Is a Cloud Hosted Bookings System Right for Me?

Is a Cloud Hosted Bookings System Right for Me?

Since the launch of the Avalon Bookings On-Line system (ABOL) it has become increasingly apparent that for some users Cloud Hosted system does not provide the right solution for their requirements.  In some cases, the right solution is simply to make better use of what they already have, but this has only been realised after time and effort had been spent trying to make an on-line system work.

So how can you avoid this? 

Our advice is to spend some time defining your requirements from a booking system, who will be using it and what benefits you really need the system to provide.

Having defined those requirements and agreed with all who will be using the system, whether that is for day to day managing the bookings, or the finances and invoicing, or making policy decisions based on the data the system must provide, then examine why your current system cannot deliver that.  If you cannot easily answer those questions then it might be worth speaking with your current supplier.

In the case of the PC based Avalon Bookings Manager, we frequently find that even customers who have been with us for many years do not realise what this system can deliver.

In some cases, we find that the driving force for change to a cloud hosted system is purely to have the flexibility for several people to have access to the program away from the office. 

On a recent visit to a customer, the more we looked at this, the clearer it became that only two people needed occasional access to their bookings program away from the office.  For others the information they needed could automatically be uploaded to a secure area on their web site, or by the simple expedient of a couple of reports being emailed each month.

Cloud-hosted systems deliver a very different experience from PC based systems and offer great opportunities to develop your business or center, provided you are ready to change your ways of working and embrace what these systems can offer.

PC based systems, such as the Avalon Bookings Manager, are based around the diary screen and everything flows from there. They are designed to be used in the office.

Cloud hosted systems such as ABOL can be run from wherever you have good Internet access and are based around the customer. They open the way to online bookings, payment gateways and many other benefits which can greatly reduce the administration load for busy centres or businesses.

So are cloud hosted systems the future?  For many yes, but not for all, so the PC based systems will be here for many years to come.

If you would like to discuss your booking system requirements call us on 0330 900 0125 (standard UK land-line charges apply) or drop an email to roger@avalonsoftware.co.uk.

Roger Burfitt.

Avalon Book On Line for Community Spaces and Venues News

Many of our customers who manage halls, community spaces , rooms and venue hire have been reviewing how they will operate during the current Covid-19 emergency and maybe after that.

Working from home is the message we have all been given, so how can this be achieved when it comes to managing the bookings administration of your facilities for hire.

More and more are turning to the Avalon Book On-line or ABOL system as the solution. ABOL can be run on any internet enabled device so the need to be in the office is removed. ABOL can be configured to work in the way which suits your organisation best. For some their requirement is everything provided in the PC based Avalon Bookings Manager system:- bookings diary, customer database, invoicing and payment tracking for example, together with their diary uploaded to their web site. For others, the optional facility of customers being able to submit their bookings requests and payments on-line is a big attraction.

If you are considering whether an internet hosted system is right for you give us a call on 0330 900 0125 to chat over your requirements or drop an email to roger@avalonsoftware.co.uk We have recently uploaded a revised overview and price guide document which you can view from the Community Spaces and Venues page of this web site You can also view a short demonstration of ABOL and if you would like an on-line demonstration of the system this can easily be arranged.

Business as Usual at Avalon Software

Hello everyone. We hope you are all keeping well despite the current Coronavirus concerns.

Working from home is something we have been well used to over the years at Avalon Software so it is very easy for our business to continue as usual, which means we are here if you need help or support with your Avalon Bookings Manager or Avalon Book On Line systems. We are also able to progress new installations for those of you looking to install either of our bookings software programs.

We shall be restricting on-site training visits for the time being, but our popular remote training and software support service continues as normal. We have some new software which enables us to make short tutorial videos very easily and we can send you links to these if you or your team need any refresher training.

Many of you may be considering if it is possible to manage your bookings and customer invoicing from home even if you are running the PC based Avalon Bookings Manager program at your office. it is possible depending on how to need to manage things. Rather than post a range of suggestions on this page we suggest that you pick up the telephone and give us a call on either Roger Burfitt 0330 900 2125 or Julian Horsey on the help line 0330 999 0125 and we can chat through your options.

I have been speaking with one of our community hall customers only this morning and we have come up with a simple and inexpensive solution which will work well for them, and I suspect, for many of our other customers.

Julian and I send you all our very best wishes

Stay Safe, Stay Healthy

Avalon Book On Line - a hit with Apple Orchard Caravan and Campsite - Gloucestershire

Moving to the on-line system has been a positive experience for us at Apple Orchard Campsite.

The old system meant that in order to administer all our booking requests we could only do this on site. Going on-line means that we can manage our bookings remotely so from a customer perspective we get to respond to their booking requests quicker, as a business owner we get precious time back by not having to be on site all the time.

