Timely for the Christmas season
The madness of the silly season is starting to creep in. The good news is, there’s no reason to panic. Timely's got your back! Let’s take a look at five Timely features no business should be without over the Christmas period.
Sell gift vouchers
Last minute gift givers rejoice! Gift vouchers are the perfect gift for those who love the thrill (or sheer terror) of leaving their Christmas shopping to the night before. The best part is, customers can buy their gift vouchers online and email or print it out on Christmas Eve. Nice!
If you haven’t checked out gift vouchers, we’ve got a little tutorial video over here. 
Run your business remotely with our iOS app
Got an iPad or iPhone on your wishlist? You’re in luck! Our beautiful new native app for iOS is constantly being developed and improved, and is quickly becoming the perfect solution to carry your business in your pocket.
Even if you’re visiting the fam and miles away from your business, you can keep an eye on your calendar. We’re working on adding new features all the time, so keep an eye on the iOS information page here.
Send messages to your customers
The Christmas period can be overwhelming, and sometimes customers might cancel at the last minute, leaving a hole in your fully booked calendar. Not to worry! If a slot unexpectedly frees up, you can send a bulk SMS message to your customers letting them know that a slot has freed up. First come, first served!
You can also use Timely to send bulk SMS marketing campaigns to advertise your Christmas specials. If you’re more of an email person, you can use MailChimp to send a beautiful marketing email to your customers letting them know about all your Christmas specials.
Timely’s merge tags make segmenting your MailChimp lists a breeze, too!
Run a Christmas special
Christmas is the perfect time to run a special, and Timely discounts are an excellent way to give a little gift to your customers. You can create discounts in Timely, then apply them to your invoices with ease.
Learn how to set up and use discounts here.
Managing staff Christmas hours
If your staff (or you!) are taking holidays over the Christmas period, it’s important to make sure they aren’t accidentally getting booked while they’re sunning themselves in Fiji or spending quality time with their families.
You can manage your staff’s availability in the Roster, so check out the guide if you’re unsure.
Planning to be closed altogether for a few days? You can add closed dates by going to Setup > Closed dates. These will completely block off your calendar for bookings, to make sure nobody books an appointment while you’re having a well-deserved glass of wine!
