Salon management systems? Help!

[the salon girl]

So I'd like to know

1) Whether it's worth investing in a package - e.g rather than just making life easier can they help bring in more clients?

2) If you need to spend much time/money training staff (and self) to use it?

3) Whether cloud packages are beneficial - people who have them do you actually find that you use it outside of salon hours?

I'd like to hear from people who have experience, not pluggers/spammers please as I've posted on a few sites and have had trouble getting genuine feedback.

Thanks

 

[PremierIan]

1) Whether it's worth investing in a package - e.g rather than just making life easier can they help bring in more clients?

Yep. From stats we've taken, having facilities for online booking and SMS reminders will increase the amount of bookings made, and decrease the number of missed appointments considerably.

2) If you need to spend much time/money training staff (and self) to use it?

Can't speak for other systems, but we provide onsite training as part of the package to make sure you're all up and running.

3) Whether cloud packages are beneficial - people who have them do you actually find that you use it outside of salon hours?

Personally, I think it's dependent upon the type of business -but I'd leave others to give their opinion here.

I'd like to hear from people who have experience, not pluggers/spammers please as I've posted on a few sites and have had trouble getting genuine feedback.


Hopefully I've added something of merit - I know I'm obviously part of the Premier Software staff, but I'm not a sales person and I've answered on the basis of actual info, so hoping that helps

 

[kimi1101]

Hi.

In response to it being cloud based, this is a great tool. Not only does it back it up but I also have the app on my phone and my member of staff also has this too (you can set up what responsibility you want to give your staff on their app) we can both check what's on the next day etc. it's helped us improve the efficiency of our salon greatly.

Hope this helps you in your decision

 

[squidgernetball]

Hi, I use Salon Iris. It is a software package, but I have cloud back up. We have a very poor internet connection - so poor, one company refused to supply us with internet - so cloud only wasn't an option. This means I can book clients in and out whether it works or not, and most of the time I can log in from home to check everything, and use 'logmein' to book clients in from anywhere. I have online booking which has been amazing, and really has got me new clients. We get great support from the SI team and texts are super cheap, so a great marketing tool.

I did a lot of homework before I took the plunge, and haven't regretted it!

Any questions, please ask x

 

[Dani Richie]

So I'd like to know

1) Whether it's worth investing in a package - e.g rather than just making life easier can they help bring in more clients?

2) If you need to spend much time/money training staff (and self) to use it?

3) Whether cloud packages are beneficial - people who have them do you actually find that you use it outside of salon hours?

I'd like to hear from people who have experience, not pluggers/spammers please as I've posted on a few sites and have had trouble getting genuine feedback.

Thanks

I had i-Salon software at my previous salon, then when I left to set up my own place I got that again, but an upgraded version. Obviously I already knew the basics and knew it worked so it made sense for me.

Expense-wise I was pleasantly surprised... I'd say it's definitely worth it, personally. As well as making life a LOT easier, it also looks really good if you seem up-to-date with technology. Clients have said being able to book online has been brilliant - it's surprising how many people hate phoning salons to book! Your best bet is to get some quotes and see what you think though. Everyone's budget is different obviously. If you can't afford it, then it's not worth getting into trouble over. If you can, it can definitely increase your client base, so pays for itself in the end.

As for being user friendly, I haven't had any problems with i-salon and find it really easy to use. I trained the new staff and they're fine with it as well. As for others, again can't really say as I haven't used them.


What else?

Oh yeah. I use cloud and find it is an absolute godsend. Definitely go for that with whichever package you choose!!!

Hope this has helped.


Dani xx

 

[kltoni08]

I use Salon Software (Previously Intersalon) Salon Software, Salon Management Software, Hair and Beauty Software

In the salon, we have sunbeds, Vibr8 Plate, two BTs and a hairdresser. The system allows me to add all the services and keeps clients block bookings

The system is easy to use, there is great support online and over the phone.

I used the Lite package as I have 3 BT/Hairdressers. This price also includes the website.

When we book a client in, it automatically sends them an email confirming their appointment which clients love!

 

[the salon girl]

I had i-Salon software at my previous salon, then when I left to set up my own place I got that again, but an upgraded version. Obviously I already knew the basics and knew it worked so it made sense for me.

Expense-wise I was pleasantly surprised... I'd say it's definitely worth it, personally. As well as making life a LOT easier, it also looks really good if you seem up-to-date with technology. Clients have said being able to book online has been brilliant - it's surprising how many people hate phoning salons to book! Your best bet is to get some quotes and see what you think though. Everyone's budget is different obviously. If you can't afford it, then it's not worth getting into trouble over. If you can, it can definitely increase your client base, so pays for itself in the end.

As for being user friendly, I haven't had any problems with i-salon and find it really easy to use. I trained the new staff and they're fine with it as well. As for others, again can't really say as I haven't used them.


What else?

Oh yeah. I use cloud and find it is an absolute godsend. Definitely go for that with whichever package you choose!!!

Hope this has helped.


Dani xx

Hello everyone,

Thanks for helping out,

all a bit of a minefield out there.

I have finally decided to go for i-Salon as they had good reviews and I found another local salon using them who were happy with it and didn't mind showing me some of how it works.

Has anyone else used them and have any tips or advice for newbies?

 

[BravoPhil]

We went from salon genius (which I hated) to iSalon (which I hate a little bit less) - I wish we'd shopped around more. I've been trying for two years to get support to tell me how to show my average bill, client count during a set period (not service count) and average rebooking period. Believe it or not iSalon doesn't seem to be able to show ANY of these on reports! That said, some of the marketing stuff is good and stock control is dead easy. Xx

 

[the salon girl]

We went from salon genius (which I hated) to iSalon (which I hate a little bit less) - I wish we'd shopped around more. I've been trying for two years to get support to tell me how to show my average bill, client count during a set period (not service count) and average rebooking period. Believe it or not iSalon doesn't seem to be able to show ANY of these on reports! That said, some of the marketing stuff is good and stock control is dead easy. Xx

When did you last inquire? It might be worth giving them another call/email as I asked them about this when I read your reply and it didn't seem like it would be a problem. I am getting on with everything really well so far. Loving the text marketing stuff and cloud is genius. Online bookings have taken off brilliantly - we were considering going with Groupon to give us a Christmas boost but marketing tools have worked a treat so chuffed with it!

 

[the salon girl]

Does anyone have any ideas on new ways to use marketing tools? Already want to start planning for next year