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.
Busy 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 lot of applications in our product base will be universal and you will be able to use them efficiently no matter where you are, specific regional or language restrictions might come into play. On this page you’ll find our list of best software that will operate without a hitch in United States both in terms of language and geography support.
Start by checking our leader Acuity Scheduling, and other recommended solutions in this category.
Our Score 9.0
User Satisfaction 96%
An easy-to-use salon and spa management solution that gives beauty industry users unmatched control over their operations. Read Reviews
Our Score 8.9
User Satisfaction 100%
SimplyBook.me is an online booking system that is accessible from mobile devices or desktop PCs for 24/7 bookings from anywhere. Read Reviews
Our Score 9.6
User Satisfaction 93%
Mindbody is a business management solution for the health and wellness sector that enables effective management of business and marketing operations. Read Reviews
Our Score 9.0
User Satisfaction 96%
An easy-to-use online appointment scheduling tool that allows clients to see real-time availability and self-book their appointments. Read Reviews
Our Score 8.4
User Satisfaction 97%
Vagaro is a software tool that specializes in rendering services as a search engine for salons and spas located in different localities. Read Reviews
Our Score 8.9
User Satisfaction N/A
Booker is a software tool that transforms the way local services are managed by businesses and discovered by consumers. Read Reviews
Our Score 8.8
User Satisfaction 100%
10to8 is an online booking system that helps you communicate with clients more efficiently and with transparency. Read Reviews
Our Score 8.7
User Satisfaction 94%
Timely is a cloud-based appointment scheduling platform designed for individual professionals and small and mid-sized businesses. Read Reviews
Our Score 8.6
User Satisfaction 100%
Versum is a software app that features a complete set of functions that make your spa management a breeze. Read Reviews
Our Score 8.6
User Satisfaction 100%
Reservio is a simple appointment scheduling and online booking software that lets you manage and accept appoitnments online. Read Reviews
Our Score 6.3
User Satisfaction 100%
SalonTouch is a salon management application aimed to help businesses in the beauty service industry with day-to-day operations. Read Reviews
Our Score 6.9
User Satisfaction N/A
Booxi is a business and appointment software that specifically caters to salons, spas, pet grooming, tattoo, massage therapy, and other businesses that operate in the health and beauty sector. Read Reviews
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.
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.
The salon and spa management software category includes the following related programs:
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.
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
Predictive buying. Most salon software tools lack advanced analytics capabilities to analyze the customer data collected by establishments. Top vendors are addressing this lacuna 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 the expertise of their favorite stylist.
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 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.
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An easy-to-use online appointment scheduling tool that allows clients to see real-time availability and self-book their appointments. Read Reviews
An easy-to-use salon and spa management solution that gives beauty industry users unmatched control over their operations. Read Reviews
SimplyBook.me is an online booking system that is accessible from mobile devices or desktop PCs for 24/7 bookings from anywhere. Read Reviews
10to8 is an online booking system that helps you communicate with clients more efficiently and with transparency. Read Reviews
Full Slate is a sumptuous cloud based software that offers an easier way to schedule and manage online appointments. Read Reviews
Free, cloud-based booking and management software for wellness businesses featuring online bookings, scheduled appointments, automatic reminders, and more. Read Reviews
Timely is a cloud-based appointment scheduling platform designed for individual professionals and small and mid-sized businesses. Read Reviews
Versum is a software app that features a complete set of functions that make your spa management a breeze. Read Reviews
Reservio is a simple appointment scheduling and online booking software that lets you manage and accept appoitnments online. Read Reviews
Square Appointments is a laudable online appointment platform designed to help clients book, cancel, or reschedule their appointments. Read Reviews
Every vendor in the Salon Software category will have a different group of pricing plans for its app and each package will include a varied set of tools. Below we list the general pricing for the most affordable plan available for each app. Please note that advanced features may cost extra.
An overview of what type of devices and operating systems are supported by all B2B services in the Salon Software category, including mobile platforms and web-based solutions.
Find out which languages and geographies are served by the popular B2B services in the Salon Software category, including solutions designed for international markets and prepared for multi-cultural groups of employees.
Learn what pricing plans are offered by the vendors in the Salon Software category to check which one suits your business preferences and budget best. Keep in mind that some services can provide free or freemium accounts for you to test first.
A brief look at which types of companies a given B2B solution in the Salon Software category provides for, from small businesses and non-profits to large enterprises.
An overview of what styles of software deployement are supported by each B2B vendor in the Salon Software category. Although almost all modern SaaS services are cloud-hosted there are services may offer an on-site deployment model too.