Beauty is a vital part of who we are. Most women will spend countless hours to look and feel their best. What better place to be than a lovely spa and salon? Starting a spa business can change your life. It would make more people smile and your pockets would never run dry.
Serving customers is thrilling. Yet, more happens before and after your clients take that seat at your salon. Think about,
- Bookings
- Billings
- Assigning clients to your staff and more
Software development continues to offer solutions for our daily lives. In this post, we provide a complete guide to salon & Spa management software and why it is crucial for your spa business.
What is a Salon Management Software?
Salon software is a digital tool that helps you streamline salon or spa management operations. Some of the most common tasks include customer bookings, employee shift handling, customer management, and payment processing.
Spa management software helps keep track of supplies and sales through the POS software. It helps you process barcodes. It also integrates with cash registers. Additionally, you get secure checkouts for clients.
Excellent salon management software allows you to connect with your clients. You can integrate with CRM to build customer relationships. Ultimately, you can attract and retain clients with a solid marketing tool at your disposal.
Core Features of Salon Management Software
Salon & Spa software comes with distinct features. Here are common features to look out for when buying salon and spa management software.
Customer Management
Getting customers is a great thing. However, you can lose them through poor management. Your customers come first, and you should only give them the best. A customer management system ensures that you are in touch with your customers.
Keeping track of customer of customers details like past appointments helps you maintain relationships. You can use the data for marketing when running promotions. With management software, you can keep proper records of what customers expect and plan accordingly.
When customers make bookings, your software will assign them to your staff. Proper customer management avoids time wastage and ensures your customers don’t wait in line to get services. The tools ensure there’s no breakdown between customers and your staff.
Point of Sale POS
A point-of-sale machine helps manage your sales. Salons that sell beauty products need a POS to keep track of products and sales. Your employees need an easy system that helps with daily sales in the spa.
A point of sale can track payments made by customers. If you run a busy parlor, you have an endless stream of customers. A POS simplifies the process of making sales and collecting payments as required.
Cloud-based POS are game changers for businesses with multiple locations. You can easily have an integrated payment processing platform for all the locations. The cloud-based POS can communicate in real time with little, or no hardware handling.
Through your POS, you can manage your staff. Keep up with your day staff and their log-in and out hours. Such a system makes it easy to manage temporary staff at your business premises.
Modern POS will continue to evolve and adapt to tech enhancement. Think of developments like M-pesa integration to allow your customers to make payments with mobile money. Also, self-checkout services are on the rise, and every business owner should make plans for the same.
Employee Commission Management
Your staff gives their best when serving clients. It is only fair they earn a commission for their hard work. An SMS can take care of that by logging the amount of time your employee has attended a client. It ensures that everyone gets rewarded according to their effort.
Manual records on employee management may not be easy to follow. Someone can inflate their hours and wrongfully claim commission. It is also tedious to keep tabs on employee commissions manually, if you have a large team.
An employee sales commission management software makes it easy to scale your business. You reward your staff the right amounts motivating them to work harder to earn more. It also costs you less as you devote your time to what matters rather than trying to keep up with an over-flowing spreadsheet.
Online Booking System
Digitizing your business to accommodate online booking is one way to attract and keep customers. An online booking system is fast and efficient. It allows the customer to easily set up their appointment as they go on their day.
When customers jump through hurdles to book an appointment, they will not enjoy the process. Something as simple as a few clicks makes it easy for anyone to keep choosing your business.
Customers get to pick a slot on the calendar preventing booking mix-ups. They can also pick hours and cancel them as they please. Manual appointments take more time and may sometimes create mishaps. Allowing your customers to create and cancel appointments gives them power over their schedules.
An online booking system should offer ease of use. It should also have a payment gateway to help customers make payments when they book an appointment. Consider an online booking system as an extension of your brand.
Accounting Software
Accounting can be tedious when there are many kinds of transactions happening at the same time. Your accounting team can take a breather with reliable software to make work easier. A spa management system should have accounting in mind.
Odoo is excellent for accounting as it allows you to work with manageable data and great interfaces. You can process data in a matter of seconds saving you time. You can manage tasks like generating invoices and tracking expenses.
Accounting is all about cash flow. Spa software will help you manage cash flow by tracking every expense. It will help manage money coming in and money going out to keep your business in great financial shape.
Product Inventory
Your brand products need proper inventory. It can be hard to keep up with so many products. Yet, it is vital to note fast-moving products and the least likely to sell products in your spa. The product inventory feature on your spa software does that for you.
You can create an inventory of all products you have in stock. The system helps you track them and will alert you when it is about to run out of stock. That way no customer gets turned away because you are out of stock.
Overstocking is a common problem for spas and salons. With product inventory software, you can plan what to stock and how often. Products with short self-life should not be in stock if they are rarely needed for daily activities. Your software will alert you if you buy too much of an item than you consume.
How much Does a Salon & Spa Management Software Cost?
Salon management software may cost you between $1.08-$248 per month. Some software will cost more depending on features. Others offer additional services at an extra cost to the monthly subscription. A salon owner needs to research what software will work best for their specific needs.
What are the Benefits of Using Spa Management Software?
There are benefits of using spa management software.
- Quick and easy booking. Quality software makes reservations and bookings easy to handle. No need for endless calls, a few clicks will get it done.
- Saves time. Running your spa can take too much of your time. Software automation saves time by 30% freeing your schedule for other tasks.
- Saves money. Proper accounting prevents loss of money on stocking. It also enhances business processes cutting losses.
- Organized Inventory. Keep tabs on what you have in stock. It will help you plan your daily expenses and manage what you have in stock.
- Empowered Staff. Keep your staff happy by managing their schedules. Also, offer the right rewards with the commission rewards system.
- Streamline Marketing. SMS will help you create marketing campaigns through the data available from the software. Target old clients with new offers and messaging that aligns with their past interactions with your brand.
- Organized Accounting. Save time with fewer accounting tasks. The system ensures accuracy, real-time data generation, and reporting.
- Scalability. The software enhances management and ensures you track everything about your business. The insights from the system can help you scale your business as needed.
Things to Consider When Buying Salon Management Software
Before you throw your money into any software that comes your way, consider the following.
- Payment integrations. Does your choice software allow your customers to use choice payment methods? At Yardinc, we offer M-pesa Integration for your SMS to ensure your customers can pay via mobile money. Strict payment terms can keep away customers from your business.
- Access to Client Relationship Management Functionality. Your spa software should allow you access to client data. You can use the data to create tailored services or tailored marketing campaigns for the correct target audience. It should help you create detailed information on your clientele such as their age, demographics, and preferences. Through the system, you can send messages to customers, enhancing communication and increasing business efficacy.
- Analytics and Reporting. Analytics is a vital part of the business game. Your choice of software should include real-time reporting and analytics. It efficiently tracks staff performance, product sales, client behavior, and revenue trends. Salon owners use analytics in decision-making. Choose a software partner that helps you get real data for growth.
Final Thoughts On Salon & Spa Software
Salon and spa management software is streamlining the spa business services. One tool can act as a manager while you focus on the other side of the business. With a little help and knowledge, you can make informed choices that align with your business goals.
Tailored Spa and Salon Management software has advanced features that meet your needs. You can do more for less while enjoying quality software for your business. Yardinc Spa management software goes beyond to help your business grow.
Software addition is the big break your business needs. Track losses, manage employees, keep them happy, and satisfy new and existing customers to grow your salon and spa.