Software developers: booking client demos and reviews

Agree a fixed rhythm of demo and review meetings at the start of a project, such as a thirty-minute demo every second Thursday, and book all the dates yourself straight away, so the client has them in their calendar from day one. Keep a separate short service on your page for decisions that can't wait until the next demo. Send an agenda before each meeting and a summary after. Clients see progress regularly, feedback arrives at predictable times, and the project doesn't drift between long silences and urgent calls.

Without set meetings, feedback comes in bursts: nothing for three weeks, then a flood of changes the day before launch. A demo at the end of each iteration gives the client a regular moment to see the work, ask questions and decide. It also gives you a deadline for each iteration and a natural point to flag scope changes before they grow into a disagreement about the budget.

On Book, each service has a name, a price and an optional description shown on your public page, and each slot belongs to one service, sits within one day and has its own capacity. Meetings that are part of a project's price don't need a price on the service: leave the field empty.

Lengths are examples: set your own.

At the kick-off, agree the day and time, then create the slots and book the client in yourself for every date of the project, or for the next few months. First and last name are required, email and phone optional; enter the client contact's email so they receive a confirmation with a calendar file for each meeting. Slots repeat each week on the weekdays you choose until an end date; for a fortnightly rhythm, add the dates individually. Book doesn't send reminders, so having every date in the client's calendar is what keeps the rhythm.

The booking is in one person's name, but a demo may involve a product owner, a manager and someone from support. Ask the main contact to forward the calendar invitation to the others, and say in the description who should attend: at least one person who can make decisions. If the right person can't come, move the meeting rather than holding a demo nobody can act on.

The booking note is optional, reaches you in the new booking email and appears in the client's calendar file. For meetings you book yourself, put the agenda in the note: what you'll show, the decisions needed and any questions. After the meeting, send a short summary by email with what was agreed, the changes requested and the date of the next demo. If you record demos, say so and agree it with the client first.

Some questions can't wait two weeks: a blocking choice between two approaches, access to a service, a content question. Open a few fifteen-minute slots on your page in the quick decision service, and say in the description that it's for blocking questions only. The client books one when they need it, and you get an answer without a long thread.

Towards the end of a project, replace the regular demo with a go/no-go meeting a few days before launch, and a handover session afterwards to walk the client through documentation, access and support terms. Book both yourself as soon as the launch date is set, so everyone who needs to be there can keep the time free.

Clients can't move bookings online: they contact you, and you move the meeting from your bookings list and confirm it yourself, since Book doesn't email clients about changes. Rescheduling works across services, so a demo that turns into a bigger review can move to a longer slot. Book doesn't create video links: put a fixed meeting link in the description or the booking note. Your bookings sync with Google, iPhone or Mac calendars. Book costs €5/month, everything included: unlimited services and bookings, no commission, no contract.