Managing client meetings shouldn’t require endless email chains. An online appointment scheduling app automates the entire booking process, saving time and reducing scheduling conflicts.

We’ve tested dozens of scheduling platforms to identify the ones that genuinely improve productivity. This guide covers the 12 best appointment scheduling apps available today, helping you find the right fit for your business.

The Best Online Appointment Scheduling Apps

1. Calendar

Calendar offers a clean, straightforward scheduling solution designed for professionals who want no-nonsense booking management. The platform emphasizes simplicity while delivering core functionality that most businesses need.

Calendar syncs seamlessly with Google Calendar and Outlook, preventing double-bookings automatically. The platform handles timezone management, sends automated reminders, and allows basic customization of your booking page.

This app works best for consultants, coaches, and service professionals who want a reliable scheduling tool without unnecessary complexity. The interface feels intuitive from the first login, requiring minimal training or setup time.

Key Features:

• Dual calendar synchronization
• Automated email reminders
• Custom booking page styling
• Meeting notes and follow-up tracking
• Free tier available

2. Calendly

Calendly is the market leader in appointment scheduling, known for its exceptional ease of use and rapid setup. Within minutes, you can create a booking page and start receiving scheduled meetings.

The platform integrates with over 50 third-party tools including Slack, Microsoft Teams, and Zapier. Calendly’s strength lies in its ability to adapt to virtually any workflow through flexible integrations and customization options.

Calendly suits everyone from freelancers to enterprise teams. The free tier handles most individual needs, while paid plans unlock team management, advanced reporting, and integration capabilities for growing businesses.

Key Features:

• 50+ integrations with popular apps
• Flexible scheduling rules and event types
• Automated SMS and email reminders
• Team scheduling and round-robin distribution
• Strong free tier with core functionality

3. Chili Piper

Chili Piper targets high-volume sales teams with sophisticated routing and scheduling capabilities. The platform excels at matching prospects with the right team member based on availability and expertise.

Built-in lead routing ensures prospects get scheduled with the most appropriate salesperson, improving conversion rates. Chili Piper integrates deeply with Salesforce, HubSpot, and other CRM systems, making it ideal for sales-driven organizations.

This solution works best for SaaS companies, agencies, and sales teams processing 50+ meetings per week. The platform’s sophistication means setup requires more effort than simpler alternatives, but the efficiency gains justify the investment.

Key Features:

• Intelligent lead routing to team members
• CRM integration with Salesforce and HubSpot
• Custom routing rules and team workflows
• No-show prevention with reminders
• Real-time team availability updates

4. Harmonizely

Harmonizely provides elegant appointment scheduling with focus on design and user experience. The platform creates a polished impression for clients while remaining simple for administrators.

Harmonizely includes built-in video conferencing through Zoom and Google Meet, eliminating the need for separate integrations. The platform supports group bookings, recurring appointments, and advanced customization options for branded experiences.

Harmonizely works well for service providers, health coaches, and consultants who want their scheduling presence to feel premium and professional. The platform’s design-forward approach makes a strong first impression with clients.

Key Features:

• Embedded Zoom and Google Meet integration
• Group appointment scheduling
• Custom branding and domain options
• Recurring and series appointments
• Professional booking page templates

5. Bookafy

Bookafy combines appointment scheduling with a mini CRM for small service businesses. The platform tracks customer history and preferences alongside booking management.

Bookafy’s customer profiles store notes about previous meetings, service preferences, and communication history. This approach reduces onboarding time for repeat clients and improves personalization at scale.

This solution fits service-based businesses like salons, repair shops, and personal training studios. The integrated CRM reduces the need for separate customer management tools, keeping everything centralized in one platform.

Key Features:

• Integrated customer relationship management
• Service package and pricing management
• Automated payment processing
• Customer history and notes
• Mobile app for on-the-go management

6. HoneyBook

HoneyBook serves creative professionals with an integrated client management system that combines scheduling, invoicing, contracts, and project management. It’s purpose-built for photographers, designers, and event planners.

Beyond scheduling, HoneyBook handles the entire client lifecycle from inquiry to payment. The platform manages proposals, contracts, invoicing, and timeline tracking within a single unified workspace.

HoneyBook excels for creative service providers managing complex projects with multiple touchpoints. If your business involves contracts, deposits, and multi-phase projects, HoneyBook consolidates tools that might otherwise require five different subscriptions.

