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What is Salon Software?

Salon management software is a solution that helps salon owners and independent styling professionals manage their daily business operations. This system automates a range of tasks including appointment booking and scheduling, secure storage of data, customer interactions, appointment confirmations, inventory tracking, staff management, and implementation of marketing campaigns. Show moreBusy salon industry professionals find it difficult to manage multiple customer appointments especially during peak times. They can make use of salon software to easily manage appointments, accommodate requests for new ones, and reschedule existing ones to make their business more efficient and profitable. Although a large number of solutions in our review listing will be flexible and you will be able to use them efficiently no matter where you are, specific regional or language restrictions might be involved. On this page you’ll find our list of top software that will run smoothly in United States both in terms of language and local support. Start by checking our leader Mangomint, and other recommended solutions in this category. Show less

How was this ranking made?

In order to come up with this list of best Salon Software we have evaluated 189 trending solutions currently present on the market, studying their features, how easy are they are to learn, customer support, possible integrations and mobile support using our patented SmartScoreTM rating system. This ranking has been developed by Nestor Gilbert, our B2B expert responsible for the Salon Software category.

List of Top 13 Salon Software

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1. Mangomint

Our score: 8.9 User satisfaction: 98%

is a salon software that empowers beauty and wellness businesses to streamline operations, enhance customer experiences, and drive growth.

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2. Mindbody

Our score: 9.6 User satisfaction: 93%

A business management solution for the health and wellness sector, which enables effective management of business and marketing operations. Accessible anytime, anywhere using any device, this platform allows customers to book from virtually anywhere whenever they need to. It also supports brand-based customization and can be integrated into any business website.

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3. Acuity Scheduling from Squarespace

Our score: 9.0 User satisfaction: N/A

An easy-to-use online appointment scheduling tool that allows users to organize their schedule, and control their availability while enabling clients to self-book appointments. The platform adapts to any business, especially those that offer classes, private sessions, class backs, and other subscription-based services online.

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4. Rosy Salon Software

Our score: 9.0 User satisfaction: 96%

An easy-to-use salon and spa management solution that gives beauty industry businesses unmatched control over their operations. Using this solution ensures that you're running your business with the latest in salon software technology. If you're keen on boosting profitability, increasing productivity, or enhancing customer relationships, Rosy Salon Software is a great choice.

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5. SimplyBook.me

Our score: 8.9 User satisfaction: 100%

An online booking system accessible from mobile devices or desktop PCs for 24/7 bookings from anywhere. The platform's Class & Membership feature empowers businesses to have complete control over their booking activities. On top of its many innovative tools, SimplyBook.me's POS tool can accept both cash and credit card payments.

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6. Booker

Our score: 8.9 User satisfaction: 90%

Booker is an online booking software built for small businesses in the spa and salon industry. It handles customer management, bookings, payments, and marketing. It also integrates with your current site, letting you easily add a "Book Now" button, which allows site visitors to view available time slots and book appointments on their own.

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7. 10to8

Our score: 8.8 User satisfaction: N/A

Sign In Scheduling is a cloud-hosted appointment management suite that simplifies and streamlines how you manage your schedule and how you coordinate with your clients. It manages bookings for your business, helping avert schedule conflicts, reduce missed meetings, and preventing miscommunication between businesses and their clients.

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8. Sign In Scheduling

Our score: 8.8 User satisfaction: N/A

Sign In Scheduling is a cloud-hosted appointment management suite that simplifies and streamlines how you manage your schedule and how you coordinate with your clients. It manages bookings for your business, helping avert schedule conflicts, reduce missed meetings, and preventing miscommunication between businesses and their clients.

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9. Timely

Our score: 8.7 User satisfaction: 94%

Timely is an online appointment scheduling software designed for SMBs in the health, beauty, and wellness industries. The system comes with awesome schedule features to help you organize your calendars, manage appointments, and efficiently operate your bookings. Timely enables you to set appointments, automatically set reminders and deliver notifications, and generate reports.

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10. Versum

Our score: 8.6 User satisfaction: 89%

Versum is a salon and spa management software that assists with the day to day operations of your business. It was designed to ensure ease of operation and and provide assistance in scheduling appointments, inventory tracking and marketing. The software is completely web based, and can be accessed via desktop or mobile devices.

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11. Reservio

Our score: 8.6 User satisfaction: 100%

Reservio is a smart and user-friendly appointment scheduling software that aims to simplify the way you manage your schedules and your clients. It seeks to replace phones and scheduling book by delivering an easy-to-use, highly accessible cloud-based scheduling platform that handles appointment scheduling and help you monitor performance and promote your business.

