highlevel

HighLevel’s Ask AI is becoming considerably more interesting.

And with the LeadConnector Ask AI Chrome Extension, you can now have HighLevel’s AI assistant available while you’re working in your browser.

At first glance, you might think:

“So what? It’s another AI Chrome extension.”

But I think that misses what makes Ask AI interesting.

Yes, you can ask it to research something, summarise a webpage, explain something or help write an email.

But Ask AI is increasingly able to actually help you use HighLevel.

Sometimes it can do the work itself.

Sometimes it can investigate a problem and fix it.

And when it can’t complete something itself, it can guide you through what you need to do.

I’ve already seen this happening with real HighLevel problems.

And I think it changes how we should think about using AI inside HighLevel.

Rather than simply asking Ask AI questions, we should increasingly start giving Ask AI jobs.

What Is the LeadConnector Ask AI Chrome Extension?

Ask AI is HighLevel’s built-in AI assistant.

HighLevel has been steadily increasing what Ask AI can do. It isn’t simply there to answer questions or generate text.

Ask AI is increasingly able to interact with HighLevel itself and help users perform tasks.

The LeadConnector Ask AI Chrome Extension takes that concept outside the normal HighLevel interface and makes Ask AI available while you’re working in Chrome.

That’s important because a huge amount of what we do doesn’t happen directly inside our CRM.

We might be looking at:

• Our own website
• A customer’s website
• A prospect’s website
• Technical documentation
• Supplier websites
• Online applications
• Industry websites
• Competitors
• Other browser-based business software

Instead of constantly jumping between what you’re looking at and HighLevel, Ask AI can increasingly sit alongside you.

But researching webpages is only the beginning.

A Simple Example: A Font That Was Driving Me Mad

Here’s a real example from my own HighLevel account.

I had a problem with one of my HighLevel funnel pages.

The font in the navigation section was wrong.

I’m pretty savvy when it comes to building websites and funnels. I understand HTML and CSS, and I’ve built enough websites over the years to normally be able to figure these things out.

But I couldn’t solve this one.

It was one of those little niggles that wasn’t business critical, but every time I looked at the page it annoyed me.

So I asked Ask AI.

I simply gave it the URL and asked it to analyse the page and work out what was causing the problem.

It visited the page, analysed it and identified the issue.

But this is the bit I found particularly interesting.

Once it had identified the problem, it gave me a choice.

It could either fix the problem itself, or it could give me instructions so I could fix it manually.

A problem I’d spent time trying to diagnose myself had suddenly become a conversation with an AI HighLevel expert.

And a real niggle was solved.

That, to me, is far more interesting than asking AI to write another email.

From “Tell Me How” to “Do It For Me”

This is the change I think HighLevel users need to understand.

We’ve become accustomed to asking AI questions.

You might ask:

“How do I change the navigation font on a HighLevel funnel?”

The AI gives you some instructions.

You then go into HighLevel, find the appropriate settings and make the changes yourself.

That’s useful.

But we’re moving towards something different.

Instead, I was effectively able to say:

“There’s something wrong with the font on this page. Can you find out what’s causing it?”

The AI investigated the problem.

Then it offered to fix it.

That’s a completely different experience.

We’re moving from:

Ask AI → Get instructions → Do the work

towards:

Ask AI → AI investigates → AI does the work

And when Ask AI can’t do everything itself, it can fall back to showing you what to do.

That distinction is important.

Another Practical Example: Creating a HighLevel Workflow

Workflows are another area where I think this becomes extremely useful.

HighLevel workflows are incredibly powerful.

They’re also one of the areas where new HighLevel users can quickly become overwhelmed.

You might have:

• Triggers
• If/Else conditions
• Wait steps
• Emails
• SMS messages
• WhatsApp messages
• Opportunity updates
• Internal notifications
• Tasks
• Multiple branches

Rather than starting with:

“How do I create a HighLevel workflow?”

we can increasingly start by giving Ask AI the outcome we want.

For example:

“When somebody completes this quote form, I want an opportunity created in the New Enquiry stage, an email sent immediately, a text message sent five minutes later and the salesperson notified.”

You’re not asking for a lesson about workflows.

You’re giving Ask AI a job.

Ask AI can then help create the workflow and configure the individual steps it is able to control.

And that potentially makes quite a complicated part of HighLevel considerably more accessible.

But What Happens When the Workflow Doesn’t Work?

This is possibly even more useful.

Anyone who has built complicated HighLevel workflows will know the feeling.

Everything looks right.

But something isn’t happening.

Perhaps contacts aren’t receiving an SMS.

Perhaps an opportunity isn’t moving stages.

Perhaps an If/Else branch isn’t behaving as expected.

Perhaps the contact is sitting at a Wait step and you can’t work out why.

You can spend ages opening actions and checking settings trying to find the problem.

Now imagine asking Ask AI:

“This workflow should send an SMS five minutes after the form is completed, but the SMS isn’t being sent. Can you analyse the workflow and find the problem?”

Ask AI can help investigate the setup.

Perhaps there’s an incorrect condition.

Perhaps the workflow is waiting for something that never happens.

Perhaps the contact doesn’t meet one of the filters.

Perhaps the SMS action is sitting inside the wrong branch.

Perhaps there’s simply a configuration setting you’ve overlooked.

Then we get back to the same principle as my funnel page.

Where Ask AI can make the required change, it can potentially fix the problem.

Where it can’t, it can explain what you need to change yourself.

So instead of spending an hour staring at a workflow, the conversation potentially becomes:

“This workflow isn’t working.”

Ask AI investigates.

“I’ve found the problem.”

Then either:

“I can fix that for you.”

Or:

“Here’s what you need to change.”

For anyone who regularly builds HighLevel workflows, that’s potentially incredibly useful.

A Much More Advanced Example: HighLevel Custom Objects

I’ve also seen this from the opposite end of the HighLevel spectrum.

One of our MarketerM8 clients wanted to use Custom Objects.

If you’ve never explored Custom Objects, this isn’t simply creating another custom field.

Custom Objects allow you to create your own types of records inside HighLevel and establish relationships between them and other records.

It’s considerably more advanced.

And I’ll admit that Custom Objects and creating the relationships between them isn’t my strongest area of HighLevel.

In this particular case, the client ended up understanding what he needed to do better than I did.

How?

He used Ask AI alongside the unlimited HighLevel technical support available through MarketerM8.

Ask AI was able to complete much of the setup itself.

There were still instances where it couldn’t perform a particular step automatically.

When that happened, Ask AI explained what the client needed to do.

So it wasn’t 100% autonomous.

But that’s almost what makes the example more interesting.

The experience became:

Ask AI does what it can → identifies what it can’t do → guides the human through the remaining steps.

Between Ask AI, the client’s own knowledge and technical support, he was able to work through a fairly sophisticated HighLevel implementation.

And I think that gives us a glimpse of where this is heading.

Ask AI Doesn’t Need to Be 100% Autonomous to Be Useful

There’s a temptation with AI agents to judge them in very black-and-white terms.

Either:

“The AI can do everything.”

Or:

“I still had to do something myself, so what’s the point?”

I don’t think that’s the right way to look at it.

Imagine Ask AI can complete 80% of a complicated HighLevel task itself and then gives you precise instructions for the remaining 20%.

That’s still potentially a huge productivity improvement.

Think about the three examples we’ve just looked at.

Fixing my funnel

Ask AI analysed a live webpage, diagnosed the problem and offered to fix it.

