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How to choose a booking system: eight criteria
In short
When you choose a booking system, eight questions are worth asking. What is the full monthly cost, including VAT, SMS and transaction fees? How does it count team members? Does it handle your services, for example different durations, a break between clients and group classes? What notifications does it send, and in which plan? Is there a commission or a marketplace? Where is client data stored, and can you export it? Who do you ask for help if you get stuck? And can you try it without risk, with your own services?
Do not compare the list prices, but the full cost of an average month. Write down your three most complicated booking cases, and try each of them in every system. Before you decide, book an appointment with yourself from your phone: what you see there is what your clients see. If you work alone and have few bookings a month, a free plan with no time limit may be enough. If you have a team, or want to send reminders, look among the plans with a fixed monthly fee. Finally, check how you get your client list back if you ever switch.
Before you start: write down what you need
Half an hour of preparation saves a lot of trial and error. Write down on a sheet of paper:
- how many of you work, and how many you expect to be in a year;
- how many services you have, and how long the longest and the shortest are;
- whether you have group classes or appointments that take several clients at once;
- how many bookings you have in an average month;
- where your clients come from: Instagram, Google, recommendations, regulars;
- whether you are exempt from VAT, because VAT changes the prices.
With this list you can go through the eight criteria quickly, and the difference between two systems shows in numbers.
1. What is the full monthly cost?
Add up the monthly fee, the VAT, the fee per team member, the SMS and the transaction fees for an average month. Only then does it make sense to compare the list prices of two systems.
Also check the discount for paying yearly. If you are sure of your choice, the yearly fee is usually cheaper, but in the first months it is worth starting with a monthly fee until you see whether it works for you.
2. How does it count team members?
In some systems you pay per team member; in others each plan comes with a limit. If you want to grow, also work out the fee with next year’s team size.
3. Does it handle your services?
Different durations, a break between two clients, several services in one booking, group classes. Write down your three most complicated cases, and try them.
In a hair salon this may be colouring with processing time; in massage, the cleaning between treatments; in court rental, the double hour. If the system can only handle these with tricks, a lot of manual correcting awaits you on ordinary days.
4. What notifications does it send?
Email or SMS, confirmation and reminder, and which plan they come with. Most systems bill SMS separately.
5. Is there a commission or a marketplace?
A marketplace can bring new clients, but there the client sees you next to your competitors, and a commission may be charged on the clients it brings. Decide which matters more.
If most of your clients are regulars or come from recommendations, the marketplace gives less than it costs. If you are just starting and have no clients yet, the visibility may be worth more.
6. Where is the client data?
You are the controller of the client data; the software is a processor. Ask where the data is stored, whether there is a data processing agreement, and whether you can export your bookings.
You are not asking this out of politeness. Under Article 28 of the GDPR, a controller may only use a processor that provides sufficient guarantees, and the processing must be governed by a contract. In Hungary the supervisory authority is the Hungarian National Authority for Data Protection and Freedom of Information (NAIH); its website also has guidance for controllers.
7. Who do you ask for help?
Support and a contract in a language you understand. If something does not work on a Saturday morning, you need to know who to write to.
8. Can you try it without risk?
The best test is a week of real use with your own services. Look at what the client sees on their phone, and how long it takes to add a booking by hand.
Common mistakes when choosing
- You only look at the list price. SMS, commission and VAT together can cost more than the monthly fee.
- You only try the dashboard. The client sees the booking page, on a phone, in a hurry. If they get stuck there, they would rather call you, or go elsewhere.
- You pay for too many features. If you work alone, you do not need a plan for several team members. Start small, and switch when you need to.
- You do not check how to leave. Before you trust a system with your client list, check how you get it back.
How to switch from your old method
If you have used a paper diary, Messenger or the phone until now, do not switch in one day. First add your services and opening hours, then the appointments already arranged, by hand. Then put the link on your Instagram profile and your Google Business Profile, and tell your regular clients.
In the first weeks, phone bookings will still come. Put these into the system too, so you see your day in one place, and there are no double bookings.
Where does FoglalGo stand on this?
A fixed monthly fee in forints, with no VAT and no commission, and a Start plan for HUF 0, with no time limit. Pro is HUF 3,990 a month or HUF 39,900 a year, with up to 3 team members; Business is HUF 5,990 a month or HUF 59,900 a year, with unlimited team members. Email notifications, no SMS. An active database tied to an EU data location, a public data processing agreement, CSV export. The comparison with other systems is on our comparison pages.
Sources
- Regulation (EU) 2016/679 (GDPR), Hungarian text, EUR-Lex: the processor: Article 28
- Hungarian National Authority for Data Protection and Freedom of Information (NAIH): the Hungarian supervisory authority
Last checked: 12 October 2026