Checkfront

Some businesses depend on reservations and bookings. Checkfront is a software application that combines booking management with payment processing. Users can get a free trial of the program for 21 days, and after this there are four different plans that can be purchased. Plans range in price from $49 per month to $200 per month or more. Custom pricing is quoted for businesses that require unlimited bookings and dedicated account management. The program can be set up and configured in about 30 minutes, but it does present a strong learning curve. The setup of the program is guided, though, and there are three tutorials that walk users through the entire process of using the software. Checkfront has more than 100 features. These include self-service bookings, the ability to create gift certificates and vouchers, instant processing of payments for bookings, and point of sale functionality that lets businesses integrate a merchant account for accepting credit cards. A real-time dashboard keeps users up-to-date on all their bookings and transactions. Custom forms can be created for information required from the customer at the time of booking. It is even possible to integrate the app with Facebook and accept bookings directly through the social media platform. One key thing businesses should know is that Checkfront is meant to be integrated with an existing website. Therefore, the user experience will depend upon the type of website a business maintains. The integration is seamless, though, and does not create a distraction for the existing website. A big negative where Checkfront is concerned is the reputation of its customer service department. There have been some bad reviews posted online. Chief complaints seem to center on wait times and the inability to resolve issues. Another downside is that some of the features of the program can be hard to locate in the platform. Despite its shortcomings, this program still stands tall as one of the better online booking management systems available today.