Creating and troubleshooting a workflow

You can describe the outcome you’re trying to achieve and Ask AI can help build it. If something doesn’t work, you can ask it to help diagnose what’s wrong rather than trying to find the problem yourself.

Setting up Custom Objects

A client was able to use Ask AI to help implement something relatively advanced. Ask AI did some of the work and guided him through the parts it couldn’t complete itself.

These are very different use cases.

But they all demonstrate the same change.

Ask AI is moving from answering questions towards helping accomplish outcomes.

Think of Ask AI as Your HighLevel Assistant

This is probably the simplest way I’d explain the opportunity.

Don’t think of Ask AI purely as another version of ChatGPT.

Think of it as an increasingly capable HighLevel assistant.

You give it an objective.

It works out how much of that objective it can accomplish.

If it can perform the action, it does it.

If it needs more information, it asks you.

If it can’t perform a particular action, it explains what you need to do.

That opens up far more interesting possibilities.

Start With the Little Niggles

You don’t have to start by asking Ask AI to build complicated Custom Objects.

In fact, I wouldn’t.

Start with the annoying little things that normally consume your time.

For example:

“Why doesn’t this funnel page look right?”

“Analyse this page and tell me why the mobile version isn’t displaying correctly.”

“This workflow isn’t doing what I expect. Can you find the problem?”

“I need this workflow to do X, Y and Z. Can you build it?”

“Where is the setting that controls this?”

“Can you fix this for me?”

That last question is increasingly worth asking.

Rather than automatically assuming Ask AI can only give you instructions, ask whether it can actually make the change itself.

The worst that happens is that it tells you how to do it.

Then Start Giving Ask AI Bigger Jobs

Once you’re comfortable with the idea, start giving Ask AI outcomes rather than individual questions.

Instead of:

“How do Custom Objects work?”

Try:

“I need to create a Custom Object to store properties belonging to a contact. A contact could have multiple properties. Help me design and set this up correctly.”

Instead of:

“How do HighLevel workflows work?”

Try:

“Build me a workflow that creates an opportunity, sends an email and text, and alerts the salesperson when this form is completed.”

And if it goes wrong:

“This workflow isn’t doing what it should. Find the problem and fix what you can.”

Instead of asking where a particular setting is located:

“This is what I’m trying to achieve. Can you sort it?”

That’s a very different way of interacting with software.

Give Ask AI a Problem, Not Just a Question

This may actually be the biggest change in how we need to think about using AI.

Most of us have learned to use AI by asking questions.

But increasingly, the better approach could be to give it problems.

Instead of:

“What CSS controls this font?”

Try:

“This font is wrong. Find out why and fix it.”

Instead of:

“Tell me how Custom Objects work.”

Try:

“This is what I’m trying to achieve using Custom Objects. Help me build it.”

Instead of:

“How do I troubleshoot a HighLevel workflow?”

Try:

“This workflow isn’t working properly. Find out why.”

It’s a subtle change in language.

But it’s a major change in expectation.

And Then There Is the Browser

This is where the LeadConnector Ask AI Chrome Extension becomes particularly interesting.

HighLevel doesn’t exist in isolation.

During a normal working day you might be using customer websites, supplier portals, Google, documentation, online applications, industry websites and numerous other browser-based systems.

Putting Ask AI into Chrome means your HighLevel assistant can increasingly be available where you’re actually working.

There are some obvious uses.

You could visit a prospect’s website and ask:

“Summarise this company before I call them.”

You could read some technical documentation and ask:

“Explain this to me in plain English.”

You could visit a competitor and ask:

“How does their proposition differ from ours?”

Useful?

Absolutely.

But I don’t think that’s the really exciting bit.

The exciting bit is moving beyond:

“Tell me about what I’m looking at.”

towards:

“Help me do something about what I’m looking at.”

My funnel example is a perfect illustration.

I didn’t really want a beautifully written AI report explaining my navigation font.

I wanted the bloody font fixed.

And that’s the difference.

Imagine Giving Ask AI These Jobs

Once you start thinking in terms of outcomes rather than questions, the possibilities become much more interesting.

Imagine saying:

“Look at this funnel and find anything that’s broken.”

Or:

“Check this page and identify anything that doesn’t look right.”

Or:

“I want to capture this information against every customer. Work out the best way to structure it in HighLevel.”

Or:

“Look at this process and tell me whether I should use Custom Fields, Custom Objects or Opportunities.”

Or:

“I need customers to complete this form, pay a deposit and then book an appointment. Help me build it.”

Or:

“This workflow isn’t behaving as expected. Diagnose it and fix what you can.”

Or simply:

“I want to automate this process. Work out the best way of doing it in HighLevel.”

Some of those jobs Ask AI may be able to complete itself.

Some it may partially complete.

Others it may need to guide you through.

But that boundary is moving.

And it’s moving quickly.

Could This Make HighLevel Easier to Use?

I think it could.

HighLevel’s greatest strength has historically also been one of its weaknesses.

It can do an enormous amount.

That means there’s also an enormous amount to learn.

Workflows.

Opportunities.

Calendars.

Conversations.

Forms.

Funnels.

Websites.

Payments.

Automations.

Custom Objects.

AI Agents.

And hundreds of settings and features sitting behind them.

For a new user, it can be overwhelming.

Traditionally, the solution has been training, documentation, technical support or paying somebody who understands HighLevel.

Those things aren’t disappearing.

But AI adds another layer.

Instead of needing to understand exactly where something lives inside HighLevel and how it works before you can use it, increasingly you can explain what you’re trying to achieve.

Ask AI can then help bridge that knowledge gap.

This Is Particularly Interesting for MarketerM8

This fits very neatly with how we approach HighLevel at MarketerM8.

We’re not trying to turn every business owner into a HighLevel expert.

The objective is to help businesses use the technology to solve actual business problems.

With MarketerM8 you have HighLevel.

You have our weekly workshops showing you how different parts of the platform work.

You have unlimited HighLevel technical support.

And increasingly, you have Ask AI sitting alongside you.

My Custom Objects example demonstrates this perfectly.

The client didn’t need me to become the world’s leading Custom Objects expert before he could move forward.

Between his own knowledge, Ask AI and technical support, he worked it out.

That’s a very different way of using business software.

We’re Not at Full Autonomy Yet

It’s important not to get carried away.

Ask AI can’t currently do absolutely everything for you.

There will be situations where it can perform the task itself.

There will be situations where it can perform part of the task.

And there will be situations where it can only explain what you need to do.

That’s where we are today.

But look at the direction of travel.

AI used to tell us what to do.

Then it started to do things with us.

Now it’s increasingly starting to do things for us.

The interesting question is what that looks like in another six months, twelve months or two years.

Stop Asking Ask AI Questions. Start Giving It Jobs.

If you’re already using HighLevel, my suggestion is very simple.

The next time you have a niggle, a problem or something you’re not quite sure how to build, don’t immediately start searching through documentation.

Give Ask AI the problem.

Explain what you’re trying to achieve.

Give it the relevant information.

Give it a URL if there’s a webpage it needs to investigate.

Then ask:

“Can you sort this for me?”

You might be surprised how much it can already do.

And if it can’t do everything?

Ask it to show you how to finish the job.

Because Ask AI doesn’t need to replace you to be useful.

It just needs to make what you’re trying to accomplish easier, faster and less frustrating.

From what I’m already seeing, it’s beginning to do exactly that.

And the LeadConnector Ask AI Chrome Extension makes that assistant even more accessible while you’re working around the web.

