Booking systems compared: what actually matters for UK beauty businesses
Ava Graham
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Freelancer · Newcastle · 4mo ago
I want to share my honest experience of introducing online-only booking to my lash studio in Glasgow, because I was terrified about how my clients would react and the reality was nothing like what I feared.
Background: I'd been running my lash studio for 4 years, all bookings via phone and text. Lovely clients, very loyal, but the admin was killing me. Evenings spent confirming appointments, chasing people, answering 'are you free on Friday?' messages at 9pm.
I switched to Appointy and gave myself three months to phase out old-style bookings. Here's what actually happened:
Week one: About half my regulars booked online immediately with zero fuss. These were the ones who'd always been organised about appointments anyway.
Weeks two and three: I gently redirected phone enquiries to the booking link. 'I don't take bookings by phone anymore but here's the link — it takes about two minutes and you can pick your exact slot.' Almost everyone was fine with this.
Month two: I turned off WhatsApp booking entirely. Had about two complaints, all from clients who'd been occasional no-shows previously. Decided I was okay with that.
Month three onwards: Fully digital, deposits on every booking, no Sunday evening admin sessions. My actual take-home time increased by roughly six hours a week. I wish I'd done it years earlier.
Background: I'd been running my lash studio for 4 years, all bookings via phone and text. Lovely clients, very loyal, but the admin was killing me. Evenings spent confirming appointments, chasing people, answering 'are you free on Friday?' messages at 9pm.
I switched to Appointy and gave myself three months to phase out old-style bookings. Here's what actually happened:
Week one: About half my regulars booked online immediately with zero fuss. These were the ones who'd always been organised about appointments anyway.
Weeks two and three: I gently redirected phone enquiries to the booking link. 'I don't take bookings by phone anymore but here's the link — it takes about two minutes and you can pick your exact slot.' Almost everyone was fine with this.
Month two: I turned off WhatsApp booking entirely. Had about two complaints, all from clients who'd been occasional no-shows previously. Decided I was okay with that.
Month three onwards: Fully digital, deposits on every booking, no Sunday evening admin sessions. My actual take-home time increased by roughly six hours a week. I wish I'd done it years earlier.
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Completely agree about the Sunday evening admin. I never quantified it until I read a post like this and actually counted. I was spending 6+ hours a week on booking admin. Six hours I could have been doing literally anything else. The system pays for itself in week one if you value your time properly.
#1
The point about filtering your client base with deposits is something I wish someone had told me when I started. It sounds harsh but your business actually runs better with fewer, more committed clients than with a packed diary full of flaky ones.
#2
The point about analytics is underrated. I had no idea which of my services was actually the most profitable until Setmore showed me the data. It completely changed how I structured my pricing and my service menu.
#3
Been using Square Appointments for 6 months and I'd echo everything in this post. The one thing I'd add: set up the automated follow-up message asking for a review. I get ten new Google reviews a week without doing anything. Massive for local SEO.
#4