Key Features:

• Integrated contract and proposal management
• Invoice creation and payment collection
• Project timeline and milestone tracking
• Client communication hub
• Customizable workflow automation

7. Appointlet

Appointlet offers a lightweight scheduling solution that gets out of the way and just works. The platform prioritizes speed and reliability over complex features.

Appointlet’s straightforward interface means setup takes minutes. The platform integrates with Google Calendar, Outlook, and Zoom while maintaining simplicity that doesn’t require technical expertise.

Appointlet suits freelancers, consultants, and small teams who want proven scheduling functionality without a learning curve. The platform’s minimalist approach appeals to professionals who value efficiency.

Key Features:

• Quick setup and minimal configuration
• Google Calendar and Outlook sync
• Zoom meeting link integration
• Automated reminders and confirmations
• Free plan with core features

8. MeetFox

MeetFox provides video conferencing and scheduling combined in one platform. The app emphasizes face-to-face connection by integrating video directly into the booking experience.

MeetFox creates a meeting room when a client books, so there’s no additional setup or link sharing required. Fewer steps between booking and joining means fewer chances to drop out.

MeetFox works best for coaches, therapists, and consultants whose business depends on effective video meetings. The platform’s video-first approach eliminates the technical awkwardness of coordinating separate scheduling and meeting tools.

Key Features:

• Built-in video conferencing
• Automatic meeting room creation
• Screen sharing and recording options
• Calendar synchronization
• Payment processing integration

9. SimplyBook.me

SimplyBook.me caters to small businesses needing a professional booking system without enterprise complexity. The platform powers scheduling for salons, clinics, fitness studios, and service businesses worldwide.

SimplyBook.me includes staff management, allowing you to assign different team members to different service categories. The platform handles recurring services, package deals, and customizable service descriptions that help clients understand what they’re booking.

This solution fits service businesses with teams and complex scheduling requirements. SimplyBook.me bridges the gap between simple one-person schedulers and complex enterprise systems, making it ideal for growing businesses.

Key Features:

• Multi-staff and team member management
• Service categories and customization
• Package deals and promotional pricing
• Automated SMS and email notifications
• Mobile booking app for clients

10. Jobber

Jobber targets field service businesses with appointment scheduling integrated into a comprehensive job management platform. The system coordinates scheduling with invoicing, payments, and service delivery.

Jobber’s mobile app empowers field technicians with real-time job details, customer information, and payment processing capabilities. Clients receive live updates about arrival times and can communicate directly with team members.

Jobber suits plumbing, electrical, HVAC, and other field service companies that need to coordinate jobs across multiple technicians and locations. The platform eliminates paper-based workflows and improves customer experience through transparency.

Key Features:

• Field technician scheduling and routing
• Mobile-first job management
• Real-time customer updates and tracking
• Payment processing at job completion
• Automated follow-up and feedback requests

11. Genbook

Genbook provides appointment scheduling alongside a full business management suite for service professionals. The platform includes client communication, marketing tools, and business analytics.

Genbook’s strength lies in treating scheduling as one component of overall business growth. The platform helps you not only book appointments but also market your services, maintain client relationships, and analyze your business performance.

Genbook fits established service businesses looking for an all-in-one solution that handles scheduling plus business intelligence. If you want scheduling integrated with marketing automation and client engagement tools, Genbook consolidates multiple platforms into one.

Key Features:

• Integrated marketing and client management
• Appointment scheduling and reminders
• Business analytics and reporting
• Customer review management
• Email and SMS marketing tools

12. Booksy

Booksy specializes in beauty and wellness businesses, providing scheduling alongside a customer discovery platform. Clients find service providers through Booksy’s app and marketplace, creating additional booking channels beyond your own website.

Booksy’s dual role as both a scheduling platform and client acquisition tool sets it apart. Beyond your own booking page, Booksy features your services in its marketplace, bringing new customer discovery opportunities.

Booksy works best for salons, spas, fitness studios, and beauty professionals who want both scheduling control and customer discovery. If your marketing budget is limited, Booksy’s marketplace exposure provides value beyond traditional scheduling tools.

