BOOK THAT IN LIMITED

What BOOK THAT IN LIMITED does

Book That In Limited is a UK-based, privately held software company that operates an online booking and payment platform for events, classes, appointments, subscriptions, and service marketplaces. The platform serves children's activity providers, yoga and wellness studios, small service businesses, franchisors, marketplace operators, and individual consumers (primarily parents), with named customers including Amanda's Action Club, Lisa Valentine Vinyasa Flow Yoga, Isle of Wight Council, and North Devon Council. The product portfolio comprises an Online Event and Class Booking System as the core product, the AutoMate CRM, a Marketplace Platform that lets third-party operators build niche service marketplaces on Book That In, a franchisor module with super-admin access and centralized fee collection, and free personal accounts for end-user booking and calendar management.

The platform is cloud-hosted on Microsoft Azure (with servers in Ireland for EU/UK data compliance) and integrates Stripe for payment processing alongside Umbraco CMS for marketplace websites, Google Analytics, Facebook Pixel, Google Tag Manager, Infusionsoft for email, and Xero for accounting. Notable proprietary features include Auto Re-enrolment (automatic re-booking and payment for the next term without customer action), free trial functionality with automated conversion emails, waiting list management with one-click notifications, postcode-based advanced search, and a one-line embedded booking widget for third-party websites. The company reports having processed over £3 million in bookings and serving over 60,000 active accounts as of August 2021, with hundreds of businesses automating bookings on the system.

Book That In operates a freemium, transaction-fee-based revenue model: individuals use the platform for free, while businesses pay a 1.5% booking fee on payments processed (with Stripe processing fees layered on top), plus an alternative annual licence fee option. Additional revenue streams include marketplace commissions, advertising (premium listings, banner ads, sponsored e-shots), and bespoke marketplace build and hosting subscriptions for marketplace operators. The go-to-market combines product-led self-serve registration with enterprise field sales support for franchise networks and dedicated account managers. The company is co-founded by Tim Freed and Alec Wadey (formed in 2017 from the combination of Tim's Toddle About business and Alec's Ding Dong Diary app), is bootstrapped with no disclosed venture or private equity funding, and operates primarily in the United Kingdom with international payment processing available via Stripe.

Name

BOOK THAT IN LIMITED

Legal name

Book That In Limited

Website

https://bookthatin.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2017

Operating status

Operating

Short description

Book That In operates an online booking and payment platform for events, classes, appointments, subscriptions, and service marketplaces, serving children's activity providers, small service businesses, franchisors, and parents in the United Kingdom.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Online Booking Software

akta.pro primary industry

Booking Engines & Direct Web Booking (THALACAD)

Keywords

• Online booking software
• Event booking platform
• Class scheduling system
• Appointment scheduling software
• Service marketplace platform

Headquarters

HQ city

London

HQ country

United Kingdom

HQ region

Europe

Offices3 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Software

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Operations, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Booking Transaction Fees: Business customers pay 1.5% of all payments processed through Book That In. This is processed by Stripe at source and sent directly to Book That In. Additional Stripe fees of 1.5% + 20p per booking apply separately.
2. Marketplace Commissions: Marketplace operators can add their own commission percentage to all bookings generated on their marketplace site
3. Platform Advertising: Marketplace operators can monetize traffic through premium listings, banner advertising, Google adverts, pay per click adverts, sponsored email e-shots and guest blog posts
4. Annual Licence Fee (Alternative): Alternative arrangement to percentage fee - businesses can arrange an Annual Licence Fee on a case by case basis
5. Marketplace Build and Hosting: One-off fee for initial marketplace website build plus monthly subscription for hosting and ongoing support

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

Book That In provides an online booking system that enables businesses to take bookings and payments for activities, events, classes, appointments, and subscriptions via their website or a hosted Book That In page. The platform also includes a marketplace solution that allows entrepreneurs to build niche service marketplace websites with built-in booking and payment functionality, plus free personal accounts for individuals to discover, book, and manage activities across multiple businesses and marketplaces.

