Salon Advantage

[allazwills]

Hi all, has anyone used salon advantage for their booking system etc? We are looking into getting it for our new salon and seems good by wanted some user opinions if possible.
We use I-salon in current premises which is good but v expensive and a long contract so don't want to repeat that with a new business just in case?
Any thoughts would be appreciated.
Thanks!

 

[daydreams01]

Hi I have had the system since we opened 18months ago. I bought the equipment and software at the start rather than pay a rental fee and just get charged for texts. Its fairly straightforward and easy to use, does all the reports you need for stock, staff etc . The clients love the reminders text and we get good response from the marketing texts that go out offering 10% etc. you can completely control the campaigns so you know how many are going out etc. I think I made one mistake in the beginning and sent one out to too many people and ended up with a bigger monthly bill than expected but I soon learnt! They give you a training day and go over everything when you get it installed, and then you will learn by just playing around with it! I guess all these packages are fairly similar.

I think they have changed the packages now and offer an upgrade with Internet bookings etc but I feel if I am going to pay more, I can get a cloud based system for the same money. These weren't available when I was initially researching and I think they are the way forward.
unfortunately my hard drive crashed in November so had to send the computer back to the supplier to be repaired, they were helpful and transferred the data onto my sons laptop and I finally got my computer back today. I feel like that was far too long if I'm honest and it has made me realise I need a cloud based system so that if things go wrong in the future I am able to access the system from any device with Internet such as phone, iPad etc.

If your not bothered about having a cloud system then I recommend them as they are quite a lot cheaper than isalon or were when I was researching. Good luck with what you decide.

 

[lauren27]

Hi was talking to daydreamer1 before and I told her about my system which is called Hive. They are fully cloud based with 13 features and you can access it from any device in real time. I love it. I have used shortcuts, Phorest and salon genius in the past in previous jobs and in my opinion Hive is the best. I get charged €69.99 pm (£50) for 6 consultants check them out. Just my taught on things.

 

[squidgernetball]

From the other side, cloud is no good for me as our Internet connection is so intermittent. If your Internet is down, you're buggered. I have full back up of my system to cloud in case it crashes and I have full support, but if Internet is down, we can still book clients.

I personally would never buy my computer from the software company as I think they tend to be gimmicky and over priced.
If my system crashed, everything is accessible to me and I'm back up and running, as long as I have another computer.

Do your research as mistakes can be expensive, and whether you go for software or cloud based, if the support is crap, it's crap!

I have used salon iris for over 3 years and my business has grown beyond recognition, and salon iris has helped hugely with text or email reminders, online booking, my own app etc.

Vic x

Sent from my GT-I9195 using SalonGeek mobile app

 

[allazwills]

Thanks all! With Salon Iris and Hive can you cancel at any time or is there a minimum contract? With Salon Advantage it's just one months notice to cancel which is a big plus as this is a new business so I don't want to be tied in with a long contract if the worst were to happen?

 

[squidgernetball]

With salon iris you own the software so once it's paid for you can do what you like with it. I pay for online booking which is separate but you can start with just the software and then build it as you go which is what I did.

Vic x

Sent from my GT-I9195 using SalonGeek mobile app

 

[lauren27]

Thanks all! With Salon Iris and Hive can you cancel at any time or is there a minimum contract? With Salon Advantage it's just one months notice to cancel which is a big plus as this is a new business so I don't want to be tied in with a long contract if the worst were to happen?

Hi with Hive firstly you don't need to pay any huge money up front I don't actually know how much salon iris is up front but like the normal software/ hardware providers it normally works out in the thousands. Hive is fully cloud based so you can use it on any of your devices and check out any modules in real time from the comfort of your home 24/7. There is no big contract just pay by the month, they will give you all the training that you need, provide you with a booking widget for your own website and for Facebook. Check out their Facebook profile page to see how the booking tab works it's a dream. Why not try it for a month trust me you will not be disappointed. Ask them for lots if help to get you going and they will.