Key Features:

• Marketplace integration for client discovery
• Service and staff profile management
• Automated confirmations and reminders
• Customer review and rating system
• Payment processing and tip management

Scheduling Apps Comparison Table

App	Best For	Free Tier	Standout Feature
Calendar	Consultants and coaches	Yes	Straightforward setup
Calendly	Everyone, especially solo professionals	Yes	50+ integrations
Chili Piper	Sales teams and SaaS	No	Lead routing to team
Harmonizely	Service providers seeking premium design	No	Built-in Zoom integration
Bookafy	Service businesses with repeat clients	Yes (limited)	Integrated mini-CRM
HoneyBook	Creative professionals	No	Complete project management
Appointlet	Freelancers wanting simplicity	Yes	Minimal complexity
MeetFox	Video-first coaching and therapy	No	Built-in video conferencing
SimplyBook.me	Service businesses with teams	Yes (limited)	Multi-staff management
Jobber	Field service companies	No	Mobile technician app
Genbook	Established service businesses	No	Business intelligence suite
Booksy	Beauty and wellness professionals	Yes	Marketplace discovery

5 Reasons to Use Appointment Scheduling Apps

Eliminate Back-and-Forth Email

Scheduling apps replace the frustrating “What times work for you?” email chains with instant availability display. Clients see your open slots and book directly, reducing email volume significantly.

Studies show that average email response time is 45 minutes or longer. A scheduling app eliminates this delay entirely for meeting coordination, freeing your team to focus on high-value work.

Reduce No-Shows and Cancellations

Automated reminders cut no-shows, and the size of the effect depends on the channel. Robotham and colleagues pooled 21 studies in BMJ Open and found text reminders taking no-shows from 21% to 15%. Cochrane looked for controlled trials of email reminders in 2022 and found none.

Some platforms allow clients to reschedule directly through the app, giving them control while preventing confusion about meeting times. This reduces cancellation emails and clarification questions.

Prevent Double-Booking and Scheduling Conflicts

Calendar synchronization ensures your scheduling app shares your availability in real time with your other calendars. When you accept a meeting in Google Calendar, your scheduling app updates automatically to prevent overbooking.

Multi-calendar integration removes human error from scheduling. You can’t accidentally accept conflicting meetings because the system prevents it automatically.

Scale Your Business Without Growing Your Admin Work

Scheduling apps handle the administrative burden of appointment-setting process completely. As you grow from one team member to five, your scheduling overhead stays constant because the platform handles the complexity.

You can set availability rules, buffer times, and service types once. The system applies those rules to every future booking automatically. This means more meetings booked without more time spent on scheduling.

Improve Client Experience and First Impressions

A professional booking page reflects well on your business. Clients appreciate the convenience of scheduling themselves without waiting for email responses. Many platforms allow you to customize the page with your branding, creating a polished touchpoint.

Scheduling automation frees your team to focus on delivering exceptional service rather than managing calendar logistics. This improves the client experience before they even meet you.

Key Considerations When Choosing Your App

Budget Reality Check: Many scheduling apps offer free tiers sufficient for solo professionals. Calculate your true annual cost including all features you need, not just the base plan pricing. In our testing, most teams find a $10-25 monthly investment pays for itself quickly through time saved.

Integration Priority: Before selecting a platform, list all your existing tools (CRM, payment processor, email, calendar). Choose a scheduling app that connects seamlessly with your current stack rather than requiring new subscriptions. This reduces friction and improves adoption across your team.

Team Size Growth: If your business plan includes growing your team, select a platform that scales with you. Some apps handle solo scheduling but become painful with teams. Others, like Calendly and Chili Piper, grow seamlessly as your business expands.

Setup Expectations: Calendly and Appointlet take 10 minutes to set up. HoneyBook and Jobber require more configuration but deliver more sophisticated functionality. Match setup complexity to your team’s technical comfort level and available time.

Customer Support Quality: When scheduling breaks or you need help with integrations, responsive support matters. Review support availability (email only versus phone and chat) before committing, especially for business-critical scheduling needs.

