Hair Salon Online Appointment Booking Software

Why Is Hair Salon Online Appointment Booking Software Essential?

Hair salon online appointment booking apps are not all created equal these days.

We are here to help you with finding the right fit for your business.

If you are still keeping track of your client’s appointments by a paper book schedule it’s time you upgraded.

Having an online appointment booking system not only helps you keep track of your daily schedule but most apps now days can help you track your inventory, bookkeeping, and even your social media.

It’s like having an employee that works for you 24 hours a day but the bonus is you don’t have to pay it hourly.

We are going to share with you some features from some of the top hair salon online appointment booking and what you should consider when choosing one.

What Features To Look For In Hair Salon Online Appointment Booking Software

1. 24/7 access: No matter where your client is or what time of day it is, you want customers to be able to schedule with you quickly. Both you and the client should have access to your schedule anytime.
2. Instant updates: Having instant updates and notifications when someone schedules with you or changes an appointment can help you manage your day better. The hair salon’s online appointment booking app should make it easy for clients to schedule and reschedule without contacting you.
3. Email & SMS reminders: Automated reminders can save time and money by reducing no-shows and cancellations.
4. Social media: Most online booking apps today can integrate with your social media accounts, allowing you to book clients from your Facebook or Instagram account, take photos of your clients’ work, and share them on your social media.
5. Online reviews: One of the most significant opportunities to convert new clients is your reviews. It’s tremendous to have your clients review you after their services! You want your hair salon’s online appointment booking to be able to do this for you: A waiting list is a great feature when you are busy and must keep track of who wants in. You know that if someone cancels, you will have a backup client.
6. Inventory tracking: If you sell products or keep inventory on the back bar, it is helpful to have a way to keep track of what you spend & sell to clients. It’s essential to your business to keep a monthly budget of products you have in stock and on order.
7. Bookkeeping & Reports:  The ability to run a report of your sales and expenses to send off to your accountant is a feature you should always have available in a salon software app. Also, running different reports can help you plan your marketing, track employees’ productivity, and keep track of top-spending clients. 
8. User experience: You want the user/client to be able to navigate the online appointment booking app. Most people will use their mobile phones when booking their appointments, so the easier the process, the better.
9. Cancellation policy: To help limit cancellations, you should have your cancellation policy show up on the online booking app. You also want the ability to hold a credit card for deposits and cancellation fees.

Connect Your Hair Salon Schedule To Your Website

So these are just some key features you look for in a hair salon booking app.

Some other things to consider is pricing plans; someone running one chair versus multiple chairs won’t need the same features.

Therefore the cost of the program will be based on how many employees you will set up, and if you will need all the extra options.

Most software systems give you the option of downloading an app and also embedding on your website.

I like the possibility of having a client visit your website and booking appointments.

When the user visits your webpage, this helps in your SEO and the more traffic visiting your site, the more Google sees you and will lift you in the search listings.

You don’t want it to send your client away from your website if possible. 

Hair salon online appointment booking should allow clients to see your schedule on your website and schedule.

When you do this, you are sending your SEO (search engine optimization) to the app, and you want to keep the client on your website to help your rankings in Google.

Let’s Look At A Few Of The Most Popular Hair Salon Online Appointment Booking Systems

Salon Iris – Probably one of the most popular Hair Salon Online Appointment booking systems used today has to be Salon Iris software.

A real POS (point of sale) system that can handle a single chair salon up to a franchise operation.

Salon Iris starts with a Basic package and goes all the way up to a Professional package.

The packages start at $29 a month for a single user but come with limited features.

To get the good stuff, it will cost you around $60 a month for an individual user then you can add additional staff at $9 per team member.

Not one of the cheapest systems out there, but if you are running a multi chair hair salon, I would look at the Salon Iris Professional package for your business.

For someone renting a booth, the Basic package may suit your needs, but I would suggest continuing reading as I focus on other options for suite/booth rental below.

• Basic Payroll
• Client Loyalty System
• Gift Cards
• Employee Reminders
• Packages & Pre-paid
• Time Clock
• Resource Management

Millennium Meevo 2 – Are you a multi chair salon or have more than one location? Meevo is an excellent choice for the more extensive hair salon operation.

I would go as far as to say no other company is connected to the beauty industry more than the Millenium systems.

The founder and CEO John Harms has made it his mission to help hair salon owners & spa owners set up systems to better help them run a more productive business.

Some of the top-producing beauty industry companies in the world work with Millenium MEEVO 2.

When you signup with MEEVO they make sure you have the best training available over any other system on the market.

Your success is Millenium’s number #1 priority.

Now with all this comes with a premium price.

The GROW package starts at $97 a month and allows up to 10 employees.