If you run a service or trade business, you may have come across FieldTask while looking for software to manage jobs and people working out in the field.

FieldTask provides many of the tools you would expect from field-service software, including job management, scheduling, routes, time tracking, photographs, forms and job sign-off.

But there is something important to understand before you get started.

FieldTask is designed specifically for HighLevel. You need a HighLevel sub-account to use it, and FieldTask has confirmed to us that the app must be installed by the HighLevel agency managing that account.

FieldTask does not currently provide HighLevel accounts themselves.

If you already use HighLevel, speak to your existing agency about adding FieldTask.

If you don’t have HighLevel, you have two choices. You can set up your own HighLevel agency account and configure everything yourself, or you can work with an existing HighLevel agency such as MarketerM8 that can provide your sub-account and help you get FieldTask installed and configured.

We’ve already been assisting clients with FieldTask implementations, so we’ve had practical experience of setting up the combination.

What Is FieldTask?

FieldTask is a field-service management application designed for businesses that send people out to customers to deliver work.

That could include businesses such as:

• Plumbers
• Electricians
• Cleaning companies
• Heating and HVAC businesses
• Pest control businesses
• Landscapers
• Property maintenance companies
• Installation businesses
• Mobile repair businesses

HighLevel is already very strong at managing leads, customers, sales and marketing.

FieldTask extends that into the operational side of the business.

HighLevel Manages the Customer. FieldTask Manages the Job.

This is probably the simplest way to understand the relationship.

HighLevel can manage:

• Leads and enquiries
• CRM and customer records
• Sales pipelines
• Email, SMS and WhatsApp
• Phone calls
• Calendars and appointments
• Quotes and payments
• Automated follow-up
• Review requests
• Customer reactivation
• Marketing campaigns

FieldTask can manage:

• Jobs and work orders
• Field operatives
• Scheduling and dispatching
• Routes and locations
• Time on site
• Job photographs
• Forms and notes
• Customer signatures
• Job progress
• Job completion

Put them together and you can start managing much more of the complete customer journey:

Enquiry → Sale → Job → Completion → Payment → Review → Repeat Business

And that is what makes the combination interesting.

Why Not Just Use Traditional Field-Service Software?

There are already some excellent field-service applications available, including ServiceM8, Jobber, Tradify, Simpro and others.

Many do a very good job of managing work in the field.

The challenge often comes with everything surrounding the job.

• How did the customer become a lead?
• How are enquiries followed up?
• How are quotes chased?
• How are customers reminded about appointments?
• How do you request a Google review afterwards?
• How do you market another service to the customer six months later?

This is where HighLevel brings something different to the equation.

Rather than having one system for marketing, another CRM and another application for job delivery, HighLevel and FieldTask can form part of the same connected ecosystem.

An Example of HighLevel + FieldTask in Practice

Imagine you run a cleaning, plumbing, electrical or property-maintenance business.

Someone visits your website and requests a quote.

The enquiry enters HighLevel and an opportunity is created in your sales pipeline.

HighLevel can automatically acknowledge the enquiry, notify your team and start the appropriate follow-up.

The customer accepts the quote.

At that point, the process moves from selling the job to delivering the job.

That’s where FieldTask takes over more of the operational work.

The job can be scheduled and allocated to the appropriate operative. The person delivering the work can access the job details, location and instructions.

While on site they can record time, complete forms, add photographs and collect signatures.

Once the work has been completed, HighLevel can continue the customer journey.

For example, you could automatically send:

• A thank-you message
• A payment reminder
• A Google review request
• A follow-up offer
• A reminder when the customer is likely to need the service again

It becomes one connected process rather than several isolated pieces of software.

The Real Opportunity Is Connecting Sales and Operations

This is the part of FieldTask that particularly interests me.

For years I’ve worked with businesses where sales and marketing operate in one system while job delivery happens somewhere else.

That creates duplication. Customer information gets entered twice. Staff have to jump between different applications. Automations stop when the sale is made. Nobody follows up properly once the job is completed.

The software itself isn’t necessarily the problem.

The problem is that the systems don’t connect.

FieldTask has been created specifically around HighLevel, which potentially allows a service business to extend its CRM much further into the operational side of the business.

We’ve Been Setting Up FieldTask for Clients

At MarketerM8, we’ve already been assisting clients with installing and configuring FieldTask alongside HighLevel.

What interested me during those implementations wasn’t simply the list of FieldTask features.

It was being able to take an existing HighLevel system that was already managing customers, communications and workflows and extend it into the actual delivery of the service.

For example, FieldTask can provide field teams with tools such as:

• Route planning
• Map visibility
• Job-time tracking
• Before-and-after photographs
• On-site forms
• Customer sign-off
• Job reports

Those operational features can then sit alongside the CRM and marketing functionality already available within HighLevel.

You Don’t Necessarily Need to Replace Everything

If you’re already using specialist software within your business, I’m not suggesting you should immediately throw everything away.

There are some very mature field-service systems available, and some industries have very specialist requirements.

The sensible starting point is to map how your business currently works.

• What happens when someone makes an enquiry?
• How is the opportunity followed up?
• How do you quote?
• How does the job get booked?
• Who allocates it?
• What does the operative need while on site?
• What happens when the job is complete?
• How do you invoice?
• How do you get the review?
• How do you generate the next sale?

Once you understand that process, you can decide where HighLevel and FieldTask should fit.

The software should fit the business. The business shouldn’t have to fit the software.

FieldTask vs ServiceM8, Jobber, Tradify and Simpro

If you’re researching FieldTask, there’s a reasonable chance you’re also considering systems such as ServiceM8, Jobber, Tradify or Simpro.

I wouldn’t claim that FieldTask automatically replaces every one of them.

The right choice depends on the complexity of your operation and the specialist functionality you require.

But there is an important difference worth considering.

With many traditional field-service systems, the starting point is:

How do we manage the job?

With HighLevel + FieldTask, you can think more broadly:

How do we manage the entire customer journey from first enquiry through to repeat business?

For many small and medium-sized service businesses, that could be a much more valuable question.

How Do You Get HighLevel for FieldTask?

If you’ve discovered FieldTask but don’t currently have HighLevel, there are essentially two ways you can get everything set up.

Option 1: Set Up HighLevel and FieldTask Yourself

You can go directly to HighLevel, set up your own HighLevel agency account and manage everything yourself.

From there, you’ll need to learn how to configure the agency, create and set up the HighLevel sub-account for your business, and then work out how to install and configure FieldTask within it.

This gives you complete control and may be the right option if you’re technically confident and enjoy setting up software yourself.

However, it’s worth understanding what you’re taking on.

You’re effectively learning three things at the same time:

1. How to set up and manage a HighLevel agency
2. How to configure a HighLevel sub-account around your business
3. How to install and configure FieldTask so the two systems work together

HighLevel is an extremely powerful platform, but with that power comes a learning curve. Add FieldTask and the integration between the two, and there’s quite a lot to understand if you’re starting from scratch.

If you’re happy to do that yourself, you can set up your own HighLevel account here.

Option 2: Let MarketerM8 Help You Set Everything Up

The alternative is to work with an existing HighLevel agency that already understands the platform and has experience setting up FieldTask.

That’s where MarketerM8 comes in.

We can provide the HighLevel sub-account you need, configure the foundations and install FieldTask for you.

We’ve already been assisting clients with FieldTask implementations, so rather than you having to learn HighLevel, FieldTask and how the two systems fit together at the same time, we can help you get the system up and running.

More importantly, we don’t simply install the software.

