As a professional within the beauty industry, you’ve got the talent and skill parts covered, but the key to complete salon success often lies in the management side of things. When you’re running a small business, it’s impossible to do it all and that’s where your trusted technology comes into play. Whether you’re managing an edgy tattoo parlor, a soothing spa, or a chic hair salon, it’s essential to find the best salon POS system available; that means an all-in-one solution designed specifically with your industry needs in mind. 

In this post, we dive into why you need a point of sale (POS) system, what to look for in this type of software, and what makes one solution more preferable than others. Read on to learn more about how to choose the right POS system for your salon.

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What to Expect from a Salon POS System

What should you be looking for in your salon software? In short, brains and beauty. When considering the best salon POS system for you, user interface should be high on the list of importance. As a product you’ll be using on a near-daily basis, you want something that not only makes your business run smoothly but something that your clients will be able to intuitively navigate. You should expect easy online booking features that provide your clientele with convenience and an integrated payment processing system that makes checking out easy. With these two key features, your salon POS system (and obviously your talents) will encourage them to come back and book more often.

Looks aren’t everything, but as professionals in an aesthetic-centric space, we know you have a penchant for things that are easy on the eyes. As a bonus, GlossGenius takes an extra step that beauty professionals appreciate by creating a platform that gives you a place to show off your portfolio with personality and polished branding. With your own customized booking site, you’ll not only be creating a space for clients to conveniently book your services on their timeline, but you will also be making a stellar first impression of your brand. 

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Why Choose a Salon POS System over Digital Wallets or Mobile Money Transfer Apps?

If you already have a program like Venmo, Cash App, or Zelle installed on your devices you may be wondering why you can't use that for your business payments. Third party payment apps are great for transferring money to a family member or splitting the happy hour check among friends, but when it comes to your business it gets a bit more complicated – especially now. As of January 2024, payments app providers like those mentioned above are required by the IRS to report a user's business transactions and share a 1099 if they total $600 or more for the year. There’s no reason to further complicate tax time – keeping all your transactions, payments, and appointments in one place will make your life much easier. 

Going with a fully integrated salon POS system over a third party payment app has other advantages, too.

Advantages of POS Software for Your Independent Beauty Business: 

1. Stay streamlined: Extra apps will eventually add up to extra work. When you’re using a POS that acts as your beauty business hub, you have the ability to streamline your business operations so that your transactions, inventory, reports, and analytics are always on the same page.
   
2. Save money: Every penny counts when you’re running a business. Additional apps and services can end up costing you hundreds of dollars in extra fees over time. GlossGenius offers the lowest payment processing fees across the market – just 2.6% – plus an abundance of additional money-saving features – like the ability to take deposits at booking – included in your monthly investment. 
   
3. Control your branding: With an all-in-one solution, you can guarantee your clients will experience the same level of polished professionalism from booking to checkout. Not to mention, you’ll be able to ensure they receive their digital receipts and can include an extra nudge to leave reviews! 

Salon POS System Notifications and Reminders

When you have a POS system designed with the salon industry in mind, the booking and payment processes should work seamlessly together to make your life easier. A software solution with notifications and reminders sets you up for a smooth workflow from start to finish, with timely pings that will keep you and your clients stay on schedule. 

With GlossGenius, you can set up your system preferences to send client notifications by way of email or SMS appointment reminders. With this pre-service function, the chance of dealing with no-shows falls dramatically, and if necessary, your clients will have an easy option to reschedule with plenty of time for you to fill in their spot. For those unfortunate occasions where a cancellation is made outside your courtesy window, GlossGenius allows you to keep client cards on file so you can automatically collect cancellation fees.

Post-service, your clients will receive a digital receipt delivered right into their SMS or email inbox so you never have to deal with clunky receipt printers and clients can easily keep track of their transactions. Plus, you’ll have the option there to request reviews at the bottom of your digital receipts so your client gets a friendly reminder to share their feedback immediately after their service.

Making It Easy to Manage Your Business with Your Salon POS System

Your salon POS system should be as useful as a personal assistant – a trusted partner at your service to make managing your business easier than ever so you can focus on what’s important: your clients. With the right system in place, you’ll have less administrative work to worry about and be able to focus on satisfying the people in your chair and building your empire.

When using an all-in-one booking system, calendar integration is truly a game-changer. With calendar sync options and the opportunity to invite team members, you can easily manage employee scheduling and maintain an even-keeled work/life balance. Your personal calendar can be added to the platform to ensure there’s no overlap between work and play, and your work commitments can be transferred over to your Outlook, Google Calendar, or iCal to make sure you keep it all straight at home. GlossGenius also offers a Teams feature where multiple calendars can be layered in so there’s never any question of who’s available when or who’s in the salon on which days.

