Real talk: is Treatwell worth listing your spa on?
Declan Smith
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Salon / Hair Studio · Gloucester · 3mo 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 £50 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 four 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 London, I was losing the equivalent of £50 a week to inefficiency. The booking system paid for itself in the first fortnight.
I've been using Trafft now for two years and the ROI is obvious. My diary is fuller, my admin time is down to about four 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 £50 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 four 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 London, I was losing the equivalent of £50 a week to inefficiency. The booking system paid for itself in the first fortnight.
I've been using Trafft now for two years and the ROI is obvious. My diary is fuller, my admin time is down to about four 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 Treatwell by myself in one afternoon by just following their setup guide. If I can do it, genuinely anyone can.
#1
Totally agree about Fresha's transaction fee adding up. I did the maths for my price point and the 'free' plan was actually costing me more than a paid subscription to Trafft by the time I factored in the percentage on every booking. Read the small print before assuming free is cheaper.
#2
Totally agree about Fresha's transaction fee adding up. I did the maths for my price point and the 'free' plan was actually costing me more than a paid subscription to Timely by the time I factored in the percentage on every booking. Read the small print before assuming free is cheaper.
#3