We look at how your business actually works and how the complete process should fit together:

Lead → Sale → Job → Payment → Review → Repeat Business

That means configuring HighLevel around your sales and customer journey while using FieldTask for the operational side of delivering the work.

Find out more about HighLevel with MarketerM8.

Which Route Is Right for You?

If you enjoy working with software, have the time to learn HighLevel and want complete control over your own setup, the DIY route may make perfect sense.

If you primarily want to run your service or trade business rather than become a HighLevel expert, working with MarketerM8 can remove much of that initial learning curve and help you get to a working system faster.

Neither approach is necessarily right or wrong.

The important thing is understanding that getting a HighLevel account is only the starting point. The real value comes from configuring HighLevel and FieldTask so they work together around the way your business actually operates.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is FieldTask?

FieldTask is a field-service management application built specifically to work with HighLevel. It adds job-management and field-team functionality to HighLevel’s CRM, sales and marketing platform.

Do you need HighLevel to use FieldTask?

Yes. FieldTask requires a HighLevel sub-account. FieldTask has also confirmed to us that the app needs to be installed by the HighLevel agency managing that account.

Can I get HighLevel myself to use FieldTask?

Yes. You can set up your own HighLevel agency account, create your own sub-account and then install and configure FieldTask yourself.

Alternatively, you can work with an existing HighLevel agency such as MarketerM8 and have us provide the sub-account and assist with the setup.

What does FieldTask add to HighLevel?

FieldTask adds specialist operational tools for managing jobs, field workers, scheduling, routes, time tracking, photographs, forms, signatures and job completion.

Is FieldTask a CRM?

FieldTask is primarily a field-service management application. HighLevel provides the CRM, sales, communications and marketing functionality around it.

Is FieldTask an alternative to ServiceM8 or Jobber?

It could be, depending on the needs of your business. FieldTask’s major distinction is that it has been designed specifically to work alongside HighLevel rather than operating as an entirely separate CRM and field-service platform.

Can MarketerM8 set up HighLevel and FieldTask?

Yes. MarketerM8 can provide the HighLevel sub-account required for FieldTask and assist with installing and configuring the system around your business.

Want to Use FieldTask?

If you’ve discovered FieldTask and think it could be a good fit for your service or trade business, we can help you get the complete system in place.

MarketerM8 can provide your HighLevel account, install FieldTask and help configure the customer journey around it.

Or, if you’d rather build everything yourself, that’s an option too.

Set up HighLevel yourself or have MarketerM8 set it up for you.

Would you like to discuss your specific requirements?  Book a Discovery Call with Julian.

If you are looking for the best booking software for a small business, Calendly is probably one of the first names you will come across.

But what exactly are you trying to book?

A 30-minute sales call is very different from booking a massage, reserving a place on a training course or hiring a piece of equipment for three days.

And what if you are a developer and need to build a completely bespoke scheduling process into an application?

That is why comparing booking systems purely on their calendar features can be misleading.

Solutions such as Calendly, Cal.com, Acuity Scheduling, SimplyBook.me, Zoho Bookings and HighLevel overlap, but they are not all solving exactly the same problem.

HighLevel in particular has changed considerably. What was once primarily an appointment scheduling system now includes Service Calendars, classes, rooms and equipment, events and dedicated rental booking.

So which booking system should a small business choose?

Quick Answer: Which Is the Best Booking Software?

If you simply want people to schedule meetings with you, Calendly remains an excellent option.

If you are a developer, SaaS company or have an unusual scheduling requirement, Cal.com offers considerably more flexibility and customisation.

If customers need to choose services, staff and appointment times, Acuity Scheduling and SimplyBook.me are strong contenders.

If physical resources such as rooms or equipment need to be scheduled, Zoho Bookings is worth considering, particularly for businesses already using Zoho.

But if you want your bookings connected directly to your CRM, sales pipeline, email, SMS, WhatsApp, payments, reviews and marketing automation, HighLevel becomes particularly interesting.

And importantly, this does not always have to be an either/or decision. HighLevel can also integrate with specialist platforms such as Cal.com where you need their particular capabilities.

The real question is not simply which software has the best calendar. It is what needs to happen before and after somebody makes a booking.

Booking Software Comparison

There Are Really Four Types of Online Booking

Before comparing software, it helps to understand what you actually need.

1. Appointment Scheduling

This is the classic Calendly use case.

Someone needs to find an available time in your diary and book a meeting.

Typical examples include discovery calls, sales meetings, consultations, account reviews, interviews and online demonstrations.

For this requirement, a straightforward appointment scheduler may be all you need.

2. Service Booking

Now consider a beauty salon.

The customer isn’t simply asking:

“When is Sarah available?”

They might want:

Cut and blow dry → Sarah → 60 minutes → Saturday morning

Or perhaps:

Massage → 90 minutes → any therapist → appropriate treatment room

The availability of the booking may depend upon the service, member of staff, room and even a particular piece of equipment.

That is a much more complex scheduling problem.

3. Classes and Group Bookings

Classes work differently again.

You may have:

Tuesday Pilates Class → 7pm → 15 places available

Instead of the first customer making that time unavailable, multiple customers can book until the capacity has been reached.

This model is useful for fitness classes, training courses, workshops, martial arts, group coaching and educational sessions.

4. Rental and Resource Booking

Finally, sometimes customers are booking something rather than someone.

Examples include meeting rooms, photography studios, cars, vans, holiday accommodation, bikes, trailers, tools, carpet cleaning machines, audio equipment and event equipment.

A customer may need to reserve an asset for several hours, days, weeks or even months.

We have now moved a long way beyond simply finding a gap in someone’s diary.

Calendly: Best for Straightforward Meeting Scheduling

Calendly became popular for a very good reason. It makes arranging meetings easy.

Instead of exchanging emails trying to find a convenient time, you send somebody a link. They choose an available appointment and the meeting is booked.

Calendly has developed beyond basic scheduling and now includes features such as team scheduling, round-robin appointments, routing forms, reminders and integrations.

Its real strength, however, remains meeting scheduling.

If your requirement is essentially:

“Let somebody choose an available time to speak to me or somebody on my team.”

Calendly should certainly be on your shortlist.

However, if you also need a CRM, sales pipeline, email marketing, text messaging and automation, it is worth asking whether you really need another standalone system purely for scheduling.

Cal.com: Best for Developers and Custom Scheduling

Cal.com deserves a slightly different place in this comparison.

You can certainly use Cal.com as a conventional online booking system. It supports individual and team scheduling, routing, payments, recurring events, workflows and integrations.

But one of its biggest strengths is its flexibility for developers, SaaS businesses and organisations with unusual scheduling requirements.

Cal.com provides APIs, webhooks and extensive customisation options, making it particularly interesting if you want to build scheduling into your own application, customer portal or specialist business process. There is even a HighLevel integration with Cal.com.

There is also a self-hosted community version called Cal.diy for organisations that want greater control over the underlying scheduling infrastructure.

For the average small business that simply wants customers to book appointments, services or rentals, that level of flexibility may be unnecessary.

But for developers or businesses with a genuinely unusual booking requirement, Cal.com can be an extremely powerful option.

Best for: developers, SaaS businesses and organisations requiring highly customised scheduling.

Cal.com and HighLevel Can Work Together

Interestingly, this does not necessarily have to be a choice between Cal.com and HighLevel.

HighLevel now provides a direct Cal.com integration within its Workflow Builder.

A Cal.com booking being:

• Created
• Rescheduled
• Cancelled
• Completed

can trigger automation inside HighLevel.

