Finally ditched the paper diary — here's what 6 months with Jane App has taught me
Scott Iqbal
🏪 VIP Seller
🥇 Gold Seller
Salon / Hair Studio · Plymouth · 5mo ago
Something nobody warns you about when you switch to a proper booking system: you'll realise how much time you were wasting before and you'll be quietly furious about it.
I've been using Treatwell for a year now. Before that I was on a cobbled-together system of WhatsApp, a free calendar app and a lot of post-it notes. I thought I had it under control. I didn't.
The Treatwell analytics tab showed me things I didn't know about my own business. I could see which services had the highest cancellation rate. I could see which time slots were consistently unfilled. I could see that six of my regulars accounted for most of my income. None of this was secret information — it was right there in my bookings all along — but I'd never been able to see it clearly until I had a system that organised it for me.
The other thing: client retention. Treatwell lets you see who hasn't been back in a while and I use that to send a gentle check-in. Not spammy, just a 'haven't seen you in a bit, your usual slot is free if you want to book in' kind of message. I've re-engaged ten clients this way who I thought I'd lost permanently.
If you're on the fence about switching, I'd say just do the free trial for two weeks and actually use the analytics. You'll convince yourself.
I've been using Treatwell for a year now. Before that I was on a cobbled-together system of WhatsApp, a free calendar app and a lot of post-it notes. I thought I had it under control. I didn't.
The Treatwell analytics tab showed me things I didn't know about my own business. I could see which services had the highest cancellation rate. I could see which time slots were consistently unfilled. I could see that six of my regulars accounted for most of my income. None of this was secret information — it was right there in my bookings all along — but I'd never been able to see it clearly until I had a system that organised it for me.
The other thing: client retention. Treatwell lets you see who hasn't been back in a while and I use that to send a gentle check-in. Not spammy, just a 'haven't seen you in a bit, your usual slot is free if you want to book in' kind of message. I've re-engaged ten clients this way who I thought I'd lost permanently.
If you're on the fence about switching, I'd say just do the free trial for two weeks and actually use the analytics. You'll convince yourself.
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I've been in this industry for 4 years and the switch to online booking was the best operational decision I ever made, full stop. Not even close. The time saving is enormous and the professionalism it adds to your brand is something clients notice and comment on.
#1
The no-show stats in this post match my experience almost exactly. I was losing roughly £15 a month to no-shows and cancellations before I introduced deposits. That money was just gone. Now it's protected. The maths on deposits is completely obvious once you see it.
#2
The point about analytics is underrated. I had no idea which of my services was actually the most profitable until Timely showed me the data. It completely changed how I structured my pricing and my service menu.
#3
I made the same switch and I'd add one thing: tell your clients it's for their benefit, not yours. Frame it as 'you can now book at any time of day without having to wait for me to respond'. That framing works really well and it's also genuinely true.
#4