You can expect a $100 increase for each salon package moving up. Let’s look at some of the features in the Grow Package.

• Inventory
• Resource Management For Scheduling Rooms For Spas
• A Central Office
• e-Learning & Online Training

VAGARO – I mention Vagaro because pretty much every booth renter I meet seems to use this hair salon online appointment booking app.

What started as an application for fitness & gyms has turned into a salon and spa favorite.

Pretty much any service-centered business that offers appointments Vagara has it covered.

A much smaller company Vagaro gives Salon Iris & Millenium a run for their money.

Vagaro is packed full of the essential features any salon suite owner would ever need and still has room to grow by adding employees.

With a very affordable monthly price of $25 a month, it’s worth checking out for your business.

Need to add more users?

It won’t break the bank with an additional $10 per staff member.

One of the options is to build your beauty salon website on their platform.

Although a generous option, I would stick with a separate custom website for your business.

Prebuilt websites are not easy to market your business with, and as I spoke earlier, you are giving them all your SEO traffic, which doesn’t help your business.

Have a look at what Vagaro offers you and see if it fits your needs.

• Notifications
• Payment processing
• Reports
• Memberships

SQUARE – So here is a contender that might surprise you when it comes to hair salon online booking appointments.

Square has eliminated a significant feature for its competitors “the price.” That’s right you heard me right, it’s FREE!

Square is mainly a payment processing company.

It pairs with its appointment software well and is super easy to set up and use.

Now when you use the free individual package, you will pay a little more for credit card processing at 2.75%.

Once you upgrade to the next level, you will pay $50 a month from 2-5 team members, and the rate for processing is 2.50% + ¢10 per transaction.

I think one of the more affordable options if you are an individual hairstylist looking to start cheap.

What it doesn’t have that almost all other hair salon online appointment booking apps have is the marketing features built-in.

If you want to market your hair salon using Square marketingyou will have to purchase that option extra for $15/mo 0–500 customer contacts.

Price increases per 500 customers, but I will say the email marketing is pretty legit compared to other systems.

Below I go through some of the primary features Square appointments offers.

• Charge no-shows

• Send invoices

• Open 24/7

• Offline payments

ROSY – The next hair salon online appointment booking system we will look at is Rosy the Smarter, Simpler, Loved software as the company describes it.

I have to say Rosy is loaded with great features like their marketing integrations.

Rosy is an advanced cloud-based system that can handle any size hair salon.

I feel the fallback for Rosy is its user interface is a bit dated looking.

I don’t feel like it compares to all the other apps we have spoken of.

What it lacks in design it makes up for with its essential features.

I would still consider using Rosy if you want a robust system that has a lot of bells & whistles.

If you need credit card processing, you can add it on along with a few other options.

Without the addons, you can expect to pay $29 a month for basic features.

The app really focuses on it’s marketing systems with options like it’s Facebook & Google integrations.

A pretty impressive online booking system with lots of great addons.

• Automated Email Marketing

• Enhanced Text Messaging (SMS)

• Mass Email Marketing

• Client Images

• Text Confirmations

• Image Library

BOOKSY –

Booksy is fun, well designed online booking platform that also has a directory side to it.

Go to https://booksy.com/en-us/, and you will see a hair salon and other service providers directory for your particular city or area.

You will also see Booksy puts forth a significant effort to integrate all of your social media accounts. Your client can book from Facebook, Instagram, and Google.

Need more reviews from your clients?

No worries Booksy makes it easy to have clients leave you positive business reviews, which helps others find out about your hair salon.

With Booksy, you can add credit cards to your clients account for easier checkout. You can take deposits from new guest or charge cancellation fees if necessary.

By connecting the app to your Instagram, you can take a picture of your client hair and share it right from Booksy business app.

I’m currently using Booksy and find it a well designed online booking system.

Their customer service is superior, and they offer to set up and transfer all your client info when you signup.

If you enjoy social media marketing and need a full features software package for your business, I would highly suggest you give Booksy a try.

For $29 a month they deliver a superior product that can help your business grow locally.

• Multi booking
• Enforce cancellation fees
• Sell services and products
• Monitor your finances
• Client tracking
• Waitlist

So Which Hair Salon Booking Software System Is Right For You?

So we have covered six options for you when it comes to online booking for your business. Which one fits your hair salon will come down to your business size.

All of the booking systems are designed differently from each other.

If you are a booth renter, I have to say Rosy works well and has more features than you will ever need for the money.

Is your hair salon a multilocation or does it have more than five staff members?

Millenium Meevo 2 is our choice at Hair Salon Pro when it comes to design, functionality, and a company that stands behind the hairdressing industry.

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