The difference between a booking system and a salon management system
Sophia Phillips
🏪 VIP Seller
🥇 Gold Seller
Aesthetic Clinic · Doncaster · 6mo ago
I want to share my honest experience of introducing online-only booking to my hair salon in Southampton, because I was terrified about how my clients would react and the reality was nothing like what I feared.
Background: I'd been running my hair salon for 8 years, all bookings via phone and text. Lovely clients, very loyal, but the admin was killing me. Evenings spent confirming appointments, chasing people, answering 'are you free on Thursday?' messages at 9pm.
I switched to Fresha and gave myself three months to phase out old-style bookings. Here's what actually happened:
Week one: About half my regulars booked online immediately with zero fuss. These were the ones who'd always been organised about appointments anyway.
Weeks two and three: I gently redirected phone enquiries to the booking link. 'I don't take bookings by phone anymore but here's the link — it takes about two minutes and you can pick your exact slot.' Almost everyone was fine with this.
Month two: I turned off WhatsApp booking entirely. Had about five complaints, all from clients who'd been occasional no-shows previously. Decided I was okay with that.
Month three onwards: Fully digital, deposits on every booking, no Sunday evening admin sessions. My actual take-home time increased by roughly five hours a week. I wish I'd done it years earlier.
Background: I'd been running my hair salon for 8 years, all bookings via phone and text. Lovely clients, very loyal, but the admin was killing me. Evenings spent confirming appointments, chasing people, answering 'are you free on Thursday?' messages at 9pm.
I switched to Fresha and gave myself three months to phase out old-style bookings. Here's what actually happened:
Week one: About half my regulars booked online immediately with zero fuss. These were the ones who'd always been organised about appointments anyway.
Weeks two and three: I gently redirected phone enquiries to the booking link. 'I don't take bookings by phone anymore but here's the link — it takes about two minutes and you can pick your exact slot.' Almost everyone was fine with this.
Month two: I turned off WhatsApp booking entirely. Had about five complaints, all from clients who'd been occasional no-shows previously. Decided I was okay with that.
Month three onwards: Fully digital, deposits on every booking, no Sunday evening admin sessions. My actual take-home time increased by roughly five hours a week. I wish I'd done it years earlier.
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I had the same fear about telling clients I was switching to online booking only. Turns out most people actually prefer it — they can book at midnight if they want to without feeling like they're bothering you. The ones who complained were the ones I could afford to lose.
#1
Been using Vagaro for two years and I'd echo everything in this post. The one thing I'd add: set up the automated follow-up message asking for a review. I get three new Google reviews a week without doing anything. Massive for local SEO.
#2
Been using Treatwell for a year and I'd echo everything in this post. The one thing I'd add: set up the automated follow-up message asking for a review. I get two new Google reviews a week without doing anything. Massive for local SEO.
#3
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 Acuity Scheduling by the time I factored in the percentage on every booking. Read the small print before assuming free is cheaper.
#4