A paid reservation system versus a free reservation system: what are the differences?

A free reservation system versus a paid version

“Open a free account immediately. Permanently free, now and forever. Insight into your bookings anytime, anywhere.” “Let your customers make an appointment with you with our FREE online reservation system. Easy to integrate into your existing website.”

There are plenty of free reservation systems available online. But there are many differences between a free and a paid reservation system . Free is never completely free, because the developers of the free system also have a revenue model. That's why most free versions offer limited options, such as a limit on the number of reservations, or on the number of registered users. That is of course fine if you have a starting company with (still) few reservations. But limiting when you want to grow.

In addition, many free reservation systems are full of advertisements and you cannot add your own logo or look-and-feel. And it is certainly not possible to make links with external systems such as your calendar or an accounting program, they do not offer complete backup functionalities and there is nowhere to turn if you have questions and/or problems.

If you want to get started with online reservations in a professional and sustainable way, you will soon end up with paid versions. Ultimately you pay for that added value. And your customer sees that. And these extra functionalities save more time, meaning the online reservation system pays for itself.

How much does the i-Reserve ?

The i-Reserve reservation system offers functionalities that free reservation systems do not have. Our reservation system is a Saas (Software as a service) solution, which keeps prices relatively low but includes extensive functionalities.

The i-Reserve reservation system works on a license basis . You get an online reservation system for a fixed amount per month . So you do not pay per reservation made. Is your business growing and are the number of reservations increasing? Then the costs remain the same!

We offer various basic packages from 39 euros per month. The smallest package is Bronze, which is suitable for the small self-employed person or community center/association, going up to Platinum for a super saas experience. Do you have multiple locations? Then you can also purchase a multi-license environment where each location can use its own settings. Do you only need simple planning and reservation options or do you need all the options of the system? No problem. You decide how you want to use i-Reserve . Read more about our prices here: Rates reservation system i-Reserve .

Additional modules provide additional functionalities

Our booking software has a modular structure. This means that additional modules can easily be ordered:

Export
For example, an export is possible to your financial administration. The balances are updated immediately. Interfaces are available to REMS, Exact, King, Accountview, Mamut, Snelstart, iMuis and Twinfield.

Online payment
With the Online payment module, i-Reserve be linked to a payment provider, such as Buckaroo or Cardgate. This allows reservations or subscription costs to be easily paid online.

E-ticket
The E-ticket module comes with a free scanner application. With this app it is possible to record the presence of a visitor. Can also be used as access control, such as tickets for an event or activity.

Invoice
With the Invoice module you can prepare invoices based on online reservations. You also have access to additional functionalities such as partial invoices, merging draft invoices or creating direct debits.

If you don't use these functions, you don't pay for them. We think that is fair. Read more about all our modules here: Additional modules offer additional functionalities

The benefits of the i-Reserve reservation system

Just like the various free reservation systems, the i-Reserve online reservation system easy and quick to set up . You can get started within a few days. And once the booking system is set up, you can make a reservation with just a few mouse clicks. Your customers can book online just as easily. You can see at a glance what has been booked via handy overviews and filters. You can export an overview to Excel, for example, at the touch of a button.

You save time by having the reservation confirmation, payment confirmation or reminder sent automatically. Communication is via email or text message. If there are changes to a reservation, you can make them easily and quickly. Customers can automatically receive a message about this. Using a webhook you can execute so-called triggers to link reservations, tasks or customers with hundreds of other applications.

Various types of integrations are possible in i-Reserve API links, import/export links and links through an integration platform such as MS Flow or Zapier. We have a number of native links that are already included as standard in i-Reserve and that you only need to set up. Links provide an even more complete reservation system and take even more work off your hands. Read more about this here: Links and integrations

In addition to a reservation system, i-Reserve also a CRM system where you can keep track of all customer and company data. With a handy overview of all sent emails. You can also easily add tasks and associate multiple customers under one company. This way you know exactly who you have spoken to. Customer-friendly and convenient. Of course, we also use it ourselves.

Customize the i-Reserve reservation system

With the i-Reserve reservation system you can go in different directions. Do you rent out meeting rooms or tennis courts ? We have specific solutions . For example, when booking a room, you can indicate which room setup is desired and whether additional options need to be booked, such as a projector or catering. You avoid extra emails and/or telephone calls and therefore save time and other costs.

For courses you can easily add a trainer to a course. You will immediately see whether it is available. And when students have successfully completed a course, you can create a diploma or certificate. If a course is full, customers can register on the waiting list and they will automatically be registered for a course when a place becomes available again.

Let your customers search and filter by available times. For example, you can filter by capacity, location or date. In our templates you can easily create an invoice with your own desired layout. Invoices can be combined and can also be sent automatically to a customer or company. Exporting to your accounting program is also one of the options. In addition to managing reservations, you can create internal tasks for yourself or colleagues. You can set a deadline here, link a category and possibly a customer or company. Bind your customers to you and, for example, let the booking system automatically calculate a regular customer discount when making a reservation. Extract statistics from i-Reserve through filtering. You can also send this automatically to e-mail addresses. For example, you can send an overview of reservations to catering. While you cannot add your own look and feel with a free reservation system, you can do so with i-Reserve . Add your own logo and corporate identity on the website, in emails and PDF attachments. A lot is possible with the i-Reserve reservation system. See all functionalities at a glance here: All functionalities of our reservation system

Always the latest version

At i-Reserve we attach great importance to product development. Our development team is constantly working behind the scenes to develop new functionalities. Not only the latest web technologies, but also the feedback from our customers plays an important role. As a customer you naturally benefit from all improvements, new updates are automatically available. That won't cost you anything extra.

Curious?

Would you like to discover what the i-Reserve reservation system can do for you? Do you want honest advice about whether you are better off with a paid or free reservation system? Please contact us. We listen to your wishes and, if desired, take you through our options. You also have the option to try out i-Reserve This way you can try out for yourself whether it is something for your company.