Choosing a booking system for a detailing business

It has to price by vehicle size

If the system only holds one price per service, you'll spend your life re-quoting on the day or undercharging on big cars. Four sizes with a price each is the minimum that reflects the work.

It has to understand how long a job takes

A mini valet and a two-stage correction are not the same slot. A system that offers a customer 4pm for a six-hour job is worse than no system, because now you have to ring them back and take it away. Look for durations per service, extra time for bigger vehicles, and a travel buffer between jobs if you're mobile.

Deposits, into your own account

Check where the money goes. Some platforms hold takings and pay out weekly, which is your cash flow in someone else's account. The better arrangement is the payment landing in your own Stripe or bank account with the platform never touching it.

It should reduce phone calls, not add them

• Confirmation email straight away, with the address and what's included.
• A reminder the day before — the cheapest no-show insurance there is.
• A way for the customer to move or cancel themselves, within a notice period you set.
• A review request after the job, automatically.

Do you need the website too?

A booking widget bolted onto a site you don't have is no use. Roughly, the options are: booking software alone (£25–£50 a month) plus a hand-built website (£200–£1,300 one-off, or £18–£111 a month); a generic multi-trade platform that includes a basic site; or something built for detailing that does both.

DetailerHQ is the last of those — site, town pages, booking, deposits, plans and reminders for one monthly fee, free to build so you can see it before paying. Whichever you choose, judge it on the four things above rather than the screenshots.