The one thing most lash studio owners get wrong about online booking
Edward Griffiths
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Other · Canterbury · 2mo 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 Phorest for 18 months 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 Phorest 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 five 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. Phorest 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 eight 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 Phorest for 18 months 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 Phorest 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 five 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. Phorest 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 eight 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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The point about analytics is underrated. I had no idea which of my services was actually the most profitable until Setmore showed me the data. It completely changed how I structured my pricing and my service menu.
#1
This is really relatable. I went through almost the exact same process 18 months ago. The biggest thing for me was realising that the clients who pushed back hardest on deposits were the ones who'd let me down before. Once I saw it that way the decision became very easy.
#2
Really useful breakdown — thank you. I've been sitting on the fence about Appointy for months and this has pushed me to just go and do the free trial. Will report back.
#3
The no-show stats in this post match my experience almost exactly. I was losing roughly £30 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.
#4
The no-show stats in this post match my experience almost exactly. I was losing roughly £25 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.
#5