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12. SalonTouch

Our score: 6.3 User satisfaction: 100%

SalonTouch is a salon management application aimed at the beauty service industry help businesses in the beauty service industry with day-to-day operations. It features an EMV-compliant Point-of-Sale (POS) system for payment processing, as well as proprietary barcode scanning technology to help monitor salon inventory. Employees can share business details via the personalized “My Salon Centre” portal, while customers can go to the “My Salon Book” site to book their appointments online.

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13. ProSolutions

Our score: 6.1 User satisfaction: N/A

ProSolutions is a truly all-encompassing salon and spa management solution tailored for specific business needs.

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Similar Categories:

In the event you didn't find just the solution you were looking for here's a list of various categories similar to Salon Software that you might want to browse through:

Salon Software Guide

Table of contents

Industry Report - Salon Software for 2022

CloudRank™ system is a unique algorithm that our research team uses to evaluate Salon Software solutions in a detailed and accurate way. The Summer 2022 edition of the ranking was prepared by Nestor Gilbert, our leading expert in the field of Salon Software, who has authored 1380+ product reviews in this category. The goal of CloudRank™ is to present an unbiased, multi-layered perspective on Salon Software, considering a wide range of metrics and factors, and educating potentiala customers about both opportunities and challenges associated with each piece of software.

In order to achieve full objectivity the position in our CloudRank™ is based on:

  • Expert Score: which involves extensive analysis by our internal team which carefully examined all key elements of each software and testing it in real-life situations
  • User Score: which involves an aggregated opinion of actual users of each product whose identity was properly verified
  • Market Position: which involves general recognition of a given vendor on the market and reflects its overall popularity and reach
What do the tiers in CloudRank™ mean?

What do the tiers in CloudRank™ mean?

We’ve calculated a score for each product based on the average experience shared by our users in their product reviews and arranged the list in three tiers. You can see the methodology below on how the calculations were made.

  • Leaders: those with a User Score of 8 or higher; this tier includes products that are currently leaders on the market and are appreciated by both experts and actual users. They always represent the best of what the Salon Software market has to offer and are all worth trying out if you’re looking for a reliable solution.
  • Contenders: those with a User Score between 7.5 and 8; this tier includes high-quality products that still have some minor drawbacks that prevent them from becoming leaders on the market. They always represent well-designed tools that, over time, will most likely develop into market leaders as the missing features are added.
  • Rising Stars: those with a User Score between 7 and 7.5; this tier includes products that have high-potential but still lack some crucial features or services expected from a leading solution. They are products with solid foundations and a vision that makes us eager to see what they will become as their solution improves in the future.

Regardless of their tier, all products included in our CloudRank™ are popular, quality products considered top-performers by our team of experts. Make sure you read a more detailed review of each solution to find one that will work best for your specific needs and budget.

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Rising Star
Contenders
Front-Runners

MARKET POSITION

A score between 1 and 10 based on popularity and market reach of each product.

TOTAL score

A score between 1 and 10 based on the average of our Expert Score and User Score.

How does CloudRank™ work?

Arrow top

Market Position

A score between 1 and 10 based on popularity and market reach of each product.

Arrow right

Total Score

A score between 1 and 10 based on the average of our Expert Score and User Score.

CloudRank™ tier

Based on product's total score.

Rising Star

Contender

Front Runners

25 Most Popular Salon Software

Here is a list of all 25 Salon Software solutions evaluated with our CloudRank™ analysis. We have compared their features, user satisfaction, market presence and other key factors in an in-depth analysis you can find below:

1. Acuity Scheduling from Squarespace

8.64
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Our score and features analysis:

Total User Satisfaction

Total Expert Score

Market Position

} CloudRank™
Score:8.64
Customers company size

No. of employees:

1-10 11-50 51-100 100+
Best features

Online booking

%

Appointment management

%

Inventory management

%

Social media

%

CRM

%
Worst features

2. Calendly

8.51
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Our score and features analysis:

Total User Satisfaction

Total Expert Score

Market Position

} CloudRank™
Score:8.51
Customers company size

No. of employees:

1-10 11-50 51-100 100+
Best features

Online booking

%

Mobile support

%

Tracking & reporting

%

Appointment management

%

CRM

%
Worst features

3. SimplyBook.me

8.21
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Our score and features analysis:

Total User Satisfaction

Total Expert Score

Market Position

} CloudRank™
Score:8.21
Customers company size

No. of employees:

1-10 11-50 51-100 100+
Best features

Online booking

%

Tracking & reporting

%

Email marketing

%

Staff management

%

Appointment management

%
Worst features

CRM

%

Mobile support

%

Social media

%

4. Vagaro

8.20
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Our score and features analysis:

Total User Satisfaction

Total Expert Score

Market Position

} CloudRank™
Score:8.20
Customers company size

No. of employees:

1-10 11-50 51-100 100+
Best features

Tracking & reporting

%

CRM

%

Email marketing

%

Inventory management

%

Payroll & scheduling

%
Worst features

Online booking

%

Appointment management

%

Mobile support

%

Social media

%

Staff management

%

5. Square Appointments

7.98
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Our score and features analysis:

Total User Satisfaction

Total Expert Score

Market Position

} CloudRank™
Score:7.98
Customers company size

No. of employees:

1-10 11-50 51-100 100+
Best features

Online booking

%

Appointment management

%

CRM

%

Payroll & scheduling

%

Staff management

%
Worst features

Mobile support

%

6. Setmore

7.97
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Our score and features analysis:

Total User Satisfaction

Total Expert Score

Market Position

} CloudRank™
Score:7.97
Customers company size

No. of employees:

1-10 11-50 51-100 100+
Best features

Online booking

%

Social media

%

Appointment management

%

Mobile support

%

Staff management

%
Worst features

CRM

%

Tracking & reporting

%

7. Mindbody

7.84
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Our score and features analysis:

Total User Satisfaction

Total Expert Score

Market Position

} CloudRank™
Score:7.84
Customers company size

No. of employees:

1-10 11-50 51-100 100+
Best features

Appointment management

%

Tracking & reporting

%

Staff management

%

CRM

%

Email marketing

%
Worst features

Online booking

%

Social media

%

Mobile support

%

8. Timely

7.83
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Our score and features analysis:

Total User Satisfaction

Total Expert Score

Market Position

} CloudRank™
Score:7.83
Customers company size

No. of employees:

1-10 11-50 51-100 100+
Best features

Appointment management

%

Staff management

%

CRM

%

Online booking

%

Inventory management

%
Worst features

Tracking & reporting

%

Email marketing

%

Social media

%

9. Genbook

7.82
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Our score and features analysis:

Total User Satisfaction

Total Expert Score

Market Position

} CloudRank™
Score:7.82
Customers company size

No. of employees:

1-10 11-50 51-100 100+
Best features

Email marketing

%

Online booking

%

Tracking & reporting

%

CRM

%

Inventory management

%
Worst features

Staff management

%

Appointment management

%

Mobile support

%

Social media

%

10. Shedul

7.80
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Our score and features analysis:

Total User Satisfaction

Total Expert Score

Market Position

} CloudRank™
Score:7.80
Customers company size

No. of employees:

1-10 11-50 51-100 100+
Best features

Appointment management

%

Inventory management

%

Online booking

%

CRM

%

Staff management

%
Worst features

Tracking & reporting

%

Mobile support

%

Payroll & scheduling

%

Social media

%

11. Checkfront

7.77
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Our score and features analysis:

Total User Satisfaction

Total Expert Score

Market Position

} CloudRank™
Score:7.77
Customers company size

No. of employees:

1-10 11-50 51-100 100+
Best features

Inventory management

%

Tracking & reporting

%

CRM

%

Mobile support

%

Social media

%
Worst features

Online booking

%

12. 10to8

7.66
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Our score and features analysis:

Total User Satisfaction

Total Expert Score

Market Position

} CloudRank™
Score:7.66
Customers company size

No. of employees:

1-10 11-50 51-100 100+
Best features

CRM

%

Email marketing

%

Online booking

%

Tracking & reporting

%

Staff management

%
Worst features

Social media

%

Appointment management

%

13. Phorest Salon Software

7.64
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Our score and features analysis:

Total User Satisfaction

Total Expert Score

Market Position

} CloudRank™
Score:7.64
Customers company size

No. of employees:

1-10 11-50 51-100 100+
Best features

CRM

%

Social media

%

Email marketing

%

Online booking

%

Appointment management

%
Worst features

Inventory management

%

Staff management

%

Tracking & reporting

%

14. Schedulicity

7.61
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Our score and features analysis:

Total User Satisfaction

Total Expert Score

Market Position

} CloudRank™
Score:7.61
Customers company size

No. of employees:

1-10 11-50 51-100 100+
Best features

Email marketing

%

Online booking

%

Social media

%

Staff management

%

Appointment management

%
Worst features

Tracking & reporting

%

15. Booksy

7.51
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Our score and features analysis:

Total User Satisfaction

Total Expert Score

Market Position

} CloudRank™
Score:7.51
Customers company size

No. of employees:

1-10 11-50 51-100 100+
Best features

Email marketing

%

Social media

%

Tracking & reporting

%

Staff management

%

Appointment management

%
Worst features

Inventory management

%

Online booking

%

CRM

%

16. Reservio

7.43
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Our score and features analysis:

Total User Satisfaction

Total Expert Score

Market Position

} CloudRank™
Score:7.43
Customers company size

No. of employees:

1-10 11-50 51-100 100+
Best features

CRM

%

Online booking

%

Appointment management

%

Tracking & reporting

%

Mobile support

%
Worst features

17. WellnessLiving

7.39
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Our score and features analysis:

Total User Satisfaction

Total Expert Score

Market Position

} CloudRank™
Score:7.39
Customers company size

No. of employees:

1-10 11-50 51-100 100+
Best features

Payroll & scheduling

%

Online booking

%

Tracking & reporting

%

CRM

%

Email marketing

%
Worst features

Inventory management

%

Social media

%

Mobile support

%

Staff management

%

Appointment management

%

18. Booker

7.33
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Our score and features analysis:

Total User Satisfaction

Total Expert Score

Market Position

} CloudRank™
Score:7.33
Customers company size

No. of employees:

1-10 11-50 51-100 100+
Best features

Appointment management

%

CRM

%

Tracking & reporting

%

Inventory management

%

Online booking

%
Worst features

Email marketing

%

Payroll & scheduling

%

Social media

%

Staff management

%

Mobile support

%

19. Rosy Salon Software

7.22
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Our score and features analysis:

Total User Satisfaction

Total Expert Score

Market Position

} CloudRank™
Score:7.22
Customers company size

No. of employees:

1-10 11-50 51-100 100+
Best features

Online booking

%

Tracking & reporting

%

Inventory management

%

CRM

%

Payroll & scheduling

%
Worst features

Appointment management

%

Mobile support

%

Staff management

%

Social media

%

20. Pike13

7.22
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Our score and features analysis:

Total User Satisfaction

Total Expert Score

Market Position

} CloudRank™
Score:7.22
Customers company size

No. of employees:

1-10 11-50 51-100 100+
Best features

CRM

%

Appointment management

%

Tracking & reporting

%

Mobile support

%

Online booking

%
Worst features

Social media

%

Staff management

%

21. Full Slate

7.21
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Our score and features analysis:

Total User Satisfaction

Total Expert Score

Market Position

} CloudRank™
Score:7.21
Customers company size

No. of employees:

1-10 11-50 51-100 100+
Best features

CRM

%

Online booking

%

Appointment management

%
Worst features

22. MyTime Scheduler

7.20
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Our score and features analysis:

Total User Satisfaction

Total Expert Score

Market Position

} CloudRank™
Score:7.20
Customers company size

No. of employees:

1-10 11-50 51-100 100+
Best features

Appointment management

%

Email marketing

%

Tracking & reporting

%

CRM

%

Online booking

%
Worst features

Staff management

%

Inventory management

%

Mobile support

%

Payroll & scheduling

%

Social media

%

23. MassageBook

7.19
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Our score and features analysis:

Total User Satisfaction

Total Expert Score

Market Position

} CloudRank™
Score:7.19
Customers company size

No. of employees:

1-10 11-50 51-100 100+
Best features

Online booking

%

Appointment management

%

Inventory management

%

Email marketing

%

Staff management

%
Worst features

Tracking & reporting

%

Mobile support

%

24. HelmBot

7.16
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Our score and features analysis:

Total User Satisfaction

Total Expert Score

Market Position

} CloudRank™
Score:7.16
Customers company size

No. of employees:

1-10 11-50 51-100 100+
Best features

Staff management

%

Email marketing

%

Online booking

%

Social media

%

CRM

%
Worst features

Inventory management

%

Payroll & scheduling

%

Tracking & reporting

%

Appointment management

%

Mobile support

%

25. YouCanBook.me

6.56
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Our score and features analysis:

Total User Satisfaction

Total Expert Score

Market Position

} CloudRank™
Score:6.56
Customers company size

No. of employees:

1-10 11-50 51-100 100+
Best features

Appointment management

%

Tracking & reporting

%

Online booking

%
Worst features

Our report covered 25 most popular products from the Salon Software category. We’ve analyzed their features, performance, integration, customer support, pricing, and several other key buying factors and combined it with feedback from user reviews to come up with the current list of best solutions:

While not specifically designed for Salons, Acuity Scheduling is a full-featured, user-friendly scheduling management SaaS that is quite popular in the industry. The solution currently supports over 50,000 businesses from all over the world with services for scheduling appointments, classes, workshops, or group events. Acuity outperforms very popular pureplay salon management SaaS and other equally robust and well-used scheduling apps to nab the top spot in this edition of CloudRank for Salon Management.