HighLevel workflows can also create, find, reschedule and cancel Cal.com bookings.

This creates an interesting option for a business that needs the specialist flexibility of Cal.com for scheduling but still wants HighLevel to manage the wider CRM and customer journey.

For example:

Specialist Cal.com Booking
↓
HighLevel CRM
↓
Opportunity Created or Updated
↓
Email / SMS / WhatsApp Follow-Up
↓
Sales or Service Process
↓
Review Request
↓
Future Marketing

This illustrates an important principle.

You do not always have to replace specialist software with HighLevel.

Sometimes the better solution is to use a specialist application for the job it does particularly well and connect it to HighLevel for everything surrounding the customer relationship.

Acuity Scheduling: Strong for Appointment-Based Services

Acuity Scheduling moves further into the world of service businesses.

It supports online appointment booking, multiple calendars and locations, payments, deposits, invoicing and automated appointment notifications.

It is particularly relevant to coaches, consultants, therapists, beauty businesses, health and wellness businesses, personal trainers and professional services.

Acuity’s payment capabilities are useful because a business can require payment or a deposit as part of the booking process rather than simply reserving a time.

Best for: businesses where selling appointments and services is the main requirement.

SimplyBook.me: Strong for Services, Classes and Memberships

SimplyBook.me goes considerably further than straightforward meeting scheduling.

It supports services, classes, events, online payments, reminders and memberships.

For example, a fitness business can create a class, assign an instructor, specify how many people can attend and allow customers to book until the class is full.

SimplyBook.me can also work with resources required to deliver services, making it much closer to a complete service business booking platform than a simple calendar application.

Best for: businesses where classes, appointments, memberships and service bookings are central to day-to-day operations.

Zoho Bookings: Worth Considering for Resource Scheduling

Zoho Bookings is particularly worth considering if your business already uses other products in the Zoho ecosystem.

Its resource-based approach can be useful where physical assets have to be scheduled alongside services and people.

Resources can include things such as rooms, venues, equipment and vehicles.

The wider attraction of Zoho is that Bookings can sit alongside other Zoho applications such as CRM.

This gives Zoho a similar philosophical advantage to HighLevel. You do not necessarily need to build your business around a collection of completely unrelated applications.

Best for: organisations already committed to the wider Zoho ecosystem, particularly where resource scheduling is important.

HighLevel: Booking Has Become Much More Than a Calendar

This is where the comparison has become particularly interesting.

A few years ago I would mainly have described HighLevel’s calendar as an alternative to Calendly.

That description now seriously undersells it.

HighLevel now provides several different types of scheduling and booking, including:

• One-to-one appointments
• Round-robin calendars
• Service Calendars
• Class bookings
• Rooms and equipment
• Event calendars
• Rental bookings

HighLevel Service Calendars

Service Calendars are designed specifically for service-based businesses.

A business can create individual services, group them into categories and display them through a single Service Menu.

For example, a beauty business might offer:

Hair

• Cut and blow dry
• Hair colouring
• Styling

Beauty

• Facial
• Manicure
• Massage

Individual services can have their own duration, availability and staff assignments. Businesses can also take payment during the booking process.

Customers can even be given the option to select the member of staff they want.

Rooms and Equipment

This is an important addition for many service businesses.

Imagine a clinic with:

• 5 therapists
• 3 treatment rooms
• 2 specialist machines

It is not enough to know whether the therapist is available.

The appropriate room and equipment must also be available.

HighLevel allows rooms and equipment to be associated with Service Calendars and uses their availability to help prevent scheduling conflicts.

This opens the system up to businesses such as clinics, salons, photography studios, training centres and businesses where particular equipment is required to deliver a service.

Classes and Group Bookings

HighLevel can also handle bookings where several people attend the same session.

For example:

Beginners Yoga
Tuesday 7pm
12 places available

Bookings continue until the available capacity is reached.

That makes the system relevant to fitness classes, workshops, courses, martial arts, group coaching and other group activities.

HighLevel Rentals Changes the Comparison Again

One of the most significant recent developments is HighLevel Rentals.

This is a dedicated booking system designed for businesses managing rentable assets such as:

• Properties
• Cars and other vehicles
• Equipment
• Rooms
• Other bookable assets

Unlike a traditional appointment, rentals can span multiple hours, days, weeks or months.

HighLevel can manage availability, listings, inventory and pricing, as well as payments and security deposits.

Consider a small business hiring carpet cleaning machines.

A customer could select a machine, choose when they need it, check availability and make the booking.

Or consider a photography studio.

Instead of:

“Book a meeting with Steve.”

The customer might book:

Studio One → Saturday → 10am to 4pm

That puts HighLevel into a very different category from a traditional appointment scheduler.

The Big Difference: What Happens Before and After the Booking?

This is where I think many small businesses should reconsider the way they choose booking software.

Imagine someone hires a carpet cleaning machine.

A standalone rental system might handle:

Booking → Payment → Confirmation

But the complete customer journey might actually be:

Google or Facebook Ad
↓
Landing Page
↓
Enquiry
↓
CRM Contact
↓
Rental Booking
↓
Payment
↓
Confirmation
↓
SMS Collection Reminder
↓
Equipment Collected
↓
Return Reminder
↓
Equipment Returned
↓
Review Request
↓
Future Marketing

That is where HighLevel becomes a very different proposition.

The booking is not the system. The booking is one step within the customer journey.

The Same Principle Applies to Service Businesses

Imagine a beauty clinic receives a lead from Facebook.

The person does not necessarily book immediately.

With HighLevel, the process could potentially become:

Facebook Lead
↓
Contact Added to CRM
↓
Immediate Text Message
↓
Follow-Up Email
↓
Customer Books Treatment
↓
Deposit Taken
↓
Appointment Reminders
↓
Treatment Takes Place
↓
Review Request
↓
Future Marketing

The booking system is no longer separate from the marketing system.

It is part of it.

Do You Really Need Another Piece of Software?

It is surprisingly easy for a small business to end up with a technology stack looking something like this:

• Calendly for appointments
• Mailchimp for email
• A CRM for customer records
• Another platform for text messages
• WhatsApp for messaging
• Another platform for reviews
• Zapier trying to connect everything together

There is nothing necessarily wrong with any of those individual products.

The problem is that you have to make all the systems talk to one another.

Every connection becomes another potential point of failure.

HighLevel takes a different approach.

The calendars sit alongside the contact database, conversations, opportunities, workflows, email, SMS, WhatsApp, payments, websites, forms and other marketing tools.

For many small businesses, that integration can be more valuable than having the most sophisticated standalone calendar on the market.

When HighLevel Is NOT the Right Booking System

There is an important caveat.

HighLevel does not automatically replace every specialist booking or operational platform.

Imagine a vehicle hire company with 500 vehicles.

It may require fleet maintenance, mileage tracking, vehicle inspections, damage reporting, insurance management, driver verification, telematics and complex rental agreements.

That business may quite rightly need specialist fleet rental software.

Likewise, a large hotel is unlikely to replace its specialist property management and distribution systems simply because HighLevel can take rental bookings.

Sometimes specialist operational software is exactly the right answer.

But that does not necessarily mean the specialist system also needs to run your marketing.

The Cal.com example demonstrates this particularly well. You can use specialist or highly customisable booking technology where it is needed and still connect the customer journey into HighLevel.

Which Booking Software Should a Small Business Choose?

