Choosing the right salon software – do you really get what you pay for?

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Posted September 26, 2022

Choosing the software that is going to underpin your salon is key to ensuring that your salon operates at peak efficiency.

However, if you’ve ever investigated salon software even casually, you will know that the price varies wildly, without there being necessarily great differentiation between offerings. So, the question has to be asked – do you really get what you pay for when it comes to salon software?

 

Free software:

There absolutely IS free salon software around and available – but is it the best choice for your business? Only you can answer that. What we can tell you is that most free salon subscriptions don’t include all the features you might want for your salon or offer really limited client numbers. You might be able to have a total of 10 or 20 client records stored, or only be able to schedule 3 months in advance, no further. Typically, those offering free salon subscriptions will have a paid option, and so a free subscription could be a great way to test out new software or see if their system is right for you when you’re starting your salon or operating from home and look to move to a paid plan as you grow.

 

Mid-range price:

Mid-range priced software could be the best fit for your salon. If you’ve got one location and only a few staff members, there’s no need to pay for software or a plan that offers multiple locations and up to 20 staff – that’s just not relevant for your business right now. Similarly, it’s fine to want all the bells and whistles, including booth or rent-a-chair management options, marketing channels out the wazoo and chat bot support functions; but if you don’t have time to set it up, or don’t use similar systems now in your business, who is to say that it’s relevant for your business at all? Choose a software plan that meets you where your business is today, with room to grow for tomorrow.

 

High end price:

While you might imagine that you get what you pay for with salon software, that’s not always the case. Some software might come with a big price ticket, but in reality it might still be missing features that are specific to the needs of your salon, or offer poor overseas support which stops you from taking advantage of the system. This is just as relevant for chosing between big-name salon software providers and smaller, local players. The bigger the name, the higher the price point typically, and presumably the better the service and features. But this isn’t always the case. It’s important you consider the package you’re looking at, whether there are any add-on fees or adjacent systems that run specific functions (like marketing or loyalty programs) and whether they cost additional fees and whether that is feasible for you to pay for.

 

It’s important to consider the fit of a software system to your business external of price, select a top 3 contenders list and consider pricing from that point. That allows you to ensure that a) you can afford your salon software and b) that you will get all the features you want from the system.

You will notice that we don’t recommend a particular piece of salon software in this article. That’s because what we recommend really has no bearing on whether that software is the right fit for you and your salon – it’s about what features you will use; what price point you can support and the different integrations that matter to your business.

Using a comparison tool or doing your own research and working against a spreadsheet of features is a great way to find out if a particular salon software system is right for your business.

 

In this series, we will go into depth on each of these key considerations to explain more about choosing the right salon software for your business – but ultimately, the decision is up to YOU and what is right for YOUR business.

Looking forward to sharing more soon…