Acuity Scheduling excels in its core functionality of organizing schedules, bolstering its solution with flexible calendar coordination and third-party integrations, as well as other features to maximize branding impact by balancing the appeal of your calendar to your clients looking to make an appointment. Additionally, the solution allows you to customize content and features, and make client information gathering and payments easy and convenient.

Aside from being FinancesOnline’s expert pick in the Salon Management category, Acuity Scheduling is also the top contender in the Online Booking Software category, and a strong third in the larger Appointment Scheduling Software category.

Most users of Salon Software solutions confirm that in most cases these tools allow them to reach the following business goals:

  • It enables us to centralize and organize customer data [ 85.7% of users ]
  • It enables us to easily assign customers to available stylists [ 86.9% of users ]
  • It helps to collect emails and execute marketing campaigns [ 86.6% of users ]
  • It helps us manage customer appointments easily [ 86.6% of users ]
  • It provides detailed reports on employee performance [ 86.6% of users ]

How did we select products for this Salon Software report?

The Summer 2022 version of the report includes a total of 25 Salon Software products that were compared and analyzed by our team. We selected them based on the following factors:

  • Popularity of a given brand in the SaaS market (based on our own market research)
  • How popular a given brand is among FinancesOnline users (based on number of mothly readers for each review page)
  • Availability of statistical data generated from user reviews of a particular product (we excluded products with not enough data to draw meaningful conclusions)
  • The current listing reflects the state of our database and research as of June 2022. An updated version of the report will be released quarterly to keep data fresh and incorporate information about shifts and changing trends in the market.

What are the current Salon Software trends?

Smart technologies disrupt traditional ways of providing service.

The use of artificial intelligence (AI) in software isn’t new but it continues to gain traction and find more applications. The technology has vastly improved with AI and similar technologies, machine learning and big data analysis, etc, continuing to disrupt traditional ways of delivering salon services and providing a better customer experience. One example of this are customers getting help from AI in setting up salon appointments. Salon software currently available in the market provide 24/7 AI assistance. Forty percent of bookings occur after-hours; automation and round-the-clock availability address these inquiries which would otherwise be lost. Other uses of these types of smart technology include suggesting upgrades based on the availability of services, history, or predicted services optioned at the time of booking or automatically targeting customers that are due for appointments or would have a higher likelihood to respond to the slot availability for the day.

Harnessing the power of social media.

Everyone has a social profile or two. It is estimated there are over 3.6 billion social media users worldwide with the numbers projected to increase to 4.41 billion in 2025. The global penetration rate average is 53.6%, the highest is 79% for Western and Northern Europe while North America is a close second at 74%. Beyond social connections, social media provides avenues for marketing and targeting audience segments. The salon and spa industry would usually have a target market based on geographic location, consequently reflected in “salon near me” searches, gender, and age bracket. Reviews and check-ins help salon businesses get awareness and name recall. Widgets and buttons from salon software are embeddable to websites and social channels, Facebook and Instagram are the top social media channels in user numbers, and act as portals for online appointment booking. 

Cisco; Vox

Leverage the power of video.

Video has multiple uses and applications in software and apps whether for work, social channels, and salon software. Cisco has predicted more than 80% of online traffic will be video by 2021. The COVID-19 pandemic has pushed the format use among apps that require “face-to-face” participation. We see this in the increase in usage of communication software like Zoom, Microsoft Teams, and Webex which saw a rise in demand even as business apps purchases decreased. Video in social channels gain more shares and engagement and is another way to leverage the channel for marketing. Stay-at-home orders and pandemic-related lockdowns have led to on-demand videos added as features or as a plu-in with thrid party apps in some salon software like Phorest and WellnessLiving.

Salon management tools help salon industry owners and professionals to manage appointments, automate routine tasks, and make their business more efficient. So you can benefit a lot by investing in a quality solution. But how do you sort the good salon tools from the average? To help you, we have prepared this buyer’s guide that details the main features and elements you should look for to do knowledgeable comparisons when selecting the best salon tools for your needs.

