Founder Interview – Rut Steinsen, CEO SimplyBookMe

We spoke with Rut Steinsen, the CEO of SimplyBookMe, about what it really takes to build great software and solutions for small and medium-sized businesses.

From the company’s origins in a small Icelandic tire shop to serving service businesses worldwide, Rut shares practical insights on automation, customer behaviour, and why booking systems are no longer just admin tools. She also explains how SimplyBook.Me is using AI in ways that genuinely reduce work for small teams, rather than adding complexity.

The Origin and Vision

What problem originally led to the creation of SimplyBookMe?

SimplyBookMe was born out of a very real operational problem. Our founder was running a car tire shop in Iceland, and every year the same scenario repeated itself. On the first day snow arrived, everyone needed winter tires at once. The shop was suddenly overwhelmed, with cars lining up, phones ringing nonstop, and no practical way to control demand or scheduling.

It quickly became clear that the issue was not demand, but coordination. Customers all wanted service, but there was no system to space bookings, manage availability, or reduce dependency on phone calls. Instead of hiring more staff just to answer calls, he asked a different question: why cannot customers book themselves?

Working with a small team of developers, he built a simple online booking system that allowed customers to choose their own time slots. The impact was immediate. Call volume dropped, workflows became smoother, customer experience improved, and the team could focus on the actual work instead of constant firefighting.

That success led to a bigger realisation. If one tire shop had this problem, thousands of service businesses around the world were facing the same challenge. That insight led to turning the internal solution into a global product, which is how SimplyBookMe was born.

Customer Success and Transformation

Can you share a concrete example of how a customer’s business changed after automating bookings?

One example that stands out is a mid-sized physiotherapy clinic. Before automation, their front desk spent most of the day answering calls, rescheduling appointments, and chasing no-shows. After moving to online booking with automated reminders and pre-payments, call volume dropped by more than 50 percent, no-shows decreased significantly, and therapists gained back several hours each week.

What surprised them most was not just the efficiency, but the behaviour change. Clients started booking further ahead, showed up on time, and were more willing to accept the clinic’s rules when those rules were embedded directly into the booking flow.

Across salons, clinics, tutors and fitness coaches, what do the most successful users do differently?

They treat booking as part of the customer experience, not just an administrative tool. The most successful users actively design their booking flow. They use clear service descriptions, smart availability rules, buffers between appointments, pricing logic, and automated communication.

Less successful users often just switch the system on and leave it as is. The successful ones continuously optimise it and use booking data to make decisions. There are also many ways to increase revenue using the system. Users can sell products or service add-ons during the booking flow, charge deposits to reduce no-shows, request tips automatically, and send follow-up reminders to encourage repeat visits. All of this helps maximise revenue from every single client.

Getting Started and Avoiding Pitfalls

What is a common mistake businesses make when they first set up online booking?

Overcomplicating the setup. Many businesses try to replicate every edge case from their manual process on day one. This often leads to confusion, both for staff and for customers.

The solution is simple. Start with your most common service, one clear workflow, and get real bookings coming in. Optimise later based on actual usage rather than assumptions.

If someone does not know where to start, what should they focus on first?

Three things:

1. One clear core service
2. Realistic availability
3. Automated confirmations and reminders

If those are right, you already remove most friction and significantly reduce no-shows. Everything else is incremental improvement.

Features and Experience

Does automation ever make the experience feel less personal?

In practice, we see the opposite. Automation removes friction and frees up time for real human interaction. When clients can book instantly, receive clear confirmations, and are not kept waiting for replies, satisfaction increases.

Many businesses then use the time they save to be more personal in consultations, follow-ups, or service quality, rather than spending it on administration.

What is a typical ‘lightbulb moment’ for customers?

It usually happens when they realise bookings are no longer something they actively manage. Business owners often tell us that the moment they stop constantly checking their phone or manually confirming appointments is when they truly feel the value.

That is also when they start thinking more strategically about growth instead of daily logistics.

Product Roadmap and AI

What does your roadmap look like over the next phase, particularly when it comes to AI?

We focus on using AI where it genuinely removes work, not where it adds novelty. This includes smarter onboarding, better setup guidance, automated marketing actions, and AI-assisted communication.

We have recently launched our first major AI feature, an AI voice booking flow, which allows customers to book appointments by phone using natural voice interaction. You can see it in action here: https://aivoicebookingsdemo.simplybook.it/

Going forward, you will also see more intelligence around demand patterns and scheduling optimisation. We are also launching a new marketplace client app to help businesses make better decisions without needing analytical expertise, and to enable better communication with their customers.

Integrations and Future-Proofing

Can you give an example of a smooth multi-integration workflow using SimplyBookMe?

A common and effective setup includes:

• SimplyBookMe for bookings
• Google Business, Instagram, and Facebook book buttons powered by SimplyBookMe
• Google Calendar for personal and team visibility
• Online payments for pre-payments or deposits. SimplyBookMe supports over 50 payment processors, and users can accept touchless payments directly via the admin app
• Zapier to push booking data into CRM or email tools
• QuickBooks and FreshBooks, which we integrate with natively so all bookings automatically generate invoices that sync directly with accounting systems

This creates a workflow where bookings trigger confirmations, payments, reminders, and internal updates automatically, with no manual intervention.

How has AI changed the way your own team works internally?

AI has become a productivity multiplier across teams. We use AI tools to help us develop faster, and we have introduced an AI helper inside our system that supports customers in managing their setups more effectively.

Looking ahead, AI will be fundamental to how SimplyBookMe helps customers onboard faster, optimise their booking systems, and market more effectively, especially for small teams with limited time and resources.

Looking Ahead

Looking ahead to 2026, what is one piece of advice you would give to small business owners?

Design your business so it does not depend on constant manual effort. Every repeated task should be questioned. Can it be automated, standardised, or eliminated?

At the same time, focus on maximising the value of every client who enters your business. Even an extra five dollars per client adds up quickly. The businesses that will win are not necessarily the biggest, but the ones that build systems early and use their time for what truly adds value.