Aside from assisting with keeping your calendar in check, an integrated salon POS system will help you keep track of the important reports and analytics required to keep your business efficient and profitable. By diligently tracking every transaction made through the app, everything from gross sales to inventory management is meticulously categorized and effortlessly organized for your review with a few taps. When it comes time for bookkeeping, goal-setting, and even tax time, knowing your numbers has never been easier – you’ll never have to pore over pages of spreadsheets or shoeboxes full of receipts ever again.

Retain Clients and Accelerate Growth Using GlossGenius

Leveling up your point-of-sale game not only makes life easier for you but also bolsters the relationships you have with your clients. If you haven’t yet looked into a customer relationship management system or CRM, you may be missing out on an essential component of client satisfaction – remembering those little details and anticipating customer needs. 

As an all-in-one booking and payment platform solution, GlossGenius also plays the role of your CRM. By having clients book and pay through this software, you’ll be able to create customer profiles and keep detailed notes of their preferences, favorite products, or personal facts that will create a deeper sense of connection and loyalty.

In addition to making your clients feel good in your salon, with GlossGenius you can maintain a level of connection by tapping into the devices your clients are in front of every day – either their phones or computers. GlossGenius provides its users with complimentary marketing campaign tools and e-gift cards that make communications and promotions a breeze. With all of your client information stored in one place, the ability to send messages en masse makes marketing simple – with a few taps, you can promote new products or services, fill last-minute openings, or share announcements with your entire clientele. You can also opt to send messages specifically to segmented lists of your contacts, such as clients who haven’t booked in six months, or clients who are on your MVP list.

How Much Does Salon POS System Software Cost?

When you pay to use POS system software, the base price will typically include a monthly fee to access the service, store your data, and receive updates along with payment processing fees per transaction. With the additional fees added by some app providers, there may be up to six different components to compare when it comes to cost:

1. Monthly fees: For salon booking apps, these can start as low as $24, and can climb to upwards of $300. 
   
2. Payment processing fees: These are typically incurred in addition to the monthly fee. You can expect to pay between 2.6% and 3.5%, with some payments solutions charging additional per transaction fees up to 30 cents per charge.
   
3. Card reader fees (POS hardware): For this equipment there is usually a one-time expense that runs from $49 to $75 on average.
   
4. Text and email marketing: Some apps will charge an additional fee between $15 and $20 for SMS and email marketing campaigns based on the number of campaigns you run or the number of contacts on your distribution list.
   
5. Additional employees: Adding multiple employees can significantly increase your monthly price, doubling or tripling your monthly fee. 
   
6. Add-on features: Some apps offer a variety of add-ons such as custom website building, automated client reminders, copying over prior address books, and custom permissions for employees at a premium price. Features like custom website design can run you from $10 to $12 monthly while copying over books ring in at $150 and up.
   

GlossGenius is the salon POS system that has the lowest payment processing fees and monthly rates, whether you’re opting for keyed-in transactions or tap-to-pay purchases, there are no extra costs for providing your clients with extra convenience. GlossGenius is proud to offer our service with no contracts or hidden fees. After your trial (no credit card required), it’s $24/month and a flat 2.6% payment processing fee (one of the lowest in the industry) – no extra cost for adding team members or taking advantage of the many additional features on our platform.

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How Much Does Salon POS System Hardware Cost?

Many booking apps offer POS hardware, or card readers, with which to accept payments. As mentioned above, in most cases these pieces will usually require a one-time expense that may start at $49 and climb upward depending on the type of cards and payments they are able to accept.

GlossGenius' stunning card readers are specifically designed with the beauty industry in mind, and give you the power to accept tap, insert, and swipe payments. That means you can accept Apple Pay, Google Pay, Samsung Pay, NFC cards, EMV chip cards, and magnetic-stripe cards. Not to mention, these card readers come in an impressive array of colors and patterns so your checkout process will be super speedy and effortlessly chic. 

Your POS should make getting paid the easiest part of your job. As you consider the choices for the best salon POS for your business, remember that while this is a necessary business expense, this product should ultimately be adding value to your brand and your bottom line. 

How to Install Salon POS Software and Hardware

The best part about picking the right salon software is that it makes your life easier from the moment you install it. Even better, it’s likely you’ll spend more time reading this post than you will need to commit to installing your POS system.

Most POS software systems are packaged as apps that you can download from your smartphone or computer in seconds. With a simple login to keep your business and personal information secure, you’ll be set up to access all of your appointments, calendars, transactions, and more. With GlossGenius, clients won’t be required to download anything on their end. Once your account is set up, all they need to do is navigate to your custom booking site to contact you and make, change, or cancel appointments.

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Typically, the only hardware required to set up your POS system is a smartphone or tablet and a card reader, most of which are installed simply by either plugging the reader into the charging port of your device or by pairing the reader over Bluetooth. Using the GlossGenius app and one of our gorgeous Chief Money Machines, all you’ll need to do is turn it on, connect to it in the app, and you’ll be ready to start checking clients out in no time. Once your reader is paired with GlossGenius, it’ll automatically connect when you turn it on and open the app. And just like that, you’ve upgraded your beauty business like a boss.