Get to know each product with free trial

An ideal way to start your search for the best salon management tool is by signing up for the free trials or demo offered by popular salon software providers. This will help you to gauge the efficacy of each app and understand if it is suitable for your establishment. Visit the websites of these leading platforms to check if they offer a free trial: Vagaro, Rosy Salon Software, Versum, and Salon Ultimate. These programs have been given impressive rankings in our salon software reviews that you can browse to get a general comparison of the products’ features. It’s also worthwhile to consider some alternatives first. For example, check out our article on Top 10 Alternatives to Acuity Scheduling for more information on the popular solutions available on the market.

Targeted Businesses

  • Individual professionals and small businesses. These clients normally have basic needs and therefore a solution with appointment management feature should suffice. If they have employees who go out in the field, they should find a system that is mobile-friendly.
  • Medium-sized businesses. Growing businesses need to capture, analyze, and segment customer data to create targeted marketing campaigns for customer loyalty. These establishments should look for features that enable them to manage customers and marketing campaigns effectively.
  • Large companies. These users need a system that enables them to carry out multiple tasks such as training management, employee attendance tracking, gift card management, POS billing, inventory tracking, and report generation. Large enterprises are advised to opt for a modular salon software solution as it will give them the option to select specific modules for their needs. They are better off with cloud-based systems as these have lower maintenance expenses compared to on-premise platforms.

Examples of Salon Management Software

  • Vagaro: A web-based solution for salon and spa owners to book appointments online, manage staff, connect with customers, and promote their business. Vagaro is a B2C platform where salons can create a profile, promote new events, and advertise their brand.
  • Rosy Salon Software: A comprehensive suite of scheduling and business tools designed for salons and spas. Prices start at an affordable $29.
  • Versum: An easy to use and feature-rich salon management platform. It offers features for employee scheduling, stats and reporting, real-time cash auditing, customer retention, and more.
  • Salon Ultimate: A hybrid salon software that lets you manage your business from the cloud without sacrificing speed and reliability. Salon owners can create new services for their customers, tweak existing services, and update service details across all their stores.
  • SimplyBook.me: SimplyBook.me allows customers to book service appointments 24/7 from anywhere. Confirmations and reminders are sent via email/SMS, and clients can also use the same to reschedule or cancel prior bookings.

Types of Salon Management Software

The salon and spa management software category includes the following related programs:

  • Salon POS system
  • Club management software
  • Appointment scheduling software

Key Features of Salon Management Software

Appointment management. You can easily book, reschedule,  and follow up on appointments on the fly. Top systems allow you to confirm appointments using SMS text messages.

Staff management. You can track useful employee metrics such as employee availability, employee schedules, and customer satisfaction and retention.

Customer management. You can capture useful customer data to support targeted marketing campaigns. Includes tools that enable you to segment and categorize customers, track customer spend, and gather customer feedback.

Billing and POS processing. You can generate bills and process payments using common methods such as cash, e-wallets, and credit and debit cards. Customers can use a POS (point-of-sale) solution to redeem gift coupons.

Reporting. Customized reports can be generated for tracking employee performance, measuring the effectiveness of marketing campaigns, measuring customer satisfaction through service or stylist categories, and evaluating revenue trends.

Marketing campaigns. Enables you to carry out email and SMS-based marketing campaigns to attract customers to your salon. These campaigns can offer gift coupons, loyalty cards, membership programs, and promotional packages.

Benefits of Salon Management Software

Streamlines appointments. Busy salons find it difficult to manage multiple customer appointments during peak working hours. Because of this they may double-book customers and lose business. Salon tools enable you to easily schedule appointments, re-schedule existing ones, and confirm them to your customers to save their as well as your time.

Centralizes customer data. It is important for salons to track customer information in order to create targeted marketing campaigns. Salon software allows them to securely store customer data including contact details, membership information, important dates, loyalty points, service history, and details about gift voucher redemptions. The system can also back up the customer data at selected periods for additional security.

Other benefits

  • You can manage upcoming appointments for all your service providers with support for both walk-in customers and scheduled appointments.
  • Efficiently manage walk-ins by finding the first available stylist, or customers can select their preferred service professional.
  • You can organize customer information and have the ability to check prepaid package balances, view upcoming appointments, upload photos of previous styles, and add notes for customer preferences.
  • Manage all employees with detailed performance reports including commission tracking.
  • Delegate each appointment to a specific chair or booth for effortless multi-station tracking.
  • Retail functionality empowers you to a sell a wide range of products apart from your service offerings.
  • Easily track prepaid packages and membership programs using the customer database.
  • Remind your customers of upcoming appointments via text or email to avoid missed sessions.

