can’t pick up, the call goes to one of our receptionists, who opens your diary and books, reschedules or cancels the appointment on the spot. We work directly inside the scheduling software you already run, including Cliniko, Semble, Acuity Scheduling, Calendly, Setmore, Square Appointments and Timely. There’s no separate diary to keep and no double-handling afterwards.
Table of contents
TL;DR
Most small businesses already run their bookings through one of a handful of platforms. The missed call itself usually isn’t the problem – it’s what happens next. A voicemail that doesn’t get returned in time. A booking that has to be re-entered by hand once someone’s back at their desk. A first-time caller who tries once, doesn’t get through and doesn’t call back. ReceptionHQ’s answering services for appointment booking solves this, with all diary management – including rescheduling and cancellations – handled in the software you already use.
Bookings over the phone in the software you already use
Our appointment scheduling service plugs straight into the tools listed below, so a call becomes a confirmed booking in your diary, not a message waiting for someone to action.
Cliniko
appointment booking for clinics and allied health practices
Cliniko is widely used across allied health – physiotherapists, chiropractors, podiatrists, osteopaths, dietitians, counsellors and therapists, and a growing number of skin and aesthetics clinics all run their diary, patient notes and invoicing through it. We book, reschedule and cancel appointments directly in your Cliniko diary, following whatever policies and cancellation rules you’ve already set up.
Semble
appointment booking for private clinics and clinician-led practices
Semble is an electronic health record and practice management platform built for private healthcare teams – GPs, private clinics, and clinician-led practices, including medical aesthetics providers who need proper clinical documentation alongside their diary. It’s a different category to the calendar tools below: closer to a patient record system than a simple booking calendar, so it tends to suit clinician-led practices rather than general beauty salons. We handle appointment scheduling directly in Semble the same way we do in Cliniko.
Acuity Scheduling
flexible APPOINTMENT booking for salons and consultants
Acuity suits businesses with varied appointment types and add-ons – hair and beauty salons, coaches, consultants, tutors, and massage or wellness practitioners. We can book the correct appointment type and length, take a deposit where you require one, and confirm or reschedule bookings directly in your Acuity calendar.
Calendly
appointment booking for meetings and consultations
Calendly tends to suit meeting-style bookings rather than a clinic-style diary – consultants, recruiters, sales teams and estate agents commonly use it to fill a calendar rather than manage patient or client appointments. We can find the next available slot in the right calendar and confirm the details before the caller hangs up.
Setmore
Simple APPOINTMENT scheduling for small teams
Setmore is popular with small salons, spas, barbers, personal trainers and trades businesses, many of which started on its free plan. We can book, reschedule and cancel appointments in Setmore, and step in as overflow cover when your team’s hands are full with clients.
Square Appointments
appointment booking alongside in-person payments
Square Appointments suits hair and beauty salons, barbershops and fitness studios that already take payments through Square in person. We handle the booking itself – checking availability, confirming the appointment type and adding it to your Square calendar – while payment continues to happen the way it already does, in person on the day.
Timely
appointment booking built for salons and spas
Timely is aimed squarely at the salon and spa sector – hairdressers, beauty salons, day spas, nail salons and skin and aesthetics clinics. We can book, move and cancel appointments in the same diary your stylists or therapists already work from, including matching clients to the right practitioner where that matters.
What to look for in a appointment booking call answering service
If you’re outsourcing call answering and appointment booking is a priority for your business, here’s a few things to look out for:
- UK-based receptionists who answer during business hours and sound like part of your team
- Availability around the clock, with overflow and after-hours calls covered by the wider team
- Fast answering, within a few rings, so callers aren’t left waiting
- Message delivery by email, SMS or WhatsApp, so you can pick up anything important
- No long-term contract, so you only pay for the cover you need
How to get started
You’ll need a MyDiary plan (from £30 per month, plus VAT) and an account with the relevant scheduling software, with access set up for our team. From there we’ll work through your appointment types and any questions callers commonly ask.
If your booking software isn’t listed here, check our integrations page or get in touch – we support a wide range of scheduling and practice management tools, and can usually work with what you’ve already got. Even where we don’t connect directly to your diary, if your system has an online booking page we can usually take bookings through that instead – many of our appointment scheduling clients already work with us this way.
Frequently asked questions
What if my booking software isn't listed here?
We often can still help. If your system has an online booking page, we can usually take bookings through that rather than connecting directly to your diary – this is how many of our appointment scheduling clients already work with us.
Is appointment scheduling included in every ReceptionHQ answering service plan?
No. Appointment scheduling and diary management are part of our MyDiary plan, from £30 a month plus VAT. Our other plans cover message-taking and call answering without diary access.
How long does it take to set up a call answering service for appointment booking?
Once you've got a MyDiary plan and granted our team access to your booking software, most accounts are live in a matter of minutes.
Will callers know they're speaking to an outsourced receptionist?
Our receptionists answer in your business name and follow the instructions you set in our client portal, so most callers experience it as speaking directly with your business.
