1. Online booking clients will actually use
Most new bookings now happen on a phone, often late at night. The booking page should load fast, show your real availability for each team member, and let a client book without downloading an app or creating a password. Check how it handles the details that matter in a salon:
- Service length and processing time, so a full color or a set of extensions blocks the right amount of time.
- Add-on services like a toner, nail art or a brow tint, with their own time and price.
- Booking with a specific person or anyone available.
- Where the link can live: your website, Instagram, Google and a text message.
2. No-show protection that fits your policy
A missed two-hour appointment is income you never get back. Look for deposits (a flat amount or a percentage of the service), cards kept on file, and a way to charge your cancellation or no-show fee in a couple of taps. The policy should be shown to the client when they book, so there are no surprises later.
Reminders matter just as much. Text and email reminders, with a simple way for clients to confirm or reschedule, stop many no-shows before they happen.
3. Card fees: look past the headline rate
For most salons, card processing costs more each month than the software. Ask every company for its published rates and work out what you'd pay on a typical month:
- Flat-rate pricing charges one percentage plus a few cents on every card, whatever the card type.
- Interchange-plus pricing passes through the card network's cost and adds a fixed margin, which is often lower for debit cards.
- Cash discount or surcharge programs let card-paying clients cover a disclosed card fee. Rules vary by state, so the software should handle the signage and receipts.
- Funding speed: next business day is common; same-day or instant payouts are sometimes free and sometimes cost 1.5% to 1.8%.
Bring a recent statement to every demo and ask for a side-by-side. Our comparison pages list each company's published rates with links to their own pages.
4. Paying your team
Commission is only part of it. Many salons mix pay types: commission stylists, an hourly assistant, a salaried manager. Check whether the software can:
- Track commission on services and retail, with different rates per person.
- Record tips against the person who earned them.
- Clock hourly staff in and out, and check overtime and minimum wage each workweek.
- Export to the payroll service you already use, such as QuickBooks Payroll or Gusto.
If you're weighing different pay setups, our guide to salon commission structures walks through each one with examples.
5. Client records and forms
Color formulas, allergies, preferences and before-and-after photos should live on the client profile and show up on the appointment. Intake and consent forms (color, lash, waxing, health questions) should be signed online before the visit and stored with the client.
6. Marketplace or your own booking page?
Some platforms list your business in a consumer marketplace. That can bring new clients, but check two things: the fee charged on marketplace bookings, and whether the same marketplace shows nearby salons to clients you already have. Your own booking page and website keep clients focused on you.
7. Contracts, pricing model and support
- Contract: month-to-month or a fixed term? Is there a cancellation fee?
- Pricing model: a flat price per salon, or a price per team member? Work out the cost for your team size today and in two years.
- Published prices: can you see the price on the website, or only after a sales call?
- Support: who answers, how, and how fast? Is setup help included?
A quick checklist
- Clients can book from a link with no app, and service lengths are right.
- Deposits, cards on file and no-show fees match your policy.
- Reminders go out by text and email, and clients can confirm.
- You know the card rate, funding speed and monthly total for a normal month.
- Commission, tips and hourly pay are worked out, and payroll exports to your provider.
- Formulas, notes and signed forms live on the client.
- You understand any marketplace fees.
- No long contract, and real people for support.
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