You don’t need a website.
If you’re reading this, I’m assuming you’ve started researching booking systems and maybe got a bit confused. I don’t blame you. Despite years of building websites and considering myself quite tech-savvy, I was confused when researching what system to use for our first dog field.
More frustrating than being slightly overwhelmed by the number of options out there was the fact that I honestly didn’t give two hoots what system/software/platform I used, I just wanted it to work.
Then something truly horrifying happened, and not to me.
I was booking a dog field to visit with my pups and there wasn’t any availability at the time I wanted – rather than directing me to another time or day, this system offered me the opportunity to book at another nearby field. This would have been great (and perhaps a great user experience) but I knew for a fact that not only were these fields not working together but they were sworn enemies!
I realised that they couldn’t possibly have known that the booking system they had chosen was doing this – sending their customers to a rival business. Not good. That system is still used by loads of dog fields to this day.
Fast forward a few years and British Dog Fields has now set up over 40 secure dog field booking sites that are easy to use, reliable and cost-effective.
Things You Need to Know:
- You do not need a fully-fledged website – what I mean by that is that you can have a stand-alone booking system without investing in getting a web designer to build you a website or attempt to configure a Wix or Squarespace-type website yourself. All that does is add layers of expense that simply aren’t necessary.
- I speak to lots of people who are worried about working the technology and I always tell them – if you can use Facebook, you can use the system we set up for you.
- It’s not as expensive as you might imagine. The costs are initial set up and a relatively small ongoing software fee. You can see these below.
- We don’t leave you high and dry! We’re always on hand to answer any questions or help you navigate any customer questions related to the booking site. After the first month, we offer support on a PAYG basis and if you’re a British Dog Fields Member, ongoing support is completely free.
- We use off-the-shelf software to create booking systems for dog fields. We continuously review the offerings from various providers to ensure we’re using the best products on the market. The reason for this is that the resources provided by our chosen software provider mean that we can focus on the features and functionality of your site without worrying about the technical end – servers and the 9th dimension – we have no idea how the internet actually works but we do know how to build a great dog field booking system.
- You OWN the site and the data – it’s something you need to watch out for. There are systems and booking system providers that offer ‘low-cost, hassle-free’ systems. Check the small print. Your customers expect to be dealing with you and not some third party that controls their data.
How We Set Up Your System:
- Once you’ve decided that you’d like our help, you can book your slot and a call with us to chat through your main priorities for the booking site.
- We follow this up by sending you a form to fill in that provides us with all the information we need to set up your site.
- The set-up and testing process can take up to 2 weeks, after which, we book a video tutorial session with you, guiding you through everything you need to know.
- Once we have launched your site, we offer continuous support for your first month of operation.
- If you have questions or changes you’d like to make, we create a series of video tutorials for you in a library you can access at your convenience – that way you can refer back to these ‘lessons’ in the future.
- By this point, you are likely to be very confident using the system but you have the reassurance that you can contact us to make changes (if you’re looking to add features for example or expanding your field operations) on a pay as you go basis or, for British Dog Field Members, this support included as part of your annual membership.
Costs
| Item | Chargeable Period | Cost |
|---|---|---|
| Set Up Costs | One-Off | £675 (for one field) |
| Software | Monthly or Annually | From £25 – £55 /month (paid annually) |
| PAYG Support | Hourly Rate | £50/ hour |
| Branding Package | One-Off (for those without a logo design) | £250 |
If you’d like us to help with setting up your dog field booking system, please feel free to book a slot here. We look forward to helping you get up and running!
If you have any questions please feel free to message our Booking Site Support Team here.