• Choose Calendly if you primarily need straightforward meeting scheduling.
• Consider Cal.com if you are a developer, SaaS company or have a highly customised scheduling requirement.
• Consider Acuity if appointments and paid services are at the heart of your business.
• Consider SimplyBook.me if you need a specialist system for services, classes and memberships.
• Consider Zoho Bookings if you already operate within the Zoho ecosystem or require resource scheduling.
• Consider HighLevel if you want appointments, services, resources or rentals connected directly to your CRM and marketing automation.
• Use HighLevel alongside specialist software when the specialist application solves an operational requirement better but you still want the wider customer journey in one CRM.

Start With the Customer Journey, Not the Calendar

This is probably the most important advice I can give.

Don’t start by asking:

“Which booking software should we buy?”

Instead, map the entire process.

Ask:

• How does somebody first discover your business?
• How do they enquire?
• What information do you need from them?
• What exactly are they booking?
• Do they need to choose a member of staff?
• Does a room or piece of equipment need to be available?
• Do they need to pay a deposit or pay in full?
• What reminders should they receive?
• What happens if they don’t book?
• What happens after the appointment?
• How do you ask for a review?
• How do you encourage them to come back?

Once you understand that complete process, choosing the right software becomes considerably easier.

The calendar is only one part of the system.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the best booking software for a small business?

There is no single best booking system for every small business. Calendly is particularly good for meeting scheduling. Cal.com offers greater flexibility for developers and unusual scheduling requirements. Acuity and SimplyBook.me suit service businesses, while Zoho Bookings is particularly relevant to businesses using the Zoho ecosystem. HighLevel is particularly attractive when booking needs to connect directly with CRM, payments and marketing automation.

What is the difference between Calendly and Cal.com?

Both can handle online appointment scheduling. Calendly is particularly well known for making meeting scheduling straightforward for individuals and teams. Cal.com places greater emphasis on customisation, APIs, developer tools and the ability to build scheduling into other applications and specialist processes.

Can Cal.com integrate with HighLevel?

Yes. HighLevel’s Workflow Builder can respond to Cal.com bookings being created, rescheduled, cancelled or completed. HighLevel workflows can also create, find, reschedule and cancel Cal.com bookings. This makes it possible to use Cal.com for specialist scheduling while HighLevel manages the CRM, communications and wider customer journey.

Is HighLevel an alternative to Calendly?

Yes. HighLevel can handle traditional online appointment scheduling, including individual and round-robin calendars. However, its capabilities now go considerably further because it also supports services, classes, rooms and equipment, events and rentals.

Can HighLevel be used for service bookings?

Yes. HighLevel Service Calendars allow businesses to create different services, group them into a Service Menu, assign staff, define duration and availability, take payments and associate rooms and equipment with bookings.

Can HighLevel book rooms and equipment?

Yes. Rooms and equipment can be created as resources and associated with Service Calendars. This is useful where delivering a service depends upon a treatment room, meeting room, machine or other physical resource being available.

Can HighLevel manage classes and group bookings?

Yes. HighLevel supports class-style calendars where multiple customers can reserve places within the same session up to a defined capacity.

Can HighLevel be used for rental bookings?

Yes. HighLevel now has a dedicated Rentals system for bookable assets such as properties, vehicles and equipment. Rentals can span hours, days, weeks or months and can include availability, inventory, pricing, payments and security deposits.

Does HighLevel replace specialist rental or booking software?

Not necessarily. A relatively straightforward business may be able to manage its booking requirements entirely inside HighLevel. More complex businesses may still need specialist operational software. In those situations, the specialist system can potentially handle the complex operational requirement while HighLevel handles CRM, communications, follow-up and marketing.

Is Calendly still worth using?

Absolutely. If your main requirement is simply allowing prospects or customers to find an available time and book a meeting, Calendly remains a strong solution. The question is whether you need a separate scheduling application if your CRM or marketing platform already provides the functionality you require.

What should I look for when choosing booking software?

Look beyond the booking itself. Consider staff availability, services, resources, payments, reminders, cancellations, follow-up, CRM integration, marketing automation and what should happen after the customer attends. The best solution is the one that supports the complete customer journey with the least unnecessary complexity.

Final Thoughts

Calendly remains an excellent meeting scheduling tool.

Cal.com is particularly interesting where developers or businesses need much greater control over the way scheduling works.

Acuity Scheduling and SimplyBook.me provide strong options for appointment and service-based businesses.

Zoho Bookings deserves consideration, particularly for businesses already invested in the wider Zoho ecosystem.

But HighLevel is increasingly difficult to describe as simply another Calendly alternative.

Its booking capabilities can now cover appointments, services, classes, events, rooms, equipment and rentals.

More importantly, those bookings can become part of a wider CRM and marketing automation system.

And where a specialist system such as Cal.com is the better tool for a particular booking requirement, HighLevel can work alongside it.

For a small business, that raises a much more interesting question:

Do you really need another standalone booking application?

Or would you be better with a system where the booking is simply one stage in the customer’s complete journey?

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Want Help Choosing or Setting Up the Right Booking System?

At MarketerM8, we help businesses design and build practical HighLevel systems around the way the business actually works.

That starts with understanding the complete customer journey rather than simply switching on another piece of software.

We can help you map out the process, decide whether HighLevel can replace your existing booking software, identify where specialist software should remain, and then connect the booking process into your CRM, payments, follow-up and marketing automation.

If you are already using HighLevel but suspect you are only using a fraction of what it can do, or you are considering moving from Calendly, Cal.com or another booking platform, get in touch with MarketerM8 and we can talk through what would work best for your business.

For years, taking a face-to-face card payment meant having a credit card machine.

For small businesses, companies such as SumUp made this much easier. Buy a relatively inexpensive card reader, connect it to your phone and pay a percentage of each transaction.

But do you actually need the card reader anymore?

If you’re using HighLevel, you can use Tap to Pay technology to take face-to-face payments through the HighLevel mobile app.

But for me, the interesting part isn’t getting rid of a £30 card reader. It’s what happens before and after the payment.

A Payment Terminal Knows You’ve Been Paid. HighLevel Knows Who Paid You

This is the big difference.

If you’re already using HighLevel to manage your customers, the payment doesn’t have to sit in a completely separate system.

It can become part of the customer journey.

Enquiry → Appointment → Deposit → Service → Balance Payment → Review Request → Repeat Business

That’s where I think HighLevel becomes particularly interesting for service businesses.

A payment terminal knows you’ve been paid. A CRM knows who paid you, what they bought and what should happen next.

Example: Take the Balance When the Job Is Finished

Imagine you’re a photographer.

A customer books a £600 photography session and pays a £100 deposit online.

HighLevel manages the appointment, sends the confirmation and reminds the customer beforehand.

You complete the photography session and there is £500 outstanding.

Open the appointment in the HighLevel mobile app and collect the balance there and then.

The customer taps their card against your phone.

Paid.

HighLevel specifically supports collecting the balance of service appointments through the mobile app using Tap to Pay and other payment methods.

See HighLevel’s guide to collecting service appointment payments.

The same principle could apply to a beautician, consultant, cleaner, electrician, plumber, installer or almost any other business providing a service face-to-face.

What About Outstanding Invoices?

This could be particularly useful for trades and other service businesses.

Imagine you’ve just completed a £750 job and the customer already has an outstanding invoice.

HighLevel’s mobile POS can bring together due and overdue invoices, estimates and appointment payments through its Active Transactions functionality.

Instead of leaving and hoping the customer pays later, you can potentially collect the payment while you’re standing in front of them.