The system is easy to use and the customer service from Avalon has been great. They’ve been flexible when tweaking the system for some of our more specific needs.

Dave Jones
Proprietor
Apple Orchard Caravan and Camping Site

https://appleorchardcampsite.co.uk

A satisfied Aussie

Not only are our Australian cousins giving us a tough time at the cricket, but this particular long standing Avalon Software Customer continues to be pleased with their Avalon program

   The Avalon Halls for Hire software has saved us so much time when sorting out room hire at our centre. It has simplified what was once a manual and tedious task where errors could easily be made to a more efficient system of managing multiple small and large spaces within our complex of buildings. We highly recommend Avalon software. – Drew – Pottsville Beach Neighbourhood Centre, NSW, Australia 

Drew Stevenson

Community Capacity Worker
“Linking People and Strengthening Our Community”

Location: 10B-12A Elizabeth St (PO Box 54)      

Pottsville Beach NSW 2489                

T: 02 6676 4555

W: www.pbnc.org.au

Member of the Consortium of Neighbourhood Centres – Far North Coast www.conc.org.au.

See The Avalon On-Line Bookings Program in Action

For the Swanage Town Council this is an especially busy time of the year when it comes to managing the bookings for their beach huts.

In previous years this has been managed through their Tourist Information Office over the telephone with the actual bookings and customer invoicing being administered through their PC based Avalon Bookings Manager system.

Working closely with Avalon Software Ltd. Swanage Town Council has this year implemented their new Avalon Book On-Line System, or ABOL for short. This has enabled them to manage the entire bookings process from first enquiry through to customer invoicing completely on-line and with much reduced administration required on their part.

ABOL is now available for any business which has facilities that are booked by the day and if you would like to see program in action please visit their web site at:

https://www.swanage.gov.uk/Booking-Hut.aspx

If you would like a full demonstration of the Avalon Book-On line program, or more information about the program itself drop us a line via the Contact Us facility on this web site, or email roger@avalonsoftware.co.uk or telephone 0330 900 2125 (standard UK rate)

The new Avalon Bookings On-Line program for our Kennels and Catteries Customers

Avalon Bookings On-Line or ABOL is now ready for installation in our boarding kennels and cattery customers .

Regulation changes that were introduced in 2018 require those offering animal boarding services to hold much more detailed records about each animal they are looking after.

Our long standing PC based Avalon Bookings Manager program can hold this additional information but not always in dedicated information boxes. Some information has to be entered into text boxes. For those running smaller kennel and cattery businesses this is not a problem for those running bigger and very busy businesses something more flexible may be required.

This is where ABOL can offer a significant advantage. With ABOL additional data fields are easily created and can be customised to each users preferences. This means that the data that is required to be recorded against each animal can be done quickly, accurately and efficiently.

Because ABOL is a Web Hosted application it can be accessed from any Internet enabled computer that has access to the web

With set up costs from £100 and monthly charges from £20.00 per user ABOL is an affordable way to run your business taking full advantage of modern and flexible technologies.

For more information about ABOL click on the link below and to arrange an on-line demonstration of the program please call our support line on 0330 999 0125.

Welcome to the new Avalon Software Ltd website

The old Avalon Software web site has served us very well for many years and without it we would not have all the wonderful customers who continue to benefit from the Avalon Bookings Manager (ABM) program.

The time is right now for us to commission our new web site, which we have been very pleased to do with Clare of Owl & Bear Marketing.

One of the important reasons for this being the right time to implement the new web site is that we are progressing towards the launch of our new Avalon Book On Line (ABOL) program.

ABOL is to be offered alongside ABM and not as a replacement. ABM continues to meet the needs of a wide range of customers as it always has done.

Avalon Bookings On-Line (ABOL) is a significant new development of the well-proven Avalon Bookings Manager (ABM) System.

ABOL is cloud hosted application. This means it will be hosted on servers in a secure London Data centre and the ABOL program is accessed over the Internet.

It can be accessed via any web enabled computer and from any location with an Internet connection.

ABOL will retain the key features of the ABM program that we know our customers value. In addition, it provides us with the opportunity to incorporate many new features which are simply not possible to design into ABM and which customers have requested over the years.

Key amongst these new features is the option to offer your customers the facility to make bookings with you on-line and, as a further option pay for those bookings, if you wish to offer that facility.

We have recently completed the pilot installation of ABOL with one of our major ABM customers and we plan to install the program with further selected users during the course of this year.

If you would like more information about ABOL please send an email via our contact us page.

On the other hand if your needs are more likely to be met by the PC based Avalon Bookings Manager program please drop an email to roger@avalonsoftware.co.uk or telephone 0330 900 2125 – (standard UK land line rates apply)