Start Here: Getting Your Scheduling App Running

5-Step Implementation Checklist

1. Define your availability: Before signing up, list your actual open time slots. Include buffer time between meetings and time for meals and focus work. This clarity makes setup faster.
2. Choose your top 3 contenders: Based on your business type and budget, select three apps to test. Most offer free trials allowing hands-on evaluation before commitment.
3. Connect to your main calendar: Immediately sync your scheduling app with your primary calendar (Google Calendar or Outlook). This prevents double-booking and keeps all scheduling in one source of truth.
4. Set up automated reminders: Enable email reminders at 24 hours and 1 hour before appointments. Reminders are the one feature with published evidence behind them without additional effort.
5. Test with a colleague or friend: Have someone actually book an appointment and test the end-to-end experience. This reveals workflow issues before real clients encounter them.

How Much Do Automated Reminders Cut No-Shows? Here’s What the Research Says

Text message reminders cut no-shows by about a quarter, and email reminders have never been tested in a controlled trial at all. That second half is the part nobody publishes, and it changes how you should read every reminder feature on this page.

The largest review is Robotham and colleagues in BMJ Open, October 2016. It pooled 21 studies covering 8,345 people who got a notification and 7,731 who didn’t.

“Patients who received notifications were 23% more likely to attend clinic than those who received no notification (risk ratio=1.23, 67% vs 54%). Those receiving notifications were 25% less likely to ‘no show’ for appointments (risk ratio=.75, 15% vs 21%). Multiple notifications were significantly more effective at improving attendance than single notifications.” (Robotham et al., BMJ Open 2016;6(10):e012116)

A Cochrane systematic review from December 2013 found the same direction on a smaller pool. Across seven studies and 5,841 participants it reported a risk ratio of 1.14, with attendance of 67.8% without reminders and 78.6% with mobile text reminders.

The Cochrane authors added a caution worth repeating. They wrote that “the current evidence therefore still remains insufficient to conclusively inform policy decisions.”

Now the part that matters for a scheduling app. Cochrane ran a separate review specifically on email, published in 2022 as CD007981. Its result was blank.

“No studies met the inclusion criteria, therefore there are no results to report on the use of email for the coordination of healthcare appointments and attendance reminders.” (Cochrane Database of Systematic Reviews 2022, Issue 3)

Reminder channel	Best available evidence	Effect the researchers measured
SMS text message	Robotham et al. pooled 21 studies and 16,076 people in BMJ Open, 2016	The authors report no-shows falling from 21% to 15%, a risk ratio of 0.75
SMS, second review	Cochrane pooled 7 randomised trials and 5,841 participants in 2013	The authors report attendance rising from 67.8% to 78.6%, a risk ratio of 1.14
Email	Cochrane reviewed the field in 2022 and found nothing to pool	Cochrane reports that “no studies met the inclusion criteria”
Multiple reminders	Robotham et al., 2016	The authors report multiple notifications beat single ones “significantly”

Two limits are worth stating plainly. Nearly all of this evidence comes from healthcare clinics, mostly outside the United States. Nobody has measured the effect on a booked sales call or a consultation.

The UK Department of Health and Social Care puts a cost on the problem. It published that around 5.6 million NHS outpatient appointments were missed in England in 2014 to 2015, roughly 9% of the total. The same publication put the cost of missed first appointments at up to 225 million pounds.

Earlier versions of this article said reminders cut no-shows by 30 to 40% “according to industry data.” We went looking for that data and couldn’t find it in any study, government publication or vendor methodology. We’ve removed the claim and replaced it with the figures above.

Is Google Appointment Scheduler Free?

Yes. A free personal Google Account gets appointment scheduling in Google Calendar, limited to a single booking page. Google’s own comparison page says a personal account or Business Starter lets you “create a single booking page to let others schedule appointments on your calendar.”

What you don’t get on the free tier is payments or email verification of the person booking. Google gates both behind paid tiers, and the split isn’t the one most people expect.

Feature, as Google lists it	Free personal account and Business Starter	Google One Premium, AI Pro and AI Ultra	Workspace Business Standard and above
Create one booking page	Google says yes	Google says yes	Google says yes
Create more than one appointment schedule	Google says no	Google says yes	Google says yes
Send automatic email reminders	Google says no	Google says yes	Google says yes
Accept payments for appointments	Google says no	Google says no	Google says yes
Verify emails to prevent spam bookings	Google says no	Google says no	Google says yes
Add up to 20 co-hosts	Google says no	Google says no	Google says yes

Note the odd result in the middle column. A consumer Google One Premium subscription unlocks multiple booking pages and reminder emails, while a paid Workspace Business Starter plan doesn’t.

