A booking system we built because we couldn't afford one.
May 2026. A barbershop in Epping was quoted more for a booking system than it could justify, so one of us wrote it instead. Fifteen industries, 126 releases and one monthly price later, here's the whole thing.
How it started
It began with a quote nobody could pay.
"It was going to be well out of their budget — so I decided to build the platform myself and put it on plans they could actually afford."
James, founder — writing the code behind BookAppointment
In May 2026, the barbershop on Station Road in Epping asked me to build them a booking system. They had already been quoted for one — and the price was well out of what a small shop could justify. So the idea went on a shelf, until I realised I could write the thing myself.
My wife and I had the vision for what it should be. I had the ability to programme it. The brief was simple: everything a booking business actually needs, in one place, at a monthly cost a shop can afford — rather than paying for three or four separate tools that between them still only do half the job.
The first version was built for that one barbershop. Then I put it on subscription plans so the shop could actually pay for it, and other businesses started asking for the same thing. That's when it stopped being a favour for a local shop and became BookAppointment.
Since then I have kept building what customers ask for, and writing up every change as it ships. The barbershop is still on the platform — it's our first customer, and its story is published.
The build so far
Five months, in public
Every date below is a release we shipped and wrote up at the time. Nothing here is a roadmap promise.
26 May 2026
The first line of code
Project foundation, admin console and a working booking engine — version 0.1.0.
29 May 2026
Our first customer
Station Road Barbers joins, and becomes the business everything else is tested against.
18 Jun 2026
One platform, many businesses
Rebuilt as a multi-tenant platform under the BookAppointment name, with every business's data kept apart.
24 Jun 2026
Built for real industries
The first ten industries, each with its own landing page, demo and sample diary.
29 Jun 2026
A website you own
Drag-and-drop website builder, so a booking page could become a proper site with your own name on it.
1 Jul 2026
Plans that make sense
Trial, Starter, Pro and Business, with money paid straight through to your own bank account.
9 Jul 2026
Bookings from anywhere
Booking links and embeds, per-business notification wording, and QR window stickers for the shopfront.
30 Aug 2026
New kinds of business
Property viewings for estate agents, and a full mobile app experience so you can run the day from a phone.
6 Sep 2026
Never lose a cancellation
Smart waitlist and group bookings, so a freed chair fills itself instead of going quiet.
28 Sep 2026
Support that answers
Live chat with real team members, tickets, and opening-hours awareness so nobody waits for a reply.
7 Oct 2026
Clubs and courts
Gyms and padel clubs: memberships billed on card, classes members can book themselves, and court bookings.
12 Oct 2026
More ways to earn
Gift cards, packages of sessions for any service, and an online shop with delivery or collection.
14 Oct 2026
Where we are today
Version 2.88.2 — an automations overview so every automatic email and text can be seen, and a library of branded creatives.
What it covers now
Everything a booking business needs, in one place
The reason we started was that every other system stopped at a calendar. This is where the platform stands today.
The diary, done properly
Availability that respects working days, breaks and resources — chairs, beds, treatment rooms and courts — plus waitlists, group bookings and reminders that chase people who haven't come back.
A website that carries your name
A drag-and-drop builder, a blog, reviews, booking links and QR stickers, on your own domain. Nothing tells your customers they're on someone else's platform.
Payments into your account
Card payments and deposits, no-show protection, and a card reader for the counter. Money goes through your own payment account, not ours.
Marketing that pays for itself
Email campaigns that report the appointments and pounds they actually earned, ready-made audiences built from your own appointment history, and post-booking upsells.
Gift cards, packages and stock
Sell vouchers and packages of sessions, keep product stock in one place, and let customers buy from your site or the counter.
Customers who can help themselves
A sign-in account where people see their appointments, balances and vouchers, move a booking themselves, and message you without a phone ringing.
Reports you can act on
Bookings, revenue, no-shows, services, customers and team performance, with commissions and access levels for the people who need them.
An app of your own
Your branding on a mobile app, plus the day's diary in your pocket — so the shop runs from a phone as well as a till.
Who it's for
Fifteen industries, each with its own setup
Each one gets a diary that behaves like its trade — sunbeds by the minute, viewings that need a negotiator, classes with a waiting list, courts with a kick-off time.
Not on the list? Tell us what you run — businesses ask for new industries all the time, and the ones we build get their own demo the day they ship.
How we work
Promises we'd stand by on the phone
- 01
One monthly price, not a tax on every booking
We don't take a cut of each appointment you make. You can see exactly what a busy month costs before you commit.
- 02
We show what a cheaper tool leaves out
Our comparison keeps the low-cost tools in and lists what they don't include, rather than quietly deleting them so we always win.
- 03
Try the real thing before you sign up
Every industry has a live demo with its own diary you can book into — no account, no card, no sales call.
- 04
Every change written down
126 releases since May, each one in a public changelog, and 63 write-ups explaining what changed and why.
- 05
We answer, in person
A UK phone number that goes to people who work here, and an offer to come and set things up for you if you'd rather have it done.
Our first customer
The barbershop this was all built for
Station Road Barbers has been on BookAppointment since day one. Their story — the setup, the numbers and what changed for the team — is written up properly, not rounded up.
Read the case studySee it before you believe us
Book into a real diary, right now
Every industry has a live demo with its own services, staff and diary. No account, no card and no sales call — and if you'd rather compare us on your own numbers, the savings calculator works out your yearly cost against the tool you use today.
The company
Small, UK-registered, and answerable
We're a small independent business, not a fund-backed platform. That means the person who wrote the software is the person you're talking to.
- Company
- BOOKAPPOINTMENT LTD, registered in England and Wales
- Company number
- 17481702
- Registered office
- 71-75 Shelton Street, Covent Garden, London, WC2H 9JQ
- Data protection
- Registered with the ICO · Ref. ZC268227
- Hosting
- UK servers, with daily backups and a full export of your data on request
- Phone
- 01279 744633
Your data is yours. You can export it, ask us to delete it, or move your business somewhere else — our privacy policy says how, and the security page says how it's protected. Passkeys and two-factor authentication are built in for the people who run the business.
Fourteen days, no card
If a booking system should cost more than your till can carry, we built ours for exactly that reason.
Prefer a phone call? Ring 01279 744633, or email hello@bookappointment.co.uk.