Best Rated Beauty & Hair Salon Software

What are the most useful features of popular beauty & hair salon software? How much do these programs cost? Read ahead for a helpful guide on the best-rated beauty & hair salon software in 2021.

Benefits of Different Salon Software

Successfully running most businesses in modern times commonly requires the use of modern technology and an online presence. Beauty and hair salons are no different today and the best salon software offers multiple benefits for salon owners. What are some specific benefits of different salon software? How do they help increase clientele and profits?

Scheduling

One of the most important aspects of running a beauty/hair salon is accurate scheduling. Hair salon software helps keep your schedule organized and accurate all week long. This allows you to fit in as many appointments as possible, which helps increase profits. Scheduling features of salon software also benefits your customers by helping you stay on time and organized. When cancelations or changes to appointments occur you are also able to quickly contact customers on waiting lists to fill vacant spots.

Payment/Income

Your beauty/salon is in business to make people look their best possible selves. It is also in business to make money. Keeping track of payments, debts/credits owed by and to customers and total income for each day helps you stay on top of your money. Some salon software is capable of making automatic payments you owe to beauty supply stores or other product suppliers. Advanced programs:

• Notify you when customers make payments online

• Keep track of gift card purchases

• Calculate payroll

• Anticipate expenses

Automation, Mobility & Centralization

Running a modern business means adapting to modern customer/client needs. Modern salon software automates aspects of your business so you have more time to spend recruiting clients, marketing and expanding your enterprise. The ability to be mobile in 2021 cannot be overstated for a beauty/hair salon business. Having hair stylists working on-site while other beauticians perform house calls helps you turn more profit. A centralized database/software system allows all information & records to be collected in one convenient location regardless of whether your staff worked on-site or off.

Inventory

Never run out of your customer’s favorite products again when using modern hair salon software. Customizable & automated programs keep track of what you have in stock and send advanced must-purchase notices before running out. Salon software also projects upcoming expenses for inventory purchases, which helps you make the best budget decisions every day.

Additional Benefits

The best rated beauty & hair salon software helps you personalize your business to keep your current customers happy and also attract new clients all year long. Customer preferences are logged and analyzed so you always know how to best treat your clientele. Marketing campaigns are generated based on traffic to your website and purchase patterns in-store/online. Finally, salon software keeps track of employee logins and clock-out times. It is easy to see which employees are attracting the most customers, their performance times and use of inventory. Salon software also helps you take notes and review employees for salary increase or position change purposes.

Top Hair Salon Softwares Most Salons Use

The top hair salon softwares used by most salons in 2021 offer a combination of user-friendly setup/automation, accuracy and affordable pricing. Choosing the right software for your beauty and/or hair salon requires some research and knowledge of compatibility requirements with specific computers and/or operating systems. 3 of the top hair salon softwares most salons use today include:

1. Square Appointments

2. Booker by MINDBODY

3. Fresha

1. Square Appointments

Square Appointments is perfect for individual hairstylists or contractors renting booths because it is available at no charge when used for individual purposes. The functional, user-friendly program is also affordable for businesses paying for the software. Square Appointments integrates point of sale into its platform, allowing for simple inventory management, check out services and access to financial records. Business owners with 2-5 employees pay $50/mo and 2.6 percent plus $0.10 cents/transaction. Business owners with 6-10 employees pay $90/mo and 2.6 percent plus $0.10 cents/transaction. Square Appointments integrates perfectly with all other Square products such as the marketing suite, credit card reader and POS system. Square also syncs with your calendar and sends automated appointment and customer profile notifications. Square has a device compatibility search page on its website for more information about specific device/usage questions.

2. Booker by MINDBODY

The popularity of Booker by MINDBODY is due in part to the way customers are able to schedule and pay for appointment times without any redirection to external websites. Booker is also capable of Facebook integration, which allows clients to book appointments from your Facebook business page as well. Promotion and discount campaigns run through social media platforms also help keep your business looking fresh to repeat/new clients. The Booker Essential package costs $125/mo and is designed for businesses needing simple schedule management and payment option features. The Accelerate package includes all Essential features plus marketing/retention tools and costs $195/mo. The Booker Ultimate package costs $395/mo and adds comprehensive analytics, customizable mobile apps and more to its included features. MINDBODY suggests using a desktop computer for its software and not a mobile/tablet device. PC/Mac systems are both supported.

3. Fresha

Fresha was formerly known as Shedul and is rapidly becoming the top popular performer with salon owners nationwide. Fresha offers a free subscription and unlimited staff amount/usage. The software is user-friendly and improves its platform/features on a regular basis. Fresha lacks customizable options but does integrate with Google, Instagram and Facebook. The program is also compatible with Android & iOS systems and includes the Fresha marketplace (to help new customers discover your salon). Individual transactions made through Fresha each cost a 2.19 percent plus $0.2 cents transaction service fee.