Here’s a thought that would have crossed the mind of every hair and beauty business owner — should I get an online salon booking system or should I invest in a full-blown salon POS?
We understand the dilemma. Maybe you want to get the former so that you no longer have to take bookings via phone or in-person whereas the latter might help you manage larger issues such as payments and billing.
Only when you understand the differences between the two will you be able to make up your mind as to which one is better for your business model.
Salon Booking System vs. Salon POS System
The term salon booking software is quite self-explanatory. As the name suggests, it allows your clients to select an appointment date, time and stylist for themselves. It may go a step further and offer calendar management as well. That’s it and nothing else.
On the other hand, when you hear the term salon POS system, the weight the term carries are much more. The features are complex too.
It’s a full management platform that allows your salon to run on autopilot. It’s an all-in-one toolkit that combines appointment booking, payments and billing, inventory management, CRM, staff management and analytics.
Now that you know the basic differences between the two, let’s have a look at which one is better for your salon.
Which is Better?
There are no right or wrong answers here. The choice depends on what the current needs of your salon are and what its future plans are.
A salon appointment software may be enough if your salon is small and you only offer limited services and sell no retail at all.
It’s a low-cost and simple way for clients to schedule their booking. It’s ideal for aspiring salon owners who are looking for an easy setup. However, don’t expect anything more from a standalone booking software.
On the other hand, who is a salon POS for? Beauty businesses that seriously want to scale, expand their services and open multiple locations should consider getting one.
When you feel like your salon becomes more than just chairs and scissors, you need to get a salon POS system as it definitely saves more time, boosts revenue and takes care of mundane daily operations.
The Modern Solution: Integrated Salon Management Software
Hair and beauty salons these days don’t invest in individual tools for booking, POS and CRM. Instead, they invest in one comprehensive platform/software that does it all.
You can even call it an all-in-one salon POS that manages bookings as well. Having one tool for each salon operation is daunting. It will take up a lot of time for the salon owner to configure each software.
The best decision is to invest in a single system that runs everything smoothly and seamlessly.
A dedicated salon software solution runs your business on autopilot and manages bookings, CRM, inventory, retail, payments, staff and analytics.
When you have everything in one location, it leads to a better customer experience since checkout is smoother too and there are fewer human errors. Your staff spend less time on admin and more time servicing the clients.
The Verdict
No matter which stage your salon is at and what the overall size of your beauty business is, a full-blown salon POS system that is integrated with a booking platform is what you need.
Salon360App is smart salon software designed to manage your business and help you grow with confidence.