It is one thing to know the advantages of leveraging technology to manage the daily operations of your salon but completely another to go through the process of choosing right salon scheduling software to run your business. Over the last decade, the salon software market has boomed. This growth although very encouraging has resulted in businesses, today, have a plethora of salon booking systems to choose from. As a result, one has to spend considerable time evaluating the features of each and every product. However, the process is nothing short of confusing. So, we decided that it is high time that there exists some clarity on the subject.
We spent weeks evaluating the features of the 5 top rated salon scheduling software in the US market, and listed out their features. We also spoke to salon owners and managers of both stand alone and multi store business to understand their criteria. The study revealed an interesting results. While the list is not exhaustive, but will certainly help you ascertain how to evaluate the right solution for your business. Listed below are salon scheduling software based on their rank in our study
Zenoti: The all-rounder industry workhorse
The clear winner of our study is Zenoti salon scheduling software. The software is so well designed, and intuitive in nature that is almost a mini wonder. A cloud based solution, it has dedicated solution to handle every administrative process. Its long list of features include booking & scheduling solutions, PCI compliant integrated payments, dedicated CRM module, integration with third party pages and software, robust data security features, inventory management, employee management, marketing management, and reporting. The modular architecture of the software allows the software to work with you as you scale your business Additionally, with proprietary products such as Zenoti Webstore, which allows guests to conduct all transactions through a single sign on experience the software and Zenoti pay, which equips your business to handle omni-channel payments it empowers your business to offer guests a truly seamless experience. It is almost insane that this power packed solution is designed to work as a plug and play too, is easy to use, and available in highly affordable subscription plans. Last but not the least, the software allows you have your own custom salon app!
Vagaro
Coming in at close second is Vagaro.  It’s a full house solution with all the essential tools such as appointment management, scheduling, POS, financial management, inventory management, payroll solutions, marketing management and reporting. It comes with a tier based subscription model i.e. with Basic and Pro plans. Starting with USD 25 for first employee and an additional USD 10/ employee, the monthly subscription fee is tad bit expensive. Additionally, features such as automated text marketing, check-in app, email marketing, visibility at Vagaro market place etc. all come with top up fees. On the flip side the website developer feature is lacking and the software comes with a stiff learning curve.
Fresha (Formerly Schedul): The subscription free solution with a catch
Ranking third in our study is Fresha. A great out of the box product it comes with all the basic solutions such as appointment management, POS software, inventory management, human resources, and financial reporting. While it ranks considerably high on popularity due to it being a subscription free software, it earns its revenue by charging a flat one time commission of 20% for every new client taken on board, and a small fee for processing payment across all payment methods. Aside the above, Fresha doesn’t allow you to engage in branding by way of customizing the app, the booking page or the website.
Square: The appointment & POS solution
The fourth in the popularity list is Square. This one offers a subscription free appointments only solution for individuals, that is a great option for booth renters and independent stylists, and a subscription based full blown salon scheduling software for businesses. The full feature solution for businesses offers customizable appointments page, real-time bookings, payment systems, payroll solutions, and integration with marketing module. On the flip side, the software offers limited flexibility with customization and the subscription model does turn out to be a tad bit expensive, especially if you’re a small set up.
Gloss Genius: The Pretty One
If you’re someone who cares for the aesthetics over functionality, then Gloss Genius is your go to solution. Its beautiful graphics does help boost the guest experience. It offers whole set of features and comes including a professional looking website and integrated payments, it is available with a monthly flat fee for unlimited employee count. The flip side is that the software can be managed only via an app, offers limited team management support and doesn’t have a booking widget to integrate with website and social media pages. As they say, beauty can only take you so far.
With a fairly easy learning curve, and state-of-art user friendly interface Zenoti’s salon scheduling software is hands down the right choice for your business. The software is undergoes constant development and harness the power of AI driven analytics to help you boost your client retention ratios and revenue.
