Photographers from coast to coast are turning to Appointment-Plus online appointment-scheduling software to effectively and efficiently manage their holiday photo sessions and customer information.

PRLog (Press Release) – Oct 19, 2010 – Scottsdale, Ariz. – The fall months signal the start of the holiday season for many photographers as they begin planning and scheduling holiday photo sessions for families, parents and children. Some will conduct these sessions in their studios, while others will situate their photo shoots at malls, churches, department stores and other off-site locations, especially those that offer photos with Santa Claus and other iconic and religious characters and scenes.

Regardless of the type of photo session, photographers nationwide are turning to appointment-scheduling software from Appointment-Plus to improve, streamline and automate their scheduling procedures.

“Holiday photos are a tradition for families and children throughout the world, and professional photographers play a huge role in spreading the joy by capturing the perfect moment,” says Bob La Loggia, president and founder of StormSource Software, the developer of Appointment-Plus. “Our scheduling software is the perfect for photographers wishing to improve their photo session-scheduling processes.”

As a leader in online scheduling software applications since 2001, Appointment-Plus knows the challenges photographers face in scheduling and managing their photo sessions and customer information. Scheduling photo sessions in the more traditional manner—such as over the phone or by e-mail—can be time-consuming and tedious. It also requires photographers and staff to maintain separate appointment books, files, spreadsheets and folders for documenting and storing appointment and customer information. Appointment-Plus improves the way photographers manage their sessions and customers with such functionality as:

• Online customer self-scheduling, which allows individuals to view available session times and book their appointment at their own convenience, 24 hours a day.

• Automated e-mail and text message reminders sent prior to a scheduled session.

• Robust record-keeping and reporting.

• Online payment options.

• E-marketing capabilities.

Photographers that incorporate the online self-scheduling feature can easily add a “schedule now” button provided by Appointment-Plus to their Web site that customers click on to access their online scheduler. Once a customer selects a session date and time, the system automatically schedules the individual without any additional action from the photographer and his or her staff.

Photographers and studios that do not own or operate a Web site can still utilize Appointment-Plus for their online scheduling needs. They can simply provide their customers with a URL that directs them to their Web scheduler.

Because it’s Web-based, Appointment-Plus doesn’t require costly hardware or program installations. It’s also accessible from any Internet connection, a benefit to photographers who routinely manage their photo sessions and customer information from outside their studio or at home.

Pricing starts at $39 per month with no long-term contracts, along with free set-up assistance with a dedicated coach.

“Accurate scheduling is vital for a photography business, especially during the holidays when the number of session appointments tends to increase,” La Loggia explains. “Appointment-Plus helps you spend less time on your session-scheduling and more time with your customers and their families.”

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About Appointment-Plus:
Appointment-Plus supplies over 4,000 clients throughout the United States, Canada and 10 other countries the tools they need to efficiently and accurately schedule appointments and sessions, book rooms, accept registrations and many other services. The flagship product of Scottsdale, Ariz.-based StormSource Software, the online application has scheduled over 50 million appointments since its launch in 2001. Users of the service include small businesses such as photographers, tutors, instructors, medical offices, spas, salons, health clubs and massage therapists, as well as colleges and universities, Fortune 500 companies, healthcare agencies and facilities, federal and local governments and freight and delivery services.

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Appointment-Plus supplies over 4,000 clients throughout the United States, Canada and 10 other countries the tools they need to efficiently and accurately schedule appointments and sessions, book rooms, accept registrations and many other services. The flagship product of Scottsdale, Ariz.-based StormSource Software, the online application has scheduled over 50 million appointments since its launch in 2001. Users of the service include small businesses such as photographers, tutors, instructors, medical offices, spas, salons, health clubs and massage therapists, as well as colleges and universities, Fortune 500 companies, healthcare agencies and facilities, federal and local governments and freight and delivery services.

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