Beauty salon software

[totalbeauty]

I'm looking for a salon software that does'nt cost the earth, I have a limited budget and dont want to buy any hardware either as I already have this.

Some I have enquired about have been around £2000! This is fine for spa's but I think for small salons, just too much, any ideas would be gratefully received?

 

[angelina221]

One of the geeks on here has just designed one which is really good value and has everything you need.
You can send her a private message and ask for more details. Her name is Ruth Mills.

 

[emzlou]

There has been a lot of discussion on this -see other threads
All I would say is do your research, some systems sound cheap, but when you look closer at them you have to pay a lot of money for support, for me this was a big issue not being very computer minded, on the other hand some systems are expensive because they think that they can charge anything..

With out sounding like a cracked record, We use Essentials from DWB Solutions, They have been great, the software is very good and simple to use. I also have unlimited phone support and training, yes I paid £1,600 but it’s worth every penny and as I have said on the other treads I would recommend them to anyone. Give them a try Spa Software and Salon Software for the management of Spa's, Day Spa's, Hotel Spa's Beauty Salon's and Clinics from DWB Solutions Ltd or phone 01626 830455

Hope this helps
EmzLou

 

[StudioTracker]

Hi, salon software doesnt have to cost the earth, you can easily purchase a good software for under £1000 if you are not looking for any hardware. But like already said dont rush into a decision and buy a cheap software as what can usually follow is large support costs. If you are paying so much for software support and updates should be free. Just enquire into as many software companies as you can and request a free demonstration and trial, this will ensure you choose the one that is most compatible to your business requirements!

 

[steviemac]

There are lots to choose from, one key point to consider is if you want an 'offline' or 'online' solution. With some 'online' solutions you cn email and text clients with apointment reminders, special offers etc.
I think you should treat it as an investment for your business, it is a lot of money so you ay as well make it work for you.
Always ask for a demo or free trial.

 

[Salon Swift]

Hi,

Salon Swift is ideal for this kind of situation as it has no upfront or installation costs, just a small monthly lease fee whilst you use it. In fact it was developed for the very reasons you mention by salon owners who couldn't justify or afford a high initial outlay on software.

It supports email marketing, SMS, training, support, updates, appointment book, reports, pretty much everything you should need and is actively being developed under customer feedback.

It may be just what you're looking for and you can download a free demo at the website www.salonswift.com

Hope this is useful.

Guy

 

[totalbeauty]

Thanks for all your replies and will research all the companies suggested as well as try to find out how to pm Ruth Mills as she is also designing a software package for salons. I am new to using this site and have'nt got used to all the things you can do with it yet, am sure some one will help me get there in the end. Will let you know the outcome, when I get there.

 

[angelina221]

Here's the link to Ruths profile. You can pm her from there
http://www.salongeek.com/members/ruth+mills.html

 

[lelaah]

ive tried salon iris and loved it, and if u contact them in usa directly, they will set u up on a monthly payment, so about 20 a month, which is very affordable

 

[sweetcath]

easy salon.com is a really cheap and basic software for small salons.
i use it for hairdressing.
you can add all clients details,(has pass history services and products purchased),plus add all employees details.
allows tanning,beauty and hairdressing.
you can add a till draw,bar code and receipt printer to it and it can be also touch screen if you like.
printable day services for each employee
inventry report
sales report
keeps stock of products etc
supplier,customer and employee details,
allows letters and emails
etc,etc
its so simple to understand
i would highly recommend myself

 

[salonbabe]

Platinum Software gets my vote!
It's currently selling for 699 but they also offer monthly payments to help spread the cost.
Last time I enquired, A full system from them - all hardware and software is under quite a bit under 2000, way cheaper than other big names but they have all the features of the others. We have yused them in our salon for years now and love it.

www.salonsoftwaresystem.com
0845 680 0019

 

[salongenius]

Here at SALONGENIUS we pride ourselves on the fantistic value for money our the products we offer. We have a number of payment options to suit all budgets.

Our system offers every salon/spa of any size the final piece to their business jigsaw....

SALONGENIUS gives users the power to not only oversee but completly take control of their business from every angle.... Some the features include:
-Fully Featured Appointment Book
-Complete Stock Management system
-Full Marketing suite
-Complete till system
-Client Contact Manager
-Full Reporting suite - including client, appointment, business & many more
-SMS appointment reminders
-Email System
-Online Bookings
-24/7 Remote Backup system
-Full Financial suite - including 'what if' scenario gauges
-Every you could possibly want for your clients even down to the refresment they have when they visit.....

This small list merley touches on a few of the exciting features included in SALONGENIUS...
To request a brochure, get a free demonstration, or simply have a chat with us, please do not hesitate to give us a ring; 0871 424 0151 or visit the new look SALONGENIUS website.... SALONGENIUS.COM

 

[Nailguy]

Has anyone heard of any good beauty supply software?

 

[Ruth Mills]

Has anyone heard of any good beauty supply software?

What does "beauty supply software" do, specifically?

As opposed to most salon management systems, which will focus around appointment booking/management, client appointment histories, staff management, promotions, marketing, retail product sales, stock control, e-mail/SMS appointment reminders etc...

 

[salonium]

Look for added value for your business in a salon management software. You should ask yourself a question: “How my salon revenue will be increased when I’ll start using this software?”.

Most revenue generating features: salon website and online booking (find new customers online), automated text reminders (reduced no shows). Time saving and convenience functions could help as well (i.e ability to manage your appointments from your cell phone).

Beauty salons using Salonium are routinely reporting significantly reduced no shows with automated text appointment reminders. The best practice seems to be send those texts 3-4 hours before an appointment or in the evening if appointment is booked for the morning hours.