Open the transaction. Take the payment. Invoice paid.

Learn more about Active Transactions in HighLevel POS.

Then Let the Automation Take Over

This is where the comparison with a simple card payment system becomes more interesting.

Getting paid doesn’t have to be the end of the process.

A successful payment could become the trigger for what happens next.

Payment received → Thank-you message → Aftercare information → Google review request → Referral request → Future follow-up

That’s why I wouldn’t look at HighLevel Tap to Pay simply as a replacement for a SumUp reader.

It’s another part of an integrated customer management system.

HighLevel Gift Cards Make This Even More Interesting

HighLevel now also has its own electronic gift card functionality.

Businesses can create and sell gift cards, send them directly to customers and track balances and redemptions within HighLevel.

A salon, photographer, therapist or other service business could therefore sell a £100 gift card online and allow the recipient to use that value when paying for a service.

So you potentially have one system handling:

• Online payments
• Deposits
• Invoices
• Face-to-face payments
• Outstanding balances
• Gift cards

And all of this sits alongside the customer’s CRM record.

Read HighLevel’s guide to Electronic Gift Cards.
Read my blog post about selling Electronic Gift Cards.

For businesses selling services rather than traditional ecommerce products, that’s a very useful combination.

What If You Have Several People Taking Payments?

There’s another potential saving which isn’t about transaction fees.

Imagine you have five engineers out visiting customers.

Traditionally, you might buy five card readers.

Those card readers have to be allocated, charged, carried around and replaced if they get lost or damaged.

If your employees already have compatible smartphones, Tap to Pay potentially removes the need for that additional hardware.

Their phone becomes the payment device.

You’ll obviously need to consider permissions, supported devices and how employees access HighLevel, but for mobile teams it’s an interesting use case.

Is HighLevel Tap to Pay Cheaper Than SumUp?

Sometimes. But not always.

And I wouldn’t choose between them purely on the headline transaction fee.

At the time of writing, SumUp’s standard UK pay-as-you-go plan charges 1.69% for most in-person payments.

Its Payments Plus plan costs £19 per month and reduces eligible domestic debit and credit card transactions to 0.99%.

View current SumUp UK pricing.

Stripe’s published UK Terminal pricing is currently 1.4% + 10p for EEA cards, with an additional 10p per Tap to Pay authorisation.

View current Stripe Terminal pricing.

So the cheapest option depends on your average transaction size, volume and the types of cards your customers use.

For lots of smaller payments, SumUp could be cheaper.

For larger transactions, Stripe’s lower percentage can become more attractive compared with SumUp’s standard PAYG rate.

But I think concentrating on a few pence difference misses the bigger point.

The Real Cost Is Often Having Too Many Disconnected Systems

I regularly come across businesses using one system for appointments, another for email marketing, another for payments, another for reviews and perhaps another CRM holding the customer information.

Individually, every piece of software might work perfectly well.

The problem is getting everything to work together. Thats Multi System Chaos.

That’s one of the reasons I like HighLevel.

Rather than continually adding another piece of software every time you need another feature, you can bring more of the customer journey into one system.

Payments are a great example.

Instead of:

Customer → SumUp → Payment

You could have:

Customer → HighLevel Phone App → Payment → CRM Updated → Automation → Review → Repeat Business

The transaction is only one part of the process.

Who Could Use HighLevel Tap to Pay?

I think the strongest opportunity is with businesses that take payment after delivering a service.

• Tradespeople and installers
• Cleaners
• Photographers
• Beauticians and salons
• Therapists
• Consultants and coaches
• Training companies
• Mobile service businesses
• Events and venues
• Home service companies

If you regularly finish a job standing next to your customer and then need to get paid, being able to take that payment using the phone already in your pocket makes a lot of sense.

So, Do You Still Need a Card Reader?

Possibly not.

But I don’t think getting rid of the card reader is actually the most important part.

The bigger opportunity is connecting the payment to everything else you do with that customer.

The enquiry. The appointment. The reminders. The deposit. The invoice. The final payment. The review request. The referral. And eventually the next sale.

That’s where HighLevel Tap to Pay becomes much more than another way of taking a card payment.

It’s another step towards having one connected system managing the complete customer journey.

And for many small service businesses, I think that’s considerably more valuable than saving a few pounds on a card reader.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can HighLevel take contactless payments in person?

Yes. HighLevel’s mobile POS supports Tap to Pay on compatible devices, allowing a customer to make a contactless payment using a supported card or digital wallet.

Do I need a card reader to use HighLevel Tap to Pay?

No. Tap to Pay uses the NFC capabilities of a compatible smartphone, so a separate card reader is not be required. HighLevel also supports compatible Stripe and Square readers where a dedicated terminal is preferred.

Can I take payment for an existing HighLevel invoice?

Yes. HighLevel allows users with the appropriate permissions to collect payment for existing invoices from the mobile app, including using Tap to Pay on supported devices.

Can I take a deposit online and the balance face-to-face?

Yes. This is particularly useful for service businesses. A customer can pay a deposit when booking and the outstanding appointment balance can then be collected through HighLevel’s mobile POS.

Is HighLevel Tap to Pay cheaper than SumUp?

Not always. The cheapest option depends on your transaction values, volume, card types and payment provider. The bigger HighLevel advantage is that the payment can be connected with your CRM, appointments, invoices and marketing automation.

Does HighLevel support gift cards?

Yes. HighLevel allows businesses to create, sell, send and track electronic gift cards. Gift cards can be redeemed through supported HighLevel checkout experiences, making them particularly useful for service and appointment-based businesses.

Who is HighLevel Tap to Pay best suited to?

It is particularly relevant to service businesses that take payments face-to-face, including tradespeople, photographers, cleaners, salons, therapists, consultants, installers, trainers and mobile service teams.

Want to Learn More?

Would you like to learn more about HighLevel? Check out MarketerM8 a HighLevel reseller.
Or book a Discovery Call with Julian to discuss your specific requirements.

Whether you run a comedy club, theatre, live music venue, arts centre, concert venue, festival or multi-purpose entertainment venue, chances are you already have a ticketing or box office system in place.

Perhaps you are using Eventbrite, Spektrix, TicketSource, PatronBase, Ticketsolve, Ticket Tailor, TicketCo or another booking platform to sell tickets and manage events.These systems are excellent at what they do.But selling tickets is only one part of running a successful venue.How do you encourage people to come back? How do you promote your next event? How do you follow up venue hire enquiries? How do you answer customer questions when your box office is closed?

That is where HighLevel comes in.

At MarketerM8, we help entertainment venues use HighLevel as the marketing, CRM and customer communication platform that works alongside their existing ticketing software. The result is more repeat bookings, better customer engagement and less manual administration.

Your Ticketing Software Is Not the Problem

Most modern ticketing systems already do an excellent job of:

• Selling tickets
• Managing events
• Processing payments
• Managing seating plans
• Handling memberships and season tickets
• Producing box office reports
• Managing refunds and exchanges

If your current platform already does these things well, there is usually no reason to replace it.

Instead, think of HighLevel as the marketing engine that sits alongside your booking system.

Your ticketing software manages the transaction.

HighLevel manages the relationship.

Ticketing Software vs HighLevel. Who Does What?

