I tested two different booking systems so you don't have to
Craig Barker
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🥇 Gold Seller
Aesthetic Clinic · Stockport · 5mo ago
Can we talk about the actual cost of running a hair salon 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 £20 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 three 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 hair salon in Brighton, I was losing the equivalent of £20 a week to inefficiency. The booking system paid for itself in the first fortnight.
I've been using Shedul now for a year and the ROI is obvious. My diary is fuller, my admin time is down to about three 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 £20 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 three 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 hair salon in Brighton, I was losing the equivalent of £20 a week to inefficiency. The booking system paid for itself in the first fortnight.
I've been using Shedul now for a year and the ROI is obvious. My diary is fuller, my admin time is down to about three 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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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
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 Timely by myself in one afternoon by just following their setup guide. If I can do it, genuinely anyone can.
#2
Really useful breakdown — thank you. I've been sitting on the fence about Trafft for months and this has pushed me to just go and do the free trial. Will report back.
#3