Every UK nail studio owner needs to read this about online booking
Thomas Scott
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🥇 Gold Seller
Freelancer · Cheltenham · 4mo ago
Can we talk about the actual cost of running a nail studio without a proper booking system? Because I think a lot of people are making the calculation wrong.
They see the monthly fee — let's say £15 per month — and think that's an expense. But they don't add up what they're already spending:
- Time doing manual admin (at least six hours a week for most people I speak to)
- Money lost to no-shows with no deposit protection
- Clients you miss because they couldn't get through on the phone
- Late-night WhatsApp messages you answer because you feel you have to
When I sat down and actually counted this up for my nail studio in Nottingham, I was losing the equivalent of £15 a week to inefficiency. The booking system paid for itself in the first fortnight.
I've been using Phorest now for a year and the ROI is obvious. My diary is fuller, my admin time is down to about six hours a week from what used to be a lot more, and I haven't had a no-show in over a month because the deposit system filters out the chancers before they waste my time.
They see the monthly fee — let's say £15 per month — and think that's an expense. But they don't add up what they're already spending:
- Time doing manual admin (at least six hours a week for most people I speak to)
- Money lost to no-shows with no deposit protection
- Clients you miss because they couldn't get through on the phone
- Late-night WhatsApp messages you answer because you feel you have to
When I sat down and actually counted this up for my nail studio in Nottingham, I was losing the equivalent of £15 a week to inefficiency. The booking system paid for itself in the first fortnight.
I've been using Phorest now for a year and the ROI is obvious. My diary is fuller, my admin time is down to about six hours a week from what used to be a lot more, and I haven't had a no-show in over a month because the deposit system filters out the chancers before they waste my time.
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Just want to add for anyone reading this who's worried about the tech side — I am not a tech person at all. I set up Trafft by myself in one afternoon by just following their setup guide. If I can do it, genuinely anyone can.
#1
I use Acuity Scheduling alongside Xero and the integration is really smooth. Invoices sync automatically, payments are recorded, and my accountant has stopped asking me for spreadsheets every quarter. If you're trying to run a proper business rather than a hobby this kind of integration matters.
#2