Google also warns that some editions get nothing here. It states that with “Frontline, Essentials, or an older Google Workspace subscription that’s no longer offered, you can’t create appointment schedules.”

If you’re hunting for the old feature, it’s gone. Google retired appointment slots on August 7, 2024, saying that active slots are “no longer bookable” and that people trying to book them get redirected.

A few published limits are worth knowing before you commit. Google caps reminders at five per schedule and says “you can’t edit the text of the reminder emails.” Payments run through Stripe, and Google states that it does not “process or store any payment info” and doesn’t refund automatically on cancellation.

Google publishes no SMS reminders for appointment schedules at all, which matters given that SMS is the only channel with evidence behind it.

Microsoft Bookings Comes With Most Business Microsoft 365 Plans

Microsoft ships its own booking product, and a lot of teams pay for a third-party tool while already owning it. Microsoft Bookings is included with Microsoft 365 Business Basic, Business Standard and Business Premium, along with the E1, E3, E5, F1 and F3 tiers.

Microsoft splits it into two products with one licence. Personal Bookings, which Microsoft also calls “Bookings with me,” is for “1:1 meetings” and doesn’t create a new mailbox. Shared Bookings creates a team booking page and a matching mailbox in Exchange.

One catch is worth naming. Microsoft states that Bookings “isn’t available as a standalone app.” It adds that “Outlook Web App or Outlook on the web must be enabled to use Bookings.”

Microsoft 365 Personal and Family aren’t on the licence list, so this is a work and school feature.

What Each Free Plan Includes, With the Hard Limits

“Free” does a lot of work on this SERP, and it means something different at every vendor. We pulled these from each vendor’s own pricing page on August 27, 2026, and recorded which billing toggle the page was showing.

Tool	What the free plan includes, in the vendor’s terms	Lowest paid price and billing unit	Toggle state we observed
Calendly	Calendly’s free plan lists one event type and one calendar connection	Calendly publishes Standard at $10 per seat per month	Annual. Calendly shows “Save 17%” and never displays the monthly rate
Acuity Scheduling	Acuity publishes no free plan. Its page offers a 7-day trial only	Acuity publishes Starter at $16 per month, and also renders $20 per month	Both, unlabelled, on the same page
Setmore	Setmore’s free plan lists up to 4 users, unlimited appointments and email reminders. SMS reminders are paid	Setmore publishes Pro at $12 monthly or $5 per user per month annually	Both rendered
Appointy	Appointy’s free plan lists 1 staff member, 5 services and 100 appointments per month	Appointy publishes Growth at $19.99 annually or $29.99 monthly	Both, labelled clearly by the vendor
Square Appointments	Square says its free tier has “no monthly subscription costs, you only pay processing fees”	Square publishes Plus at $49 per month per location	No toggle exists. Square states prices monthly only
SimplyBook.me	SimplyBook.me’s free plan lists 50 bookings, 1 custom feature and 1 provider	SimplyBook.me publishes Basic at $11.90 annually or $13.90 monthly	Both, labelled by the vendor
Google Calendar	Google gives free personal accounts one booking page, with no reminders and no payments	Google bundles the paid features into Workspace and Google One tiers	Not applicable
Zoho Bookings	Zoho’s Forever Free plan lists one user and one workspace	Zoho publishes no price. Every paid tier reads “Contact sales”	Toggle exists, no numbers render in either state

Two traps show up repeatedly. Calendly and Doodle both headline an annual rate with no monthly figure visible, so a “$10” comparison understates what a month-to-month buyer pays.

The billing units also don’t compare. Calendly, Doodle, Zoho and Setmore charge per seat or per user. Square charges per location, while SimplyBook.me, Acuity and Appointy charge a flat rate per account.

Doodle contradicts itself on what its free plan includes. Its pricing page puts Stripe payments two tiers up, under Team. Its own help centre comparison table marks “Collect payment with Stripe” as available on the free plan.

Which Scheduling Tools Sign a BAA for HIPAA

If you book patients, this is the first question and almost nobody on this topic answers it. A business associate agreement, or BAA, is the contract a vendor signs before it can handle protected health information on your behalf.

Acuity publishes the clearest answer. Its own pricing page lists “Sign BAA for HIPAA compliance” as a feature of its Premium tier alone, so the lower tiers won’t cover you.

