Enterprise Solutions FAQ

Can TimeTrade's technology be tailored for any type of service organization?
Virtually any service organization that takes appointments and reservations can benefit from TimeTrade's technology. Our application is highly configurable through our database-driven architecture and sophisticated setup and administration wizards.

What is the ROI justification for a web-based scheduling solution?
There are many benefits of web-based scheduling that together yield a rapid payback and high ROI versus the traditional scheduling methods used by service businesses. The "hard" benefits include increased yields and higher service revenue, reduced call center and administrative costs, and more efficient resource utilization (service delivery staff, facilities, equipment). The "soft" benefits are sometimes difficult to quantify but perhaps more important. Web-based scheduling promotes customer satisfaction and loyalty among web-inclined customers, who will love the convenience and will tell their friends. Email reminders to book future appointments will drive repeat business from these customers. Some national service chains can justify our solution solely on the value it delivers to management in being able to measure performance and foster accountability at the store level.

Is self-service scheduling the primary reason for considering this technology?
Not necessarily. Certainly the ROI increases when service businesses let customers book their own appointments and reservations via the web rather than through live administrators. But much of the value of our technology lies in being able to manage available resources and quickly assign the right resource for the service being requested. This accelerates the service delivery cycle and reduces the time-to-revenue. Detailed reporting from the central scheduling database promotes accountability and more effective management.

Is TimeTrade technology scalable for use by national service chains?
Definitely. Our customers count on TimeTrade to deliver business-critical reliability, scalability and performance. Our enterprise-class TimeCommerce platform is built from the ground up to meet the needs of large, multi-site service businesses with high-volume scheduling requirements.

What factors are important in choosing between ASP and licensed software?
TimeTrade can host your application for a monthly fee or sell you a traditional software license and maintenance agreement for you to host the application yourself. The choice really depends on whether you want to "rent" or buy the software, and the level of technical resources in your organization to support the application. Security, reliability, and performance of our ASP-based solution should be of little concern. We host our servers and application in highly secure data centers that are manned around the clock. Our hosting configuration is fully redundant, and we utilize 128-bit SSL encryption, and multiple, password-protected levels of security. We routinely perform load testing on the application using Segue Silk Performer software.

Does TimeTrade integrate into existing CRM, ERP, and other enterprise applications?
Yes. TimeTrade integrates via Web Service technology

How does TimeTrade price its software?
TimeTrade software is licensed based on the number of locations and resources being scheduled. A resource can be a person, a facility or a piece of equipment. We do not meter the number of customers making appointments or the number of reservations they make in determining a price. ASP customers pay a monthly fee; software purchases are roughly equivalent to two years of ASP charges. Professional services such as custom development, implementation, and training are quoted on a time and materials basis.