Feature	Ticketing Software	HighLevel
Sell tickets	Yes	Built-in ticketing coming soon
Seating plans	Yes	No
Box office management	Yes	No
Customer CRM	Basic	Advanced
Email marketing	Basic	Advanced automation
SMS marketing	Limited	Yes
WhatsApp messaging	Rare	Yes
AI phone receptionist	No	Yes
AI website chat	No	Yes
Marketing automation	Basic	Advanced
Landing pages	Limited	Yes
Sales funnels	No	Yes
Membership websites	Limited	Yes
Google review requests	Limited	Yes
AI review responses	No	Yes
Sales pipelines	No	Yes
Venue hire workflows	No	Yes
Customer win-back campaigns	No	Yes
Google and Facebook Ads	Limited	Yes

The two systems complement each other rather than compete.

Your ticketing platform manages events and bookings. HighLevel manages marketing, customer relationships, AI and automation.

Together they create a far more powerful solution than either platform on its own.

Why Entertainment Venues Need a CRM

Most ticketing systems are built around events.

HighLevel is built around people.

That is an important difference.

A ticketing system tells you somebody bought a ticket.

HighLevel helps you understand:

• Which genres they enjoy
• Which performers they regularly watch
• How often they visit
• Whether they usually attend as couples or groups
• Whether they buy premium tickets
• Whether they have hired your venue before
• Their lifetime value
• Which marketing campaigns they respond to

Instead of simply building a list of ticket buyers, you are building an audience that can be marketed to for years.

What HighLevel Adds

HighLevel allows entertainment venues to automate much of the customer journey.

For example:

• Email marketing
• SMS campaigns
• WhatsApp messaging
• AI Receptionist
• AI Website Chat
• Missed Call Text Back
• Customer review requests
• Google and Facebook advertising
• Gift voucher campaigns
• VIP membership programmes
• Corporate booking enquiries
• Venue hire workflows
• Internal staff notifications
• Customer win-back campaigns
• Sales pipelines
• Marketing automation

Rather than sending every announcement to your entire mailing list, you can send personalised campaigns based on customer interests and previous bookings.

One Customer Journey. Endless Possibilities.

Imagine somebody books tickets for a comedy night.

HighLevel could automatically:

• Send a confirmation email
• Provide directions and parking information
• Recommend food and drink before the show
• Send an SMS reminder on the day
• Send a WhatsApp reminder shortly before the performance
• Request a Google review afterwards
• Promote the next comedy night
• Add them to a VIP programme after several visits
• Automatically re-engage them if they have not returned within six months

Exactly the same automation works for theatres, concerts, festivals, tribute acts, family entertainment and arts venues.

Integrating With Your Existing Ticketing System

One of the first questions we are asked is:

Will HighLevel work with our booking software?

In many cases, yes.

Ticketing Platform	Integration Options
Eventbrite	Zapier, API and webhooks
Spektrix	Official Zapier integration and API
Ticket Tailor	Zapier, Make and API
TicketSource	API and custom integration options
PatronBase	API
Ticketsolve	API
TicketCo	API

Our recommendation is always to use the most practical integration based on your existing systems.

The goal is not to replace software unnecessarily.

The goal is to create a better customer experience.

HighLevel now has Event and Ticketing built in

HighLevel now has it’s own integrated ticketing platform.

For some entertainment venues this could become an attractive all-in-one solution, combining ticket sales, CRM, marketing automation and AI within a single platform.

However, venues that benefit from marketplace exposure through services such as Eventbrite may still prefer to continue using their existing booking system while using HighLevel as the marketing platform.

Learn more about HighLevel Events and Ticketing.

A Real Example From One of Our Clients

One of MarketerM8’s clients is a large theatre group that was using Superchat to manage inbound customer service enquiries.

The platform worked well, but it cost more than €299 per month.

Following a review of their technology stack, we replaced Superchat with HighLevel’s built-in Conversations Hub together with its AI-powered customer communication features.

The result was:

• One less monthly subscription
• Lower software costs
• A simpler technology stack
• Better integration with the CRM
• Improved visibility of every customer conversation

This perfectly illustrates one of HighLevel’s greatest strengths.

Many organisations gradually build a disconnected collection of software.

One application for email marketing.

Another for live chat.

Another for CRM.

Another for landing pages.

Another for reviews.

Another for forms.

Another for SMS.

Before long, you are paying for numerous subscriptions that do not always work particularly well together.

HighLevel takes a different approach.

Rather than becoming another specialist application, it continues to evolve into an increasingly complete business platform. New functionality is released regularly, allowing businesses to consolidate more of their marketing, sales, customer communication and automation into a single integrated system.

We do not recommend replacing software simply because you can.

We recommend reviewing your software stack regularly because HighLevel may now include features you are currently paying another provider to deliver.

Why AI Matters for Entertainment Venues

Artificial Intelligence is not just for large organisations.

HighLevel gives independent entertainment venues access to practical AI tools that improve customer service without increasing staffing costs.

Imagine somebody visits your website at 11:30pm and asks:

Do you still have tickets available for Saturday?

Instead of waiting until the box office opens the following morning, AI can answer common questions immediately, collect customer details and guide them towards booking.

The same technology can:

• Answer venue hire enquiries
• Qualify corporate bookings
• Respond to frequently asked questions
• Capture leads outside office hours
• Assist customers through live chat
• Help your team deliver a faster, more consistent customer experience

Why Work With MarketerM8?

Installing software is relatively straightforward.

Designing an automated customer journey that genuinely increases ticket sales is something different.

We do not simply help you configure HighLevel.

We help you map how customers discover your venue, book tickets, attend events and become loyal supporters.

We will recommend the most appropriate integrations, build the automations that save your team time and help you make the most of the software you are already paying for.

The Bottom Line

Your ticketing software already sells tickets.

HighLevel helps you build an audience.

By combining the two you can:

• Increase repeat bookings
• Improve customer communication
• Build customer loyalty
• Automate marketing
• Reduce administration
• Capture more enquiries
• Improve reviews
• Simplify your technology stack
• Future-proof your business as HighLevel continues to evolve

If you are already using Eventbrite, Spektrix, TicketSource, PatronBase, Ticketsolve, Ticket Tailor or another booking platform, there is every chance you do not need to replace it.

You simply need a marketing platform that helps you get far more value from every customer who walks through your doors.

That is exactly where HighLevel fits.

Frequently Asked Questions

Can HighLevel replace our ticketing software?

Not necessarily. In many cases we recommend keeping the booking system you already know and trust while adding HighLevel as your CRM, marketing automation and AI platform.

Which ticketing systems integrate with HighLevel?

Popular platforms including Eventbrite, Spektrix, Ticket Tailor, TicketSource, PatronBase, Ticketsolve and TicketCo all offer integration options through APIs, Zapier, webhooks or custom middleware.

Can HighLevel send booking reminders?

Yes. HighLevel can automatically send reminders by email, SMS and WhatsApp, helping to reduce no-shows and improve the customer experience.

Can HighLevel increase repeat ticket sales?

Absolutely. Customer segmentation, loyalty campaigns, personalised marketing, AI-powered follow-up and automated re-engagement campaigns all help encourage customers to return more often.

Is HighLevel suitable for all entertainment venues?

Yes. Whether you operate a comedy club, theatre, music venue, arts centre, festival or multi-purpose entertainment venue, HighLevel can complement your existing ticketing software while providing the CRM, marketing automation and AI tools needed to grow your audience.

About the Author

Julian Mills

HighLevel Consultant & Marketing Automation Strategist

Julian Mills helps business owners automate lead generation, sales follow-up, customer communication and business processes using HighLevel and MarketerM8. Since 2009 he has helped businesses implement CRM, marketing automation and AI-powered systems that save time, improve customer experience and generate more sales.

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