If you’re running a business that depends on appointments—think salons, clinics, tutoring, or fitness—you know your booking data is a goldmine. But staring at a dashboard doesn’t magically reveal what’s working or what’s not. You need to actually get that data out of Setmore, pull it into a tool you trust, and dig for insights that matter. If you want practical, no-nonsense guidance on exporting and analyzing Setmore booking data, you’re in the right place.
This guide will walk you through the whole process: exporting your booking data, cleaning it up, and finding the numbers that actually help you make decisions. No fluff, no jargon, and no jumping through flaming hoops.
Why bother exporting your Setmore booking data?
Before you spend time on this, be clear about why you’re exporting data:
- Track customer trends: See when people book, cancel, or just never show.
- Spot top performers: Figure out which services or staff bring in the most bookings.
- Measure growth: Compare booking numbers month-over-month or year-over-year.
- Back up your data: Don’t trust any cloud service to keep your history forever.
Setmore’s built-in reports are fine for a quick look, but if you want to slice and dice your numbers (or run your own calculations), you’ll need to export your data.
Step 1: Export Your Booking Data from Setmore
Let’s get your appointment data out of Setmore and into a format you can use—usually CSV or Excel.
1.1 Log in and head to Reports
- Log in to your Setmore admin account.
- In the main menu, find the "Reports" section. This is where Setmore keeps the data you need.
- If you don’t see Reports, double-check your user permissions or subscription level—some features may be limited on free plans.
1.2 Choose the right report
Setmore gives you a few options. The main ones for bookings:
- Appointments Report: Details every booking—date, time, customer, staff, service, status (completed, canceled, no-show), and notes.
- Sales Report: Useful if you use Setmore’s payment features, but for most business insights, stick to appointment data.
Pro tip: Focus on the Appointments Report unless you specifically care about payments.
1.3 Set your date range
- Use the date pickers to zero in on the period you want to analyze. Don’t export a decade’s worth of data unless you really need it—big files are a pain to work with and can slow down Excel or Google Sheets.
1.4 Export the data
- Look for the “Export” or “Download” button (labels can change, but it’s usually obvious).
- Setmore will export the data as a CSV file. If you get an Excel file, that’s fine—just open it with your spreadsheet tool of choice.
Heads up: Some older or basic Setmore plans might limit how much you can export at once. If you’re stuck, try splitting your date range into smaller chunks, or contact Setmore support. And yes, this is annoying.
Step 2: Clean Up Your Data
Now you’ve got a CSV—great. But raw exports are messy. Here’s what to do next.
2.1 Open the CSV in Excel or Google Sheets
- Don’t use Notepad or Word—those will mangle your data. Stick with a real spreadsheet tool.
2.2 Check for weird formatting
- Look out for extra commas, blank rows, or jumbled columns.
- Sometimes Setmore exports dates in funky formats or includes columns you don’t need (like internal IDs). Don’t panic—just tidy up as you go.
2.3 Delete columns you don’t care about
- Most people only need: Date, Time, Customer Name, Service, Staff, Status, and maybe Notes.
- Hide or delete anything irrelevant—fewer distractions = fewer mistakes.
2.4 Standardize your data
- Make sure dates and times use a consistent format (e.g., 2024-06-01, not 6/1/24 or Jun 1st).
- If you’re tracking cancellations or no-shows, make sure those statuses are spelled consistently—“No Show” vs “No-show” can mess up your counts.
Pro tip: Save a clean copy before you start analyzing. That way, if you break something, you can always go back.
Step 3: Analyze Your Booking Data for Real Insights
This is where you get answers that matter. Here are some ways to turn those rows and columns into business intelligence you’ll actually use.
3.1 Find your busiest days and times
- Create a pivot table (in Excel: Insert > PivotTable; in Google Sheets: Data > Pivot table).
- Set “Date” as your row, and count the number of bookings per day.
- Want to see busiest hours? Add “Time” or group by hour.
- Look for peaks and slow spots. Don’t just trust your gut—let the numbers tell the real story.
3.2 Identify top-performing staff and services
- Use your pivot table to count bookings per staff member or service.
- Who’s consistently busy? Which services barely get booked?
- This helps with scheduling, hiring, and marketing decisions.
3.3 Track cancellations and no-shows
- Filter or count bookings with “Status” set to “Canceled” or “No Show.”
- High no-show rate? Maybe your reminders aren’t working, or your cancellation policy is too loose.
3.4 Measure repeat customers
- Sort by customer name or email.
- Count how many unique customers booked more than once.
- Loyal customers are your lifeblood. If you have lots of one-and-done bookings, think about your follow-up process.
3.5 Compare periods (month over month, year over year)
- Use date filters or group by month/year in your pivot table.
- Are bookings growing, shrinking, or flatlining?
- Don’t get lost in seasonal spikes—zoom out and spot real trends.
Honest take: You don’t need fancy software or an MBA to get useful insights. Just look for clear patterns, and don’t overthink it.
Step 4: Visualize (But Don’t Overdo It)
Charts can make trends easier to spot, but don’t waste hours fiddling with colors.
- Use simple bar charts for bookings per staff or service.
- Line graphs work well for tracking bookings over time.
- Pie charts? Maybe for a quick look at service split, but avoid them for anything more complex.
If you’re sharing results with a team, screenshots of your charts are usually plenty. Skip the 30-slide PowerPoint.
Step 5: Take Action on What You Learn
Data’s useless if you don’t act on it. Here’s how to turn insight into action:
- Slow days? Try running a promo or adjusting your schedule.
- High no-shows? Tighten your reminder system or update your cancellation policy.
- Top staff overwhelmed? Spread out appointments or hire backup.
- Repeat customers low? Work on follow-up emails or loyalty programs.
Don’t try to fix everything at once. Pick one or two areas to improve, make a change, then check back in a month.
What Works, What Doesn’t, and What to Ignore
What works: - Exporting regularly (monthly or quarterly). You’ll spot trends faster. - Keeping your data clean and consistent. - Simple analyses—don’t get lost in the weeds.
What doesn’t: - Relying only on Setmore’s built-in dashboards. They’re fine for a quick glance but don’t give you the full picture. - Ignoring messy data. One typo can throw off your whole count. - Overcomplicating things. You don’t need a BI tool unless you have thousands of bookings a month.
What to ignore: - Vanity metrics—like “total number of appointments ever.” Focus on trends, not big numbers. - Overly complex KPIs. Pick a handful that matter to your business and stick with them.
Keep It Simple—And Iterate
You don’t need to become a data analyst overnight. Export your bookings, clean them up, and look for a few simple patterns. Take action, see what happens, then repeat. Over time, you’ll get sharper instincts—and better results. Don’t let perfect be the enemy of good. Just start, keep it simple, and see where the numbers lead you.