If you’re in the beauty industry, you know how important your online presence is to your business. It’s where so many of your clients spend their time looking for information, inspiration, and entertainment, and where many will likely take their first steps to discover your salon and interact with your brand. Beauty pros know how important it is to connect their online profiles with their salon booking app, to make discovery and booking seamless and simple for their clients. But not all booking apps are made equal: here’s what to look out for in an online appointment booking software.

Booking Appointments Online Should Be Easy for All Parties

The number one reason why you should invest in a salon booking app is simplicity. It should make it easier for your clients to find an appointment, enter their details, and book, and it should be easier for you to track, manage, and change appointments. Online booking can help you create a better client experience, while helping you stay organized, especially compared to pen and paper or taking bookings over the phone. You won’t need to worry about having a receptionist to manage your calendar, or restricting the ability for clients to book during your business hours only.

Try GlossGenius free for 14 days!

What Should You Look For in a Booking App?

On the surface, salon booking apps might seem simple, but there’s more to them than meets the eye. There are several key features you need to look for that can make your life easier and improve your client experience.

[CTA_MODULE]

1. Displaying, Setting, and Changing Your Schedule

Your booking app should allow you to dynamically set, display, and change your schedule. Clients should be able to see your hours of operation on the booking calendar, and book in increments that work for the services you offer. You should also be able to block off time during off hours or vacations. Another key feature is auto-approval rules, so you don’t need to manually approve or deny every appointment that’s booked through your site.

2. Automatic Confirmations and Reminders

We all know how annoying it can be for a client to forget their appointment or cancel at the last minute, so another key feature is automatic confirmations and reminders. When a client makes an appointment, your booking app should be able to send confirmations to their email or cell phone, and send reminders at fixed intervals before their appointment. These features can help you seriously reduce cancellations and no-shows, and if you keep a card on file, can reduce time chasing down no-show or cancellation fees.

3. Sync Multiple Calendars with Your Team

As you grow your team, your booking app should be able to grow with it. Your booking software should allow you to add multiple users and sync their calendars to your booking website. Adding and syncing multiple calendars means each team member can keep their own calendar, hours, and appointments, and give them their own profiles to match their services. Clients should be able to choose which professional to book with and see their up-to-date calendars.

4. Integrate Payments, Tips, and Rebooking

To truly make your life easier, your booking app should be integrated with your point of sale and payments system, so your clients can book, pay, tip, and rebook all through a single booking and payments solution. Your booking app should also be able to send receipts using the same contact information your clients shared when booking. Using an integrated booking and payments system doesn’t just improve the client experience, it makes it easier for you to track and analyze payments, expenses, and profit over time. Another key aspect is rebooking: if you make rebooking seamless, clients are more likely to rebook. Just ask beauty professional Matthew Landis, who achieved a near-100% rebooking rate with GlossGenius.

5. Manage Clients in One Location

Since your booking app is capturing client information, it should also make it easy for you to manage their client profiles. Your booking app should allow you to save contact details for new and returning clients, keep notes or set reminders, and manage pending or upcoming appointments. By using contact information to create profiles, your booking app should also allow you to track earnings and retail sales for each client as well. This kind of information can help you tailor your client experience, create high impact marketing campaigns, and improve your relationships with your clients.

[CTA_MODULE]

Staying Organized with GlossGenius

GlossGenius’ online appointment booking software can help you level up your beauty business. GlossGenius offers the lowest payment processing fees, as well as a customizable website, and integrated social media booking. You can manage appointments, clients, and team members’ schedules and services all in one place, and process payments directly in the app. With online appointment booking, client management, and payment processing all together, you can automatically track and analyze your business’ performance.

Try GlossGenius free for 14 days!