The problem
Summer-term 11+ mock exams fill fast and are run on Saturdays, so bookings arrive by phone, email and text, with bank transfers to match. Four mocks of 40 places is 160 bookings a term; at 6 minutes each that's 960 minutes, 16 hours a term, about 5.3 hours a month, plus empty seats when someone drops out.
What the AI does
Bookwhen is an online booking system for classes, courses and events: parents book and pay on your booking page. The Lite plan (€12, about $13£10€12A$19C$19 a month) takes payments; Standard (€19, about $21£16€19A$31C$30) adds a waiting list, reminder emails and attendance tracking, with 800 bookings a month. Create each mock as an event with 40 places and the price, let parents book and pay, and when someone cancels the next family on the waiting list can take the place.
A worked example
A tutoring center in Sutton runs 4 Saturday 11+ mock exams each summer term for 40 children each, open to non-members, and takes bookings by phone and email.
Before
160 bookings a term at 6 minutes: 960 minutes, 16 hours a term, about 5.3 hours a month
After
Online booking and payment; about 1 hour a month checking lists and access arrangements
What it's worth
About $114£86€102A$165C$162 a month of time saved in the terms you run mocks, against about $21£16€19A$31C$30 a month for Bookwhen Standard, or about $25£19€23A$36C$36 with VAT. That's 4.3 hours (5.3 minus 1) at an assumed $27£20€24A$38C$38 an hour. Card fees are separate. Bookwhen shows prices in your local currency; check the sterling price on its page.
How to set it up
- Set up a Bookwhen account on Standard and add your center name, address and refund rules.
- Create each mock as an event with 40 places, the price and what to bring.
- Turn on the waiting list and reminder emails.
- Ask only for the parent's details, the child's first name and year group, and whether they need to talk to you about access arrangements.
- Share the booking link with current families first, then on your website and social media.
What goes wrong
- Access arrangements can involve health or special educational needs details; ask parents to contact you directly rather than typing them into a booking form.
- Lite has no waiting list, so a sold-out mock can't refill itself on that plan.
- Card payments need Bookwhen Payments, Stripe or PayPal, each with its own fees.
- A mock exam is only useful if the paper is your own or properly licensed; don't copy published papers without permission.