Currently, there are so many various solutions available for beauty salon owners to choose from, that it is very easy to get lost. It’s a fact that the world around is getting more and more tech-savvy - software developing companies come up with various solutions dedicated to all different types of beauty businesses, big and small. It’s a great idea to choose one, but then there comes the question - which will be the best for you?
What should be your choosing criteria? What are the absolute basics of every digital solution dedicated to salon owners? Are booking apps even relevant anymore, or is there something better for you on the market? Let’s find out!
Now, online booking is an absolute must, especially if you are a solo business owner and don’t have a receptionist to take care of the constantly ringing phone. Thanks to online booking, your clients can make an appointment whenever they feel like doing so - no more calls in the middle of the night and no more angry clients whining that you didn’t answer the phone.
If an online booking is so important, then you should get your salon a booking app, or shouldn’t you? Well - the answer isn’t so obvious. Booking apps used to be very popular, but since then, the technology has moved forward. Nowadays having an app for the sole purpose of providing online booking is no longer profitable. It's far better to invest in a system like Booksy, where you get a whole package of extremely useful functionalities, online booking included.
No matter if your speciality is doing nails, waxing or hairdressing, appointment book and customer records are things you simply have to have. It’s a foundation of your management, something you cannot go without.
In the past, your most reasonable option used to be buying a huge paper calendar, preferably in hardcover, and keeping it on the reception desk. Your beauty salon receptionist, or you personally, used to run all the records, desperately trying to not get lost in the growing chaos of scribbles. Do you remember the times when all it took was a few clients wanting to reschedule and you had an avalanche? The more employees you had, the greater was the chance of things going south. Oh, the lengthy timetables you used to draw! Truly sparks a breeze of nostalgia in one’s heart.
Nowadays, paper appointment books no longer make the cut - digital alternatives beat them up in every single category. You can edit everything on the spot without causing a mess, the possibility of double booking is close to non-existent and you can create various access levels for each employee. The last one is especially relevant - ever since we are far more conscious about the need to secure the sensitive data (GDPR has most definitely done a fair share of work in this department), leaving an open notebook with clients’ names and numbers on the desk is no longer perceived as normal. Nowadays, it’s expected to move all the records to a digital solution, preferably a cloud-based one. Paper appointment books are not only inconvenient and unreliable but also using them can easily lead to a dangerous data leak. Not to even mention - with paper making 25% (a literal quarter!) of landfill waste, it’s simply irresponsible to contribute to environmental pollution, if you have better alternatives. Your lash, hair or nail salon’s appointment book can save time and trees at the same time!
Even the best online salon booking app will be lacking if it won’t deliver automatic appointment reminders. So if you are looking for good software - keep an eye on the communication aspect! Apart from appointment reminders, you should seek solutions providing bulk messaging, so that you will be able to create marketing campaigns, as well as automated messages, such as birthday wishes.
Control over your salon’s performance is vital. Your software of choice should come with real-time statistics and detailed financial reports. It's a great convenience to have the system calculate your expected revenue and provide work time analysis.
A great salon system should help you with motivating the team and keeping track of their performance. Running the records of leaves and absences and calculating commission rates automatically are other things to seek.
Checking your stock levels regularly is a must, though it’s a tedious and tiresome task. The best management software does the job for you - you should always look for solutions that automate such processes!
Now that you know which functionalities are the most profitable to have in your digital helper, you may want to try a solution that has them all. Booksy is the best salon management software dedicated to solo, small, mid-size and big beauty businesses - test drive it for two weeks for free and see how it changes the way you run your everyday tasks!
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