Product overview

Book That In operates as a multi-component booking platform consisting of an Online Event and Class Booking System as the core product, which enables businesses to automate bookings and payments for activities, events, classes, appointments, and subscriptions. The platform includes the AutoMate CRM for customer management, a Marketplace Platform allowing entrepreneurs to build their own niche service marketplaces, and Personal Account functionality for individual users to discover and book activities. A specialized franchisor module provides centralized network management. The ecosystem is unified through a single account system that works across all components.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Online Event and Class Booking System Cloud-based booking platform that enables businesses to take bookings and payments for activities, events, classes, appointments, and subscriptions via their website or a hosted Book That In page. Includes customizable widgets, automated emails, waiting lists, discount codes, team scheduling, and reports/exports.
• Book That In Marketplace Platform Platform for entrepreneurs to create their own niche service marketplace websites with built-in booking and payment functionality. Includes self-serve vendor portal with admin approval workflow, postcode-based advanced search and filtering, and customizable marketplace sites on the entrepreneur's own domain.
• Personal Account / Booking App Free personal accounts allowing individuals to discover, book, and manage activities across multiple businesses and Book That In-powered marketplaces, with calendar management for families and individuals.
• Book That In for Franchisors Specialized franchisor offering providing super-admin access to manage all franchisee accounts, with centralized reports, exports, and automated franchise fee collection across the franchise network.

Quantifiable outcome

• Processed over £3 million in bookings
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers5 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles6 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration7 records

Feature7 records

Partnerships

Three partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• Toddle AboutcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2017Toddle About is a sister company and the first Book That In marketplace - a search engine for baby and toddler activities. Tim Freed founded Toddle About in 2010, and Book That In powers the marketplace platform. Businesses can advertise for free and sync their listings automatically.
• StripecoreTechnology or IntegrationStripe is the payment gateway for all Book That In transactions. Provides card processing with rates of 1.5% + 20p for standard UK cards. Link payment option offers reduced 1.2% + 20p rate when selected by customers.
• Microsoft AzurecoreTechnology or IntegrationCloud hosting platform for Book That In. Provides server infrastructure, security, and reliability. Server located in Ireland (Europe) for EU data compliance.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves1 record

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Calendly: Calendly is a widely adopted scheduling and appointment-booking platform used by individuals, SMBs, and enterprises. While more focused on one-to-one appointment scheduling, it competes for similar SMB scheduling budgets and overlaps with Book That In's appointment and class booking use cases.
• Acuity Scheduling: Acuity Scheduling (a Squarespace company) is a direct competitor offering online appointment scheduling, class bookings, and subscription payments for service businesses. Overlaps with Book That In's core booking engine for classes and appointments, though Acuity is more general-purpose and less focused on children's activity verticals.

Regional players

• Booksy: Booksy is a booking and payment platform for beauty, barbering, and wellness service providers. Comparable to Book That In in serving appointment-driven service SMBs with payments, though Booksy's vertical depth in barbering/beauty differs from Book That In's children/yoga activity focus; Booksy also has a much larger geographic footprint than Book That In.

Broad incumbents

• Vagaro: Vagaro is an established salon, spa, and fitness business management platform with appointment booking, class scheduling, and payments. Directly comparable to Book That In on class booking and payment functionality, with a much larger and more diverse customer base across beauty/fitness verticals.
• Mindbody: Mindbody is a large, established SaaS platform for fitness, wellness, and beauty class/appointment booking with payments, marketing, and marketplace features. Comparable to Book That In as both target activity-based service businesses for class and appointment scheduling at scale, though Mindbody serves a broader and more enterprise-oriented customer base.
• Fresha: Fresha is a global beauty and wellness booking platform with marketplace and payments. Comparable to Book That In through its free-to-business model with transaction-fee monetization, though focused on the salon/spa vertical versus Book That In's children/yoga/multi-vertical focus.

Emerging players

• Setmore: Setmore is a free online appointment scheduling platform for service businesses with class booking and payment features. Comparable to Book That In's appointment and class booking functionality for SMBs, with a similarly low-cost/free-tier positioning, though it lacks Book That In's franchise and marketplace modules.
• Timetastic: Timetastic is a UK-based leave and absence management platform. While focused on staff scheduling rather than customer-facing booking, it shares Book That In's UK roots and SMB target market, and represents a tangential competitor or potential integration partner in the broader UK scheduling software ecosystem.
• Skedda: Skedda is a booking and scheduling platform for venues, spaces, and activity-based businesses. Overlaps with Book That In on activity booking and class scheduling, with comparable SMB-friendly UI and customization, though Skedda is more focused on space/venue rentals than recurring class subscriptions.
• Trybeaurra: Trybeaurra is an emerging UK-based booking platform targeting children's activity providers. This makes it a direct vertical peer to Book That In within the UK children's activity sector, competing for similar SMB customers and parent end-users in the same niche Book That In pioneered.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xtwitter.com/bookthatin
• Facebookfacebook.com/bookthatin

Compliance2 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about BOOK THAT IN LIMITED