Welcome to The OpenCal Blog!

We’re getting closer to launch and so it’s time to get The OpenCal Blog rolling. We plan to cover a range of interesting subjects - small business strategy, online marketing techniques, the importance of design, interviews, new technology, and more. As this is the first post, we’re going to take some time to introduce ourselves and our premier product, OpenCal online appointment booking software made for service business.

Introducing OpenCal

In early 2009, we thought to ourselves “Hey, it’s 2009, we don’t have flying cars yet!” … Then we thought “We have the internet, why can’t we book our appointments online yet?”

And that was the start of a journey to build the best online appointment booking experience for business owners and their clients. OpenCal is built for service-based businesses (health & beauty providers, consultants, freelancers, designers, photographers, accountants, tutors, anyone who “sells their time”) to offer online appointment booking to their clients, simplify their business workflow, attract more clients, and make more money. If you take appointments, here are some reasons why you should consider OpenCal.

The benefits

You’re business is always open – Your customers will love the convenience of booking appointments online. It’s simple, faster than a phone call, and they can book with you 24/7, whether you’re open or not. You’ll attract new customers and keep your existing ones happy.

It’s a great way to promote your business online – The Book Online Now! button will convert more of your website visitors into real customers with a clear “call to action” on your website. If you don’t have a website, we include a free mini-website.

It’s better than an appointment book – Appointment management is as easy as drag-and-drop with OpenCal’s intuitive calendar, and because it’s online, it’s accessible by multiple people and always up to date. Everyone stays in sync.

Keep track of clients – Keeping track of all your clients is simple with the integrated contact manager. View appointment history, add notes, search for clients, update info and send timely marketing offers. It’s a great way to use data to optimize your online marketing effort and cater to your customer’s preferences.

Appointment notifications and reminders – Reduce no-shows and keep everyone in sync with automatic email notifications and reminders. No more phone tag! The time savings is huge.

Fast, flexible, and easy-to-use – As usability specialists, we designed OpenCal to be fast and super easy to use, but behind the simple interface is powerful functionality and a depth of options to customize OpenCal to your business workflow. Whether you’re self-employed or a busy multi-staff shop, whether you provide services in house or at your customer’s location, OpenCal is the best way to receive and manage your appointments.

OpenCal pays for itself in efficiency and new business – As business owners, we know anything that can save you time or increase revenue is a big plus. With plans start from only $19/mo, it will quickly pay for itself many times over in time saved and new online customers booked.

What makes OpenCal different

In the age of the iPhone, iPad, the internet, and ever improving technology, it’s not enough to just produce another average service. People today spend time online managing their bank accounts, booking travel, doing work, communicating with friends, researching businesses – and they expect a positive experience from it all. With the short attention span of online users, good design will make a difference in whether someone decides to become your customer or not.

The user experience for your customers, and the professionalism your service conveys through design is an integral part of your brand, and it’s as important to your business as your store design, your presentation, or the quality of your work.

“The details are not the details. They make the design.”- Charles Eames

When we looked at all the existing online appointment booking software options out there, we found nothing that really nailed the simplicity of use for the business owner, and a great user experience for their customers. So when we designed OpenCal we kept you, the business owner, and your customers in mind. In fact, we spent several months experimenting with different designs, refining and simplifying, obsessing about the details, before we even started a single line of code. This attention to detail directly translates to less frustration, more time savings, and more happy customers for you. We hope you enjoy using it as much as we enjoyed building it. And remember, this is just the start, we plan to relentlessly improve OpenCal to make it the best online appointment booking system for your business.

Meet the team

OpenCal was founded by Simon Vallee and Arash Shiva in 2009, two guys that love designing, technology, and adding value for business owners.

Irimia Suleapa is the lead developer and the 001001111001 guy behind OpenCal.

Darren Negraeff is the marketing director. He loves design and thinking about how ideas spread.

OpenCal is based in beautiful Vancouver BC, Canada.

Try if for yourself!

OpenCal’s online appointment software will launch shortly, but if you are a business that takes appointments, we’d love to hear your feedback.

Signup for a pre-release invite to start using OpenCal for your business.

See you next time!

P.S. Thanks to all the patient people that helped make OpenCal possible, and thanks to Mike Roh for our blog header graphic.