How to Choose the Right Salon Software

Your salon’s management software does quite a bit to streamline your most important processes, ensuring that your chairs stay full, clients leave satisfied (and on time), your team is happy and productive, and revenue continues to pour in. But with so many options out there, how do you choose? Below, we’ve listed the most important things to consider when choosing the right salon software, from benchmark features to business considerations.

Major Salon Software Features

All-in-one salon management software can do many things, but key features you’ll rely heavily on every day are listed below.

Appointment Scheduling

The most important feature of salon software should support:

• Online Booking: Enables clients to book appointments with your salon anytime, anywhere, through your salon’s website or mobile app (if you’re on Vagaro, you can also add your Marketplace listing to this list). This convenience enhances the customer experience by allowing clients to book when it’s convenient for them without the phone tag.

• Calendar Integration: Appointments synced with staff calendars reflect real-time availability, preventing double bookings and ensuring that all your resources are used efficiently.

• Automated Reminders: Automated appointment reminders via email or SMS to reduce those dreaded no-shows and protect your bottom line.

Online Booking Integration

Online booking integrations should cover nearly everywhere your clients are online, or at least where they are most likely to find your salon:

Website Integration: Your salon booking software should enable you to embed a booking widget (another word for “button”) on your salon's website, allowing clients to easily view availability and book appointments without leaving the site.

Social Media Integration: We also suggest software that enables appointment-booking widgets to be placed directly into your salon's social media profiles (Facebook, Instagram, etc.), using your social media presence to attract and convert potential clients on the spot!

Review Site Integration: Many people rely on review sites, like Yelp, when choosing a salon. A booking button here lets you convert positive customer reviews, which people care about a lot, into bookings.

Web Search Integration: Where else should your booking widgets be able to fly? Well, Google Maps and Apple Maps, which is how most of your clients will find you, and where your business profiles live.

Payment Processing

Your management software should let you accommodate all client payment preferences, from cash to credit/debit cards, and mobile payment apps.

Payment processing should also:

Enable Product Sales: Sales of retail haircare and skincare products & accessories, with inventory tracking to monitor stock levels and reorder products as needed, making inventory super easy to keep up with!

Accommodate Gift Cards: The sale & redemption of gift cards, which can boost revenue, attract new clients, and encourage repeat business.

Include a Point-of-Sale (POS) System: A full-fledged POS system enables easy & secure payment processing for all your services and retail products, while tracking sales, managing inventory, and generating invoices.

Offer an Online Shopping Cart: This function effectively lets you accept payments at any time. This convenience for clients equates to you making money while you sleep—literally.

Client Management

Personalized client experiences depend on features that help you understand their preferences. When you remember that they have brittle hair and therefore know exactly which services to market to them, clients feel valued and become loyal regulars.

Some vital client management tools include:

Client Profiles: Client profiles store comprehensive information, ranging from basic contact details, payment information and appointment history to service preferences, booking tendencies, liability forms, and special notes. You should be able to pull this profile right from your digital calendar.

Two-Way Client Communication: Appointment confirmations, reminders, and follow-up notifications should be things that are sent every day for logistics purposes. But there are also big advantages to being able to communicate in real time with clients via an SMS text messenger. Look for this feature, as it enhances engagement and loyalty while helping you turn communications into bookings. Not to mention no longer having to give out your personal number for work anymore! Work-life balance, anyone? Bonus points if this messaging platform also allows you to chat internally with employees so everyone’s on the same page (more on that below).

Employee Management

Happy clients are contingent, in many ways, on employee satisfaction and productivity. You should have a clear view of your employees’ productivity and availability, while ensuring they are paid on time.

Look for a management platform that includes the following:

Schedule Management: Your employees should be able to view and alter their scheduling calendar as they need, from wherever they are. Similarly, you, as the salon owner or manager, should be able to view any team member's schedules, including appointments, breaks, and time-off requests.

Two-Way Communication: The same tool you use for messaging clients should also offer a dedicated channel for 1:1 and group employee communication. This keeps your team updated about changes or issues, and gets their questions answered promptly.

Performance Tracking: You should be able to easily track your stylists’ performance metrics such as sales, client retention rates, and appointment punctuality. This data can also be used to calculate commissions or bonuses as part of the payroll process (see below).

Payroll Integration: Salon software should seamlessly automate your payroll processes. This integration should track staff attendance and hours worked, as well as commissions earned and various deductions. This reduces manual data entry, minimizes errors & generally makes your life a whole lot easier.

PTO & Leave Management: Your payroll system should accommodate staff leave requests and balances, including vacation days, sick leave, and other types of leave.

Booth Rent Management: Managing salon booth rent and fees collection is something your software should simplify and streamline, enabling you to set and track rent due dates and compile payment histories so that everything is collected on time and accurately.

Inventory Management

Your management software should allow you to monitor stock levels, receive alerts for low inventory, and automatically reorder products when stock runs low.

Beyond that, these are also nice to have:

Supplier Management: To manage relationships with suppliers, you’ll need access to supplier contact information, be able to track purchase orders, and monitor delivery schedules to ensure timely replenishment of inventory.

Reporting & Analytics: Reports on inventory performance should include sales trends, stock turnover rates, and inventory valuation. These insights help in optimizing inventory levels, identifying top-selling products, and making informed purchasing decisions.

Marketing Tools

This category’s fundamental tools are email & text messages. Marketing emails and text message marketing help you promote new services, special offers, Daily Deals and events. Texts are highly effective for their high click-through rate and for reaching clients quickly. Segmenting your client list based on demographics, purchase history, or preferences enables more targeted, personalized campaigns.

Some other features that help your salon stand out:

Loyalty Programs: Loyalty programs reward clients for their repeat business and referrals. You should be able to track points or rewards earned by clients and offer incentives such as discounts or free services to encourage loyalty.

Analytics Tracking: Analytics tools, like salon reports, track performance metrics for your marketing campaigns and measure your return on investment (ROI). These metrics include email open rates, click-through rates, and revenue generated from marketing efforts.

Branding: The custom marketing designs that define your business are on everything from your salon website to the gift cards you sell, and directly affect your sales & bookings. Look for software that offers design tools and services.

Other Salon Software Considerations

Here’s a list of practical considerations that should guide your search for the salon software that’s right for you:

• Upfront Costs: Figure out the initial cost of buying the salon software, including any one-time licensing fees or setup charges.

• Subscription Fees: Some salon software operates on a subscription-based model, where you pay a recurring fee (monthly or annually). Consider ongoing subscription costs and compare the costs of each software.

• Scalability: Choose software that can scale with your business growth and work across all your salon business locations without significantly increasing costs.

• Cost of Additional Features: Some salon software offer a base package with essential features and add-ons, like custom salon forms, that you can purchase separately. Once again, evaluate the cost of these features for each software.

• Security & Compliance: Your software must follow data protection regulations (e.g. HIPAA (US), PIPEDA (CAN), The Data Protection Act (UK) etc.) and offer robust security features to safeguard sensitive client information.

• Customer Support: Choose a salon software provider that has your back with 24/7 customer support for salons like yours via phone, email, AND live chat to assist you in case of any issues.

While there are many salon software options out there, not all are created equal. The list above isn’t comprehensive, but rather a guide to point you in the right direction of finding the right salon software for you. Create a list of your salon's most pressing needs and do your own research. Of course, just like when choosing a car, nothing helps you come to the right decision quite like a test drive. Start your 30-day FREE trial and take Vagaro for a spin at your salon today!