Looking for a booking system? 8 questions to ask before you choose one

If you're searching for the best booking system right now, we have bad news: there isn't one. There is one that fits your salon, and there is one where you find out six months in that it doesn't.

The difference is rarely the feature list. Almost every system does a calendar, online booking and reminders. What separates them is how they charge, who owns the client list, and what happens the day you want to switch. None of that shows up in the first demo.

We build a booking system ourselves, so we're obviously not neutral. That's why this article doesn't recommend or trash anyone. Instead, it collects questions you can use to check any provider, ours included.

1. Who owns the client: you, or the platform?

This is the most important question, and most people ask it last.

There are two kinds of systems. One is a tool: you use it to manage your own clients, your salon's name is on the booking page, and the client isn't shown an offer from the salon down the street. The other is a marketplace: it can bring you new clients, but in exchange the client is also the platform's user, and sees other salons there too.

Neither is wrong, but you're not buying the same thing. Ask:

• Do other salons appear on your booking page or in the confirmation email?
• Whose name are the reminders sent in?
• If a client books through the platform's app, do their phone number and email end up in your client list too?

2. Flat monthly fee, or commission per booking?

"No monthly fee" sounds attractive, and at low volume it really can be cheaper. But the cost doesn't disappear; it's tied to your bookings instead. The better your salon does, the more you pay.

Don't compare the prices on the websites. Run the numbers with your own figures: take your monthly bookings and your average service price, and ask:

• How much is the commission per booking, and does it apply only to new clients or to returning ones too?
• Is there a fee on online card payments, and what percentage on top of the card processing fee?
• What does it cost to add another team member?

With a flat fee, you know the worst case up front. With commission, the worst case is a really good month.

3. What does an SMS actually cost?

SMS reminders are one of the strongest defences against no-shows. (More on that in How to reduce no-shows at your salon.) Which is exactly why it's the line on the bill most likely to run away from you.

Find out in advance:

• Are SMS messages included in the monthly fee, and if so, how many?
• What happens when they run out: does sending stop, or does billing just keep going?