<s>
Appointment	B-Application
scheduling	I-Application
software	I-Application
or	O
meeting	B-Application
scheduling	I-Application
tools	I-Application
allows	O
businesses	O
and	O
professionals	O
to	O
manage	O
appointments	O
and	O
bookings	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
This	O
type	O
of	O
software	O
is	O
also	O
known	O
as	O
appointment	B-Application
booking	I-Application
software	I-Application
and	O
online	O
booking	O
software	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Customer	O
appointment	O
management	O
scheduling	O
software	O
falls	O
under	O
two	O
categories	O
:	O
desktop	B-Application
applications	I-Application
and	O
web-based	B-Application
systems	O
(	O
also	O
known	O
as	O
software	B-Architecture
as	I-Architecture
a	I-Architecture
service	I-Architecture
or	O
cloud-based	O
systems	O
)	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Note	O
that	O
many	O
cloud-based	B-Architecture
software	I-Architecture
providers	O
offer	O
desktop	O
and	O
web-based	B-Application
appointment	O
scheduling	O
services	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Desktop	B-Application
applications	I-Application
are	O
programs	O
that	O
are	O
usually	O
licensed	O
and	O
installed	O
on	O
end-user	O
maintained	O
computer	O
hardware	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Such	O
programs	O
are	O
generally	O
very	O
robust	O
in	O
terms	O
of	O
features	O
and	O
reporting	O
,	O
and	O
can	O
often	O
be	O
customized	O
,	O
but	O
one	O
downside	O
is	O
that	O
desktop	B-Application
applications	I-Application
often	O
do	O
not	O
have	O
an	O
online	O
portal	O
for	O
staff	O
or	O
customer	O
access	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Web	B-Application
applications	I-Application
are	O
usually	O
provided	O
by	O
a	O
third-party	O
service	O
provider	O
that	O
offers	O
appointment	O
scheduling	O
tools	O
and	O
features	O
as	O
a	O
hosted	O
software	O
solution	O
,	O
usually	O
provided	O
via	O
a	O
web	O
browser	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Appointment	O
scheduling	O
mobile	B-Application
apps	I-Application
are	O
available	O
for	O
smartphones	B-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Some	O
mobile	B-Application
applications	I-Application
use	O
the	O
same	O
app	O
for	O
both	O
customers	O
and	O
providers	O
while	O
some	O
have	O
different	O
apps	O
for	O
both	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Regardless	O
of	O
whether	O
the	O
application	O
is	O
desktop-based	O
or	O
web-based	B-Application
,	O
most	O
appointment	B-Application
scheduling	I-Application
software	I-Application
has	O
these	O
primary	O
functions	O
:	O
</s>
<s>
While	O
the	O
traditional	O
software	O
licensing	O
model	O
of	O
a	O
one-time	O
licensing	O
fee	O
predominates	O
for	O
desktop	B-Application
applications	I-Application
;	O
subscription-based	O
,	O
advertising-based	O
,	O
per-use	O
,	O
fee-per	O
booking	O
and	O
free	O
web-based	B-Application
systems	O
are	O
also	O
available	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Customer	O
appointment	O
management	O
(	O
CAM	O
)	O
is	O
a	O
type	O
of	O
appointment	B-Application
scheduling	I-Application
software	I-Application
targeted	O
towards	O
companies	O
with	O
large	O
mobile	O
workforces	O
that	O
automatically	O
routes	O
and	O
schedules	O
in-home	O
service	O
appointment	O
arrivals	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
software	O
is	O
delivered	O
to	O
businesses	O
over	O
the	O
Internet	O
using	O
the	O
software-as-a-service	B-Architecture
model	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
CAM	O
software	B-Application
applications	I-Application
are	O
browser-based	B-Application
systems	O
and	O
provide	O
scalability	O
and	O
flexibility	O
,	O
eliminate	O
up-front	O
,	O
high-cap	O
expenditures	O
and	O
require	O
no	O
dedicated	O
IT	O
support	O
or	O
ongoing	O
maintenance	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Its	O
SaaS	B-Architecture
open	O
architecture	O
allows	O
for	O
flexible	O
pricing	O
models	O
,	O
deployment	O
speed	O
,	O
and	O
ease	O
of	O
use	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
the	O
logistics	O
and	O
supply	O
chain	O
industry	O
,	O
appointment	B-Application
scheduling	I-Application
software	I-Application
may	O
also	O
be	O
called	O
dock	O
scheduling	O
software	O
.	O
</s>