Predictive buying. Most salon software tools lack advanced analytics capabilities to analyze customer data collected by establishments. Top vendors are addressing this problem by integrating analytics tools in salon management programs to enable salons to study purchasing behavior and predict buying patterns. This can help them to personalize the customer experience and create promotions to improve sales.

Booth rental model. Some salons and spas are renting booths that contain the essential equipment and products to third-party professionals. This business model is a win-win situation for both parties. Booth owners can earn a good income without spending on marketing or training, while styling professionals can get a fully furnished workplace for their business without heavy capital expenditure. Customers also benefit as they can prefer to avail of the expertise of their favorite stylist.

The rise of Spalons. Whereas before spas and salons were two different entities entirely, there is a growing trend that fuses both into a one-stop-shop (Spalon). Developers may want to take note of this for their next few versions.

Potential Issues

Inadequate training

Salons need to ensure their employees get adequate training to learn to use salon software effectively. This is especially applicable to new employees. Staff members can refer to how-to-guides, training videos, FAQs, and other materials to get the hang of the system. They should understand the full capabilities of the platform to maximize its potential.

Getting carried away

Salon owners can get carried away by the excellent features offered by salon software and may be tempted to send too many marketing emails and text messages to their customers. They should avoid this mistake and exercise care while using the marketing functions. Send marketing emails and SMS messages only to specific groups of customers to attract their attention. This will help you to save money and your customers will not get annoyed by the marketing messages.

Migrating from phone to software

Getting clients to move from phone appointments to a software-based system is not as easy as you think. You may encounter resistance from your clients, especially those who are less tech-savvy and would always insist that the old ways are the best. Transitioning to your new software would entail some time and a lot of patience.

Considerations When Choosing Salon Software

Staff Capability and Turnover

Salons hire staff for their skills in pampering and grooming clients, which don’t automatically translate into technical skills. Your choice of software should have a good balance between utility and usability. Given the cutthroat competition and turnover rates, your salon software should have an easy-to-use interface that can be picked up quickly by new hires.

Primary Objective of Implementation

While salon software often offers a lot of features, it’s best to keep track of your original objective that made you consider a purchase. Is your objective providing an easier way for clients to set appointments and book schedules? Or is it a way to consolidate your client list and deliver marketing strategies like promotions, mailers, or loyalty programs? Perhaps, it’s to consolidate your supply chain and ensure you are fully stocked? Whatever your main goal is, your choice of software should readily address that foremost before you get all awed with the other features.

The Bottom Line

If you’re still using a phone and a paper directory to answer inquiries and accept bookings, then your salon is going to have a hard time competing with those who have moved on to the next level. Automating your process and providing your customers with a more convenient way to reach out to you have gone from being expensive options to an accepted standard in the salon industry.

Using salon software is not a question of when or why anymore. It’s more a matter of which. Don’t be left out in the cold with the old ways.

List of Salon Software Companies

Order by:

Newest
  • Newest
  • Score
  • User Score
Product name:
Category:
Smart Score:
Price:
User Satisf.
User reviews:
Sign In Scheduling reviews

Sign In Scheduling

Salon Software
8.8
free
-
Mangomint reviews

Mangomint

Salon Software
8.9
$165/month
98%
Fresha reviews

Fresha

Salon Software
8.4
Free
99%
Wellyx reviews

Wellyx

Salon Software
8.0
$95
100%
Salonist reviews

Salonist

Salon Software
8.0
$25
93%
MMF Beauty reviews

MMF Beauty

Salon Software
8.0
$39
43%
Phorest Salon Software reviews

Phorest Salon Software

Salon Software
8.5
By quote
96%
talech reviews

talech

Salon Software
8.5
$49
100%
UbookToday reviews

UbookToday

Salon Software
5.2
by quote
-
Hive Salon Software reviews

Hive Salon Software

Salon Software
7.0
by quote
83%
Salon Precision reviews

Salon Precision

Salon Software
5.0
£89.99
94%
Salon Exec reviews

Salon Exec

Salon Software
5.3
£10
60%
SalonIQ reviews

SalonIQ

Salon Software
5.7
£47
-
Salon Connection reviews

Salon Connection

Salon Software
7.0
$499
91%

Things to consider when you invest in a SaaS

Disaster recovery and security are two main elements that need to be considered by SaaS purchasers when analyzing potential providers.

