Here’s how to find the right technology solution for your self-care business
You found the perfect location. The chairs and sinks are in place. You hired your dream team. The shelves are stocked with high-quality products. You have everything you need to keep your salon running smoothly — well, almost. Whether you’re opening your doors for the first time or trying to expand your business and grow your clientele, there’s one thing you can’t leave off the list: salon management software.
A salon management system helps you tackle the day-to-day of the job, but the best salon management software goes even further. If your current tech stack doesn’t save your business a significant amount of time and money, it’s not pulling its weight. Here’s how to find salon management software that goes beyond the basics to streamline your workflows while growing with you.
Key features of salon management software
Smart scheduling that manages your calendar
Appointments are the lifeblood of any salon, so effective calendar management is a must. That doesn’t just mean sticking appointments in obvious open spaces; your software should go beyond and optimize your providers’ schedules to get more appointments on the books on any given day.
It all starts with self-booking that allows clients to easily schedule their appointments via your website, social media, or even Google Maps. Your booking software should suggest optimal appointment times to fill up any gaps in your calendar and minimize stylist downtime. Keep the lines of communication open with automated communications like conversational text messages for confirmations and any questions the client might have.
Back at the salon, you should be able to survey the day’s appointments on a single screen with an intuitive interface. Things move fast in the salon business, and your front desk team doesn’t have time to figure out the intricacies of confusing technology during check-in or checkout.
And speaking of checkout, did you know that the best salon management software also integrates point-of-sale features? Look for a solution that offers blended rates, meaning you won’t be paying more for certain brands of credit cards. Some even let you offset those credit card fees, and the resulting savings can add up to thousands of dollars a year. Tipping should happen with a tap of the screen so the client can complete the transaction quickly and get on with their day.
Finally, to better serve your clients, any data gleaned during the appointment-making process should be automatically stored in client profiles. From there, you can flesh those profiles out with preferred services and products, as well as any other notes that empower you to provide more personalized service. If you’re using separate apps to manage scheduling and profiles — or jotting it all down manually — it’s far too easy for details to slip through the cracks. Let your software do the heavy lifting instead.
For more information, check out What to Look For in Modern Salon Scheduling Software and How to Maximize Revenue and the Client Experience with Modern Salon POS Software.
Real-time inventory management
If you’ve been in the self-care business for a while, you probably remember a time when inventory management was a manual — and often chaotic — process. These days, knowing what to order and when to order it is no longer a guessing game, provided your software can keep up with your business.
Here’s how salon software programs with inventory management features improve the process:
Automatic real-time updates: Your salon inventory should update as soon as a transaction happens so you always have an up-to-the-minute report of what’s in stock and what’s not.
Streamlined ordering: Once you know what you have on hand, it’s easier to figure out what you need to order. Re-ordering should be a breeze if your software has pre-built templates that let you skip the headaches of formatting and filling in manual order forms.
Actionable insights: Every time you sell a product or service, it creates a data point. When combined in a report, those data points tell stories about the health of your business. From there, you can see which products are your best performers and order accordingly.
Clear projections: It’s important to have an accurate view of your current inventory, but you also need to be able to track trends and predict your future needs. This is yet another reason why you need salon management software with comprehensive reporting; these sales projections help you more accurately plan your budget and reinvest in your business.
Learn more in How to Improve Salon Inventory Management With New Software.
A helping hand in the payroll department
Managing payroll can be challenging in any industry, but salons are especially complex. Most self-care businesses employ a mix of full-time, part-time, and contract employees; some providers may have a set salary, while others’ pay is based on commission. Add in tips on top of all that and the time you spend processing payroll can quickly spin out of control.
Whether you have a full-time payroll department or an accountant on speed dial, your salon management software can make the process easier. This is another area where customizable templates come in handy; being able to leverage predefined templates significantly speeds up the time it takes to create reports. Rather than fussing with a spreadsheet, use smart filters to include or exclude relevant data while you track both flat-rate and tiered compensation models. Make sure you can export this data in an easily shareable format so you can share it with your payroll provider.
It may not sound like a major difference, but that time saved on every step adds up. For example, RUMA Aesthetics COO Jordan Miller reported that before switching to a more modern salon management system, payroll took eight to ten hours every two weeks. After the switch, the process was reduced to minutes. Just think about what you could do with all that extra time.
Get more information in the full article: Why Managers are Investing in Salon Software with Payroll Features.
Social media marketing that embodies your brand identity
Even if your salon is the most well-equipped and organized in the business, it won’t mean a thing if you can’t get the word out. Once you’ve established your brand values and general vibe, it’s time to build your online presence. Start by creating social media profiles and prioritizing platforms that appeal to your core demographic. For example, TikTok is popular among the Gen Z and Millennial crowds, while Facebook’s audience skews older. If you’re not sure what to post, these suggestions can get you started:
Cater your content: For visual-focused social media outlets, before-and-after photos and explainer videos are a smart way to engage your audience. Save longer text updates, such as seasonal promotion information, for platforms like Facebook.
Stay on trend: Not every TikTok beauty trend is a winner, but you still need to be aware of what’s out there. Search beauty and hair-related hashtags to see what’s currently popular and be prepared to replicate it in your salon — or to explain to clients why it’s not a good idea.
Keep in touch: Promote engagement across your social media profiles by responding to comments and encouraging clients to follow your salon.
Potential clients are checking you out on social media before they ever set foot through your door, so lean into that. Don’t force them to leave their scrolling to go to a whole other site to book with you — because they probably won’t. Enable self-booking on social media sites and you can meet them where they are. Once again, salon management software can help with an on-brand self-booking overlay. All you have to do is customize your overlay with salon details, categories, and services, and voila — you’ve created a frictionless social media booking experience without breaking a sweat.
To learn more, read How to Develop a Salon Social Media Marketing Strategy.
Technology that grows with your business
Right now, you might be managing a single salon, but what comes next? Are you hoping to expand across multiple locations? Coordinating employee schedules and client appointments at one location is hard enough, but once you add more salons under your umbrella, it becomes exponentially more challenging to keep track of everything on your own. It’s also crucial that your client experience is cohesive across your locations. Your clients are loyal to your brand, and you don’t want to jeopardize that by not meeting their expectations.
Before expanding, you should be confident that your software can support your business across two, three, or more spaces. First, your client profiles should be accessible from every location. This way, your clients get the same personalized service no matter which salon they go to. Intelligent scheduling support helps you ensure each place is properly staffed and makes it easier to recover if employees need a sick day or are running late.
Of course, it’s not enough for your software to simply have these features; they need to be accessible. You should be able to check schedules, inventory, and sales data from multiple locations at a glance, ideally with color-coded time blocks and an interactive waitlist. If managing multiple salons with your current software becomes an arduous process, it’s time for an upgrade.
Read The Power of Multi Location Management Software for Self-Care Businesses for more information.
Building a self-care business from scratch takes time, dedication, and the right technology. Choosing the best salon management software from the outset saves you from headaches down the road and makes it easier to achieve your growth goals.