Customers don’t have a chance to forget about the appointment and if they have “real” issue not to come they usually call or text back about cancellation. These 3-4 hours buys salon some time to fill-in the time window with another customer.

Shameless plug: with Salonium Professional text reminders don’t cost you extra - unlimited texts are already included. And we have Free 30-day Trial - no payment required. Just take a look at www.salonium.co.uk.

 

[Ruth Mills]

Look for added value for your business in a salon management software. You should ask yourself a question: “How my salon revenue will be increased when I’ll start using this software?”.

Most revenue generating features: salon website and online booking (find new customers online), automated text reminders (reduced no shows). Time saving and convenience functions could help as well (i.e ability to manage your appointments from your cell phone).

Beauty salons using Salonium are routinely reporting significantly reduced no shows with automated text appointment reminders. The best practice seems to be send those texts 3-4 hours before an appointment or in the evening if appointment is booked for the morning hours.

Customers don’t have a chance to forget about the appointment and if they have “real” issue not to come they usually call or text back about cancellation. These 3-4 hours buys salon some time to fill-in the time window with another customer.

Shameless plug: with Salonium Professional text reminders don’t cost you extra - unlimited texts are already included. And we have Free 30-day Trial - no payment required. Just take a look at www.salonium.co.uk.

I'd personally be a tad concerned by the 300MB monthly bandwidth allocation (as mentioned in the terms of service - Terms of Service - Salonium) - 300MB really isn't that much by today's standards - the cheapest 123-reg.co.uk hosting package offers 5 times as much bandwidth (1.5 GB) per month - and other companies offer significantly more than that; do you really want the company responsible for your website to "immediately disable your account" or "throttle your file hosting" when your business gets that successful as to be attracting that volume of hits? I can imagine customers trying to book an appointment online getting fairly irate if that ever happened - either not being able to get on to the website at all or being faced with the "world wide wait" owing to the throughput being throttled!

 

[Ruth Mills]

I'd personally be a tad concerned by the 300MB monthly bandwidth allocation (as mentioned in the terms of service - Terms of Service - Salonium) - 300MB really isn't that much by today's standards - the cheapest 123-reg.co.uk hosting package offers 5 times as much bandwidth (1.5 GB) per month - and other companies offer significantly more than that; do you really want the company responsible for your website to "immediately disable your account" or "throttle your file hosting" when your business gets that successful as to be attracting that volume of hits? I can imagine customers trying to book an appointment online getting fairly irate if that ever happened - either not being able to get on to the website at all or being faced with the "world wide wait" owing to the throughput being throttled!

"If your bandwidth usage exceeds 300 MB/month, or significantly exceeds the average bandwidth usage (as determined solely by Salonium) of other Salonium customers, we reserve the right to immediately disable your account or throttle your file hosting until you can reduce your bandwidth consumption."

 

[salonium]

I'd personally be a tad concerned by the 300MB monthly bandwidth allocation (as mentioned in the terms of service - Terms of Service - Salonium) - 300MB really isn't that much by today's standards - the cheapest 123-reg.co.uk hosting package offers 5 times as much bandwidth (1.5 GB) per month - and other companies offer significantly more than that; do you really want the company responsible for your website to "immediately disable your account" or "throttle your file hosting" when your business gets that successful as to be attracting that volume of hits? I can imagine customers trying to book an appointment online getting fairly irate if that ever happened - either not being able to get on to the website at all or being faced with the "world wide wait" owing to the throughput being throttled!

Good point, Ruth! Today 300MB/month looks somewhat... outdated. After your comment we gave it a second thought and removed that (silly) restriction altogether.

From today we have unlimited bandwidth! Like every online software service provider should do in 2010.

Thanks for your feedback!

 

[Ruth Mills]

Good point, Ruth! Today 300MB/month looks somewhat... outdated. After your comment we gave it a second thought and removed that (silly) restriction altogether.

From today we have unlimited bandwidth! Like every online software service provider should do in 2010.

Thanks for your feedback!

Excellent! Glad I was able to point that out; 300MB did seem to be rather limiting - as many websites will easily go over this figure in the average month, particularly if they are doing well on Google.

The only other things that would really concern me with regards to the Terms of Service are that you mention that data may be transmitted unencrypted:

"You understand that the technical processing and transmission of the Service, including your Content, may be transferred unencrypted and involve (a) transmissions over various networks; and (b) changes to conform and adapt to technical requirements of connecting networks or devices."

As things like client contact details and sensitive information like contra-indications and relevant medical information would likely be stored in the system, I'd be rather paranoid about such information being sent unencrypted across the Internet; at the very least I'd expect that sort of information to be sent encrypted between my browser and the system using HTTPS - and likewise sent encrypted between servers if you're employing multi-site clustering for failover (in which case I'd again expect HTTPS if data was being transferred via a web service, or a VPN between servers or some other form of secure data transfer, e.g. SSH tunelling - or even something like PGP encryption if data is being sent across an otherwise insecure channel).

Naturally, bog standard web site content not including client information, e.g. home page, treatment menus/prices etc, would be fine to send over standard HTTP...

 

[richard_ikosoft]

Hi,

This is my first post here so I apologise in advance if my quick search missed out on an obvious answer, but I Was wondering if anyone on the forum had done an extensive head-to-head comparison of all the leading software packages for hair and beaty salons and come up with somthing approaching a comprehensive guide. Reading through the various software management threads it looks like quite a task for a salon owner to wade through the bumf and shilling and get an honest, reliable answer on what package would best suit them.

If it hasn't been done before, has any neutral party considered doing such a comparison and publishing the results here?

As a representative of a leading salon software company I would obviously not be well-placed to do this myself but would naturally provide any information required on our company (Ikosoft) and products (Merlin X2, Success X2, X2 Manager and the suite of add ons).

Regards,
Richard Walsh
Ikosoft Sales Manager