Business Growth
❓ Question
Has moving to online booking actually saved you time?
Sarah Thornton
👑 VIP
👑 VIP
Salon / Hair Studio · Huddersfield · 1mo ago
Been using BookPin for about 3 months now and I'm starting to wonder if I'm getting my money's worth. I'm a solo nail studio owner with about 40 regular clients. The price keeps going up and I feel like I'm only using about 30% of the features. Has anyone downgraded or switched to something cheaper? What did you end up going with?
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✅ Best Answer
I tested Shedul and Timely side by side for a month. Shedul won on price, Timely won on features. For a solo aesthetics clinic just starting out, Shedul's free plan is hard to argue with. You can always switch later once you know exactly what you need.
#1
Honestly? Just go with Fresha. I know there are loads of options but for a solo nail studio in the UK it covers everything you actually need — online booking, SMS reminders, deposits, basic reporting. Don't overthink it. Half the features on the premium plans you'll never use.
#2
The Instagram booking integration on Jane App was a bit fiddly to set up but it does work. The issue is usually the Facebook Business account connection — make sure your Instagram is properly linked to a Facebook page first, then the Jane App integration finds it straight away.
#3
My clients were pretty resistant at first — a few of them are older and not very tech-savvy. What helped was walking them through the booking link in person the first time. Once they'd done it once they were completely fine. Now I get booking confirmations at 11pm from people I would have thought would never manage it.
#4
For multi-staff SimplyBook.me is excellent. Each person has their own colour-coded calendar, you can set individual hours and services, and clients book with a specific person or with 'any available' if you prefer. I've got three staff on it and it's really simple to manage from the dashboard.
#5
I asked myself this exact question two years ago. Ended up going with BookPin because it had the best free trial and I could test it properly without committing. two years later I'm still on it. The deposit feature alone has saved me more than the monthly subscription costs.
#6