The simple answer: Because, with the right features, salon software allows salon owners and managers to automate most of salon management tasks. Most tasks in a salon are repetitive and tedious. From booking clients, filing appointment and payment records, counting cash and banking it, counting and ordering beauty products, to assigning tasks to employees. All these tasks take too much of salon owners’ time, preventing them from effectively performing their core task of styling hair and making people beautiful. Automating these tasks can be surprisingly easy, not to mention the major benefits of optimizing time and energy, cost reduction, and performance boost.
And then there is the detailed answer. We will answer it in two parts
- Salon management software provides effective scheduling
Your salon management software is a one-in-all tool that allows you to schedule all of your resources in a few quick clicks. You are able to keep track of your entire workforce using just one tool, which makes it easy for you to maximize productivity for your salon. Among other ways that salon software helps you with scheduling:
- It allows you to create daily schedules, assign tasks, and monitor the progress of each task without even needing to be in the salon. You can do all these functions from a remote location.
- You can use the software to keep track of all your equipment, so you can find the perfect combinations for your staff, available equipment at a given time, and pending appointments.
iii. You are able to plan and distribute personal days amongst your workforce in accordance with your daily workload, employee performance, professional commitments, and business requirements & work priorities. This means increased flexibility which, in turn, leads to a more productive and motivated team.
- The scheduling feature allows for a seamless transition between shifts. Whenever a different shift comes in, they just check the task pane you have created on the software and instantly get the goals and expectations for the day.
- Gives you the ease of self-service. You can give employees some level of controlled access, allowing them to access appointment data on the system using their own devices. That empowers them to see their schedules even when at home, so you don’t have to keep calling them to remind them of pending tasks. When employees access their schedule, say week-long schedules, they can request for changes in their schedule early enough. It also becomes easier to track and talk to clients about unscheduled absences.
- It helps keep everybody on the same page. It gives employees the convenience to log on to one data center and check their schedules, see their colleagues’ availability, and probably make necessary changes to the schedule- with your permission, of course. In the rare chance that you get the scheduling wrong, employees will most likely spot it and help you make the necessary corrections. All team members are always on the same page with you.
- Salon software enables online booking
If salons choose to work with salon software for only one reason, then that reason has to be its online booking feature. Your software will help you appeal better to online clients by allowing them to make reservations, book appointments, pay for their appointments, and even cancel or reschedule whenever necessary. Online clients do everything booking-related at their convenience, from their own devices. Giving clients the ability to book and manage their appointments comes with many rewards. Among them:
- Online booking helps clients specify the exact services they need without having to explain themselves at a crowded front desk. It also makes it easy for clients to confirm the availability of their preferred stylists or favorite products.
- This level of convenience that online booking offers is addictive- a client only needs to try it once and they will stick around forever. About 2/3 of online clients stick to online booking and never revert to manual in-salon booking following the first online booking. If you don’t have an online booking platform, it is just a matter of days before one of your clients tastes the convenience of online booking elsewhere and that will most likely be the last time you see them.
iii. Online booking is also critical to your customer experience. First, it allows clients to access your calendar and make appointments outside your business hours. That freedom makes clients feel in charge of how they spend their money, and that carries a lot of weight in the modern era. Secondly and most importantly, your online booking page is one of the very first places your web traffic lands after they interact with your SEO and/or social media marketing content. If they fall in love with the booking platform, you can bet that they will be a little bit lenient when judging everything else they encounter on your website or in the salon.
- There are clients who opt for online booking even during business hours. These clients help you reduce the workload on your receptionists. When your staff members aren’t entering clients’ details manually or picking calls, they are able to save up some time and energy that they can then use to make customers in the salon get a little bit more comfortable.
- Clients who book salon or spa services online tend to spend more than their walk-in counterparts and customers that call in. There are many reasons for this. One, customers love convenience. A client will be more comfortable booking your services online than calling in or walking into your salon unannounced, which makes it easy for online bookers to book appointments more frequently. Secondly, clients who book your services online have more interactions with your marketing materials than clients who make phone appointments. They are likely to see and fall in love with the products you display on the booking page, your add-on services, and the deals or offers that you could have. That means they will most likely pay for those add-ons before you even get the time to mention your offers to a client on the phone. Thirdly, online booking provides unbeatable value which most clients appreciate. Many clients will be willing to spend a little bit more just for the experience.
Conclusion
Salon management software makes the process of managing your salon a whole lot easier. At the very least, it will save you time, money, energy, and in the long run, your sanity. By helping you automate your key functions, it will help you minimize the risk of human errors and their associated costs. Most importantly, it helps you seal loopholes that cause revenue losses and dissatisfaction in your clientele. That is exactly what you need for consistent growth. Get salon software for your salon today!