Many SaaS providers do not have a disaster recovery site. Therefore, ask the following questions to your shortlisted vendors: How do you test your disaster recovery processes? What is your recovery time? How often do you test? Do you have dispersed infrastructure; are your chief site and your disaster recovery site placed in different geographical locations?

You need to be aware that many SaaS providers do not use enterprise-grade infrastructure to deploy SaaS apps. Many solutions have multiple providers. For example, there may be a firewall provider, an Internet provider, and a few others too in the mix. If a problem rears up, there is a lot of finger-pointing. This problem is common with on-premise IT applications. The solution is to decrease the number of vendors so that there is accountability to ensure they take responsibility about performance.

Ask the potential SaaS vendors the following questions about security: Is your organization SAS70 compliant? What security procedures are used at your facilities? What security audits and guidelines does your organization follow? Who manages access and identity management, web application firewalls, log file management, and network connectivity?

Needless to say, take your time to research thoroughly and get the answers to the above questions before you invest in an appropriate SaaS solution.

Frequently asked questions about Salon Software

What is the best salon software?

The best salon software is Rosy Salon Software, which received the top marks in our list of software in this category. It is a user-friendly appointment scheduling software created specifically for the salon industry.

Schedules are displayed in real-time on your website, making it virtually impossible for anyone to double book due to late updates. Once an appointment has been applied for, the software automatically notifies you and updates the schedules list.

It can be integrated with third-party apps, such as Facebook, Demand Force, CardConnect, Vantiv, and more. This way, you can manage all your scheduling processes in one interface.

What are the benefits of salon software?
  • Streamlines appointments. Salon software solutions enable you to easily schedule, reschedule, confirm or cancel appointments online, without the need to pick up the phone or dial. the software ensures that schedules are updated in real-time.
  • Centralizes customer data. Salon software allows users to collect, store, and consolidate important customer data such as contact information, membership details, service history, loyalty points, and others. The solution also backs up customer data for additional security.
  • Other benefits. In addition, benefits of Salon software include managing walk-ins, monitoring employee performance, managing sales for on-premise products, tracking prepaid packages and members, and sending notifications and reminders.
What are the features of salon software?
  • Appointment management. Book, reschedule,  and follow up on appointments on the fly. Get confirmation on appointments via SMS text messages immediately.
  • Staff management. Monitor and appraise employee performance based on metrics, such as availability, schedules, and customer satisfaction and retention.
  • Customer management. Capture customer data to support targeted marketing campaigns. In addition, you can break down data into more detail by segmenting and categorizing customers, tracking customer spend, and collecting customer feedback.
  • Billing and POS processing. Generate bills and accept payments within the app. Utilize a  point-of-sale solution so customers can claim and redeem gift coupons.
  • Reporting. Generate custom reports for tracking employee performance, measuring marketing campaign effectivity, assessing customer satisfaction, and evaluating revenue trends.
  • Marketing campaigns. Carry out email and SMS-based marketing campaigns to attract more customers and visits. Campaigns can offer value-added promotions, such as gift coupons, loyalty cards, membership programs, and promotional packages.
What is the easiest salon software to use?
  • Acuity Scheduling features a very easy-to-use interface that lets even novice users learn the ropes in a few tries. The convenience of being cloud-based also makes it very convenient to access the latest data. Integrations with popular calendar apps also help keep track of schedules.
  • Rosy Salon Software also features a user-friendly interface, accented with color-coded functions. It’s going to be very hard not to warm up to the software, given its relative ease-of-use.
  • SimplyBook.me lets customers book appointments via Facebook pages, which makes it very convenient to get a date. Its ability to integrate with popular payment systems also makes it a convenient POS system.
What is a good free salon software?
  • Shedul is an absolutely free salon software, without a time limit or cap on the number of uses. You can enjoy full features such as POS, booth rental management, client profiles, employee management, inventory management, loyalty program, and payroll management.
  • Acuity Scheduling has a freebie version that allows for basic services, such as client self-scheduling and unlimited services and appointments.
Nestor Gilbert

By Nestor Gilbert

Nestor Gilbert is a senior B2B and SaaS analyst and a core contributor at FinancesOnline for over 5 years. With his experience in software development and extensive knowledge of SaaS management, he writes mostly about emerging B2B technologies and their impact on the current business landscape. However, he also provides in-depth reviews on a wide range of software solutions to help businesses find suitable options for them. Through his work, he aims to help companies develop a more tech-forward approach to their operations and overcome their SaaS-related challenges.

Updated

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