Microsoft’s position needs reading carefully. Bookings stores its data in Exchange Online, which is in scope for Microsoft’s HIPAA BAA. Microsoft still states that “using Microsoft services doesn’t on its own achieve HIPAA compliance.”

Google publishes no HIPAA statement for Calendar appointment schedules that we could find. Treat that as an unanswered question rather than a no.

The general rule holds across every vendor here. A BAA is a paid-tier feature, and no free plan on this page comes with one.

How We Checked These Twelve, and What Changed

EmailAnalytics doesn’t sell scheduling software. We take no vendor payments and run no affiliate links on this page. That’s worth saying, because most pages competing for this query are published by companies selling the tools they rank.

We re-checked every product on this list on August 27, 2026, by fetching each vendor’s own site and pricing page. Two things changed since the last version.

Genbook is now Booksy. The genbook.com domain redirects to Booksy’s business site and no Genbook branding survives. Entries 11 and 12 on this list are now the same company, and we’ve left both in place with that noted.

MeetFox didn’t respond. Both meetfox.com and www.meetfox.com returned an empty page when we checked on August 27, 2026. We can’t tell you why, and we’re not going to guess, so treat that entry as unverified until the site comes back.

One correction runs the other way. Our research for this update reported that Harmonizely had been retired and folded into another product. We fetched harmonizely.com to confirm, and the site is live and taking signups, so we dropped the claim.

Scheduling saves the back-and-forth, and the back-and-forth is measurable. Our email time calculator works out what those threads cost, from your own volume and hourly rate.

Frequently Asked Questions

What is an online appointment scheduling app?

An online appointment scheduling app is software that allows businesses and professionals to manage client meetings and bookings through a digital calendar. It automates the scheduling process, reduces back-and-forth communication, and syncs with your existing calendar systems to prevent double-booking.

Do appointment scheduling apps integrate with email?

Yes, most modern appointment scheduling apps integrate with email platforms like Gmail and Outlook. They send automated confirmations, reminders, and cancellation notices to both you and your clients directly from your email provider.

Can I customize my booking page with scheduling apps?

Most appointment scheduling apps allow you to customize your booking page with your branding, logo, colors, and custom fields. This ensures a professional experience that matches your business identity and creates a cohesive brand impression.

Which scheduling app is best for small businesses?

Calendly and Appointlet are popular choices for small businesses due to their simplicity, affordable pricing, and robust free tiers. They require minimal setup and integrate easily with common business tools that small teams already use.

Are there free appointment scheduling apps?

Many scheduling apps offer free tiers, including Calendly, Appointlet, and Calendar. These free versions typically support a limited number of calendars or integrations but are sufficient for individual professionals and small teams getting started.

How do scheduling apps reduce email volume?

Scheduling apps eliminate the need for back-and-forth emails about meeting times. Clients view your availability and book directly, reducing email exchanges by 50% or more. Automated confirmations and reminders also reduce clarification emails significantly.

What features should I prioritize when choosing a scheduling app?

Prioritize features like calendar integration, automated reminders, customizable booking pages, timezone handling, and reporting. Also consider ease of setup, customer support quality, and whether the app fits your budget and existing workflow.

Is Google Appointment Scheduler free?

Yes. Google gives free personal Google Accounts a single booking page in Google Calendar. Reminder emails, multiple schedules, payments and email verification all sit behind paid Google One or Workspace tiers, and Google retired the older appointment slots feature on August 7, 2024.

Do appointment reminders really reduce no-shows?

Text message reminders do, by roughly a quarter. Robotham and colleagues pooled 21 studies in BMJ Open in 2016 and reported no-shows falling from 21% to 15%. Cochrane looked specifically for controlled trials of email reminders in 2022 and reported that no studies met its inclusion criteria.

Improve Your Team Communication with EmailAnalytics

Scheduling apps eliminate meeting coordination emails, but your team likely faces other email efficiency challenges. Slow email response times, unclear communication patterns, and wasted time on low-value emails still drain productivity.

Sign up for a free trial of EmailAnalytics today to measure your team’s email response time, identify bottlenecks, and build communication standards that work. EmailAnalytics complements appointment scheduling by helping you optimize all aspects of business communication.

Our team has helped hundreds of companies reduce email overhead by 30% while improving response quality. When combined with appointment scheduling tools, these insights create a lean communication system that supports growth.