vcita

No-brainer for appointment based business

Comments: I provide business management consulting for optometrists. All my work is done through appointments and email. vCita flawlessly syncs my calendar and allows clients to schedule when I'm actually available. Prior to vCita, I spent way too much time suggesting times, getting voicemails, etc. Besides that, they have done a great job of allowing a feature-rich "live-site" that is easy to set up and super customizable. I think for many businesses it would suffice to be the landing page.

Pros:

Very simple appointment set-ups. Before vCita there was a ton of back and other emails, or worse than that - phone calls.

Cons:

The invoicing/billing system is not as robust as some other programs out there. Specifically I would like the program to send out regular monthly retainer billing.

All around perfect solution for all types of businesses.

Pros:

I love how this app was thought through very carefully. Everything you need is literally within the app.

Cons:

I wasn’t very fond of the lack of offerings for integration. More partnerships would help with that.

Alternatives Considered: HoneyBook

Reasons for Choosing vcita: With everything Vcita has to offer,I’ve gained way more control because of them.

Switched From: Copper and PocketSuite

Reasons for Switching to vcita: Partnering up with Vcita was the best thing my company could ever do. Overall capabilities are innovative, convenient, and lucrative because of all of it’s features. Like for instance, it has a feature that you could use to generate or capture leads from your website by just simply installing a widget. What more could you ask for?

Setting Up for Your Business - Not easy at all!

Comments: It has been a pretty frustrating experience trying to get this running smoothly. I have spent SEVERAL hours/days trying to figure out glitches, workarounds, etc. I don't feel it's the right product for my company. I do plan to switch to another platform that will work better for my needs. I know they have tried, but I only get short timeframes to work with them and then I have to schedule another appointment. I would have rather paid a lot more money upfront to have them work on it until it was perfect. I have now given up because I'm just tired of it.

Pros:

I love the way it looks on my website. I am able to use the colors of my logo, etc. so it looks professional. I think customers like to be able to book on the spot. I think it's nice that I can approve each event. It helps me from doing back and forth phone calls. I like that it gets integrated with my gmail calendars that are shared with the employees.

Cons:

It is taking FOREVER to figure out how to set things up to streamline for my personalized business needs. Not sure this is the best platform for my business. I don't like how "wordy" it is in my gmail calendar. I wish I could customize things more, like addresses for instant. It requires them to put an address in, but it is not integrated to ensure it is a true address. We have gone to the wrong location multiple times. I have multiple services w/ 2 separate trucks. I find myself having to try to do a lot of workarounds that don't go well for the customers.I wish it was easier to use with Quickbooks. You can do a one-time sync but then it only syncs if customers get sent an invoice, and only a few details get synced over to Quickbooks. My CRMs don't match.

Alternatives Considered: Calendly

Reasons for Choosing vcita: Quickbooks does not have a scheduling option.

Switched From: Quickbooks Online

Reasons for Switching to vcita: I honestly don't remember because it has been so long now. I do plan on looking into them again.

Get it!

Comments: Vcita has seriously freed up so much of my time with the automation and client portal. Now the client no longer have to call for a copy of their documents, they can just login and grab

Pros:

It’s too much to like. I like Everything about the software.

Cons:

There’s nothing I really don’t like about the software.

Alternatives Considered: ShareFile VDR

Reasons for Choosing vcita: Vcita offered everything I needed in one package

Switched From: HubSpot CRM

Reasons for Switching to vcita: Vcita integrations were better.

Review

Comments: I needed a way for a small team to organize group classes, private appointments and lessons, communications with clients, and invoicing all in one tool. This does almost 95% of what I need, in one location.

Pros:

It contains all of our client information, calendar, scheduling, document sharing, invoicing and payments all in one convenient tool.

Cons:

When there are issues, they are usually epic and the support team isn't quick about fixing them (if they get fixed at all). The Marketing tool is very basic and isn't 'pretty' enough for my monthly marketing Newsletter.