Going Paperless: 4 Proven Reasons Why Your Appointment Based Small Business Should Digitize

Going digital has many benefits but it does require you to do some work in order to make it happen. That being said, the work you put into digitizing your business and going paperless is worth it in the end.

But for many, the big question still remains….

Why should my appointment based small business go paperless?

What difference will it make to the way I operate my small business?

And while the answers to the questions mentioned above may seem very straightforward— given how much we depend on technology each day— many small businesses still choose to operate the old-school, pen and paper way.

Here are four proven reasons as to why your appointment based business such as spa, salon, barbershop or wellness business should ditch the paper and digitalize like so many others. 

Your Efficiency & Productivity Levels Will Go Up

By digitizing and going paperless your appointment based small business will limit everyday tasks such as signing documents online, or maintaining client records. Imagine spending hours having to sift through various cabinets looking for client information in the hope that the person who stored the files, had stored them in the right place, to begin with!

Having a staff that’s engaged with the business is obviously essential. But instead of them spending hours on admin related tasks and paperwork, you’d want them to spend time looking after your clients and delivering top-notch service and business experience. 

The truth is that If they’re focused on their job, their efficiency and productivity levels are bound to go up as a result.

When you’re automating and digitizing your processes and documents, you’re not only helping your staff save time but also helping them access and retrieve client information sooner.

Being able to access documents on the go is equally important but unless they are digitized, you can’t access them at your convenience. I can feel the agony of it and the hours wasted as I write this. Digital documents can help cut down on the time spent. This means that your staff can get onto the next task in hand quickly.

You’ll See An Increase In Profits

Profits are essential elements of growth, whether you operate a spa, salon, barbershop, or wellness business or a similar appointment-based business—and the more you can do to increase them, the better.

But how does going paperless and digitizing your business help do that?

Well, as you start to spend a lot less on resources, you’ll widen the margin between what you spend on your business and what you get back in profits. The less you take out from your profit, the more you save right?

It may not seem so, but the cost of a traditional pen and paper method of running a business is huge. Many small business entrepreneurs don’t realise the cost involved with maintaining records, the cost of printing out receipts, the additional costs of buying the right printer and the ink needed. Moreover it’s the expense of replacing those printers or fixing them when they break down as well as replenishing the ink on a regular basis that add to the costs. Also don’t forget the cost of having to file and store the documents, especially if you want to store them off-site when you run out of room on your business premises.

There’s also the security aspect of using paper too. Documents that are confidential or contain sensitive information, need to be destroyed in the right manner and that costs money too. As mentioned by Square9, you could be spending around $80 a year per employee on paper supplies and all the costs that come with it. That can soon add up to a terrifying amount, which is all coming off your profit.

The money that’s saved can go into other areas of the business growth. For example it can go into training your staff, buying new product inventory or simply adding the profits to your expansion kitty.

Your Clients Will Be Happier – YES!

Keeping your clients happy is just as important as anything else within your business. Going paperless reduces frustration for clients who do not want to waste time filling out long paper forms before a service.

Not only do you make your work processes a lot more efficient but you also speed up the process of your customer service. Any new client profiles or setting up of accounts could usually take time but with a digital platform or system, filling out an onboarding form takes a matter of minutes. In a world where time is of the essence—and money of course—there are lots of benefits that can come with going paperless for your clients, especially when you operate an appointment-based business such a spa, salon, barbershop, or wellness center. 

That’s why your business might benefit from a CRM because it means everything can be in one place. It helps you cater to your clients to avoid mistakes from occurring. With businesses that are handling a lot of client information—such as a spa or barbershop, a CRM can help source that client’s information quickly and easily. 

It can help business owners like you to update their profile where needed and to also look back on previous purchases they may have made. This can all help to tailor their experiences with you next time and to help encourage more re-bookings in the future.

When your clients are happy, they have no reason to look elsewhere, and the more reasons you can give for them to stay with you, the better. With your clients, security and safety can often be important when it comes to handling their personal data. Electronic data feels a lot more secure than having a document simply lying around where anyone might be able to pick it up.

That being said it is equally important to ensure that you have the right security measures in place to avoid that data falling into the wrong hands. Having an HTTPS-enabled site is one example. Partnering with a PCI-compliant partner is another.

However, with technology being so advanced and security getting more hacker-proof, paperless is definitely the way forward when weighing up the pros and cons.

Your Brand Will Shine 

Going paperless is an essential element of a good business experience, especially for appointment based small businesses. In this modern time, businesses that rely on the age old pen and paper methods of booking appointments are leaving money on the table. Not only are they making the process of maintaining records tedious for their small business, but also for their clients, who’d rather prefer the ease and flexibility to schedule, cancel and rebook appointments per their comfort.

This puts your brand in an awkward position as it devoids the client the ideal experience—the one that matches your competitors. Moreover today’s clients especially millennials are digital natives and carefully choose companies that mirror their own values.

Why It’s Important To Digitize as a Small Business

As a small appointment based business, time is money and when you’re trying to make the most of the working hours, you want to be able to profit as much as you can. It’s important to keep your clients happy and coming back for more. Going paperless and digitizing your work processes can be a major benefit for your business. WYour clients and the future clients will likely come to expect your company to become paperless as so many businesses are already doing it anyway.

So to summarize, going paperless makes your customers happy and likewise your staff. Work processes become a lot more efficient and productivity levels will certainly follow suit.

Booksy’s robust appointment scheduling software keeps your small business running smoothly. Sign up for a free trial and discover why thousands of similar businesses use Booksy to power their appointment bookings.