Appointments · 11 min read · Updated:
Beauty salon booking software: an online booking guide for hairdressers and salons
Putting the hairdryer down every time the phone rings, crossed-out times in the diary, clients who don't show up. Salons know these booking headaches well. This article covers what to look for in booking software and which Heyşirket plan covers it.
In short
- Beauty salon booking software should at least let clients pick a date and time on your site, record the service and staff member, keep a booking list, and let you confirm or cancel bookings.
- A no-show means an empty slot; a reminder message and an easy cancellation link are the most practical ways to reduce that loss.
- In Heyşirket, the free Starter plan includes a salon site, a service price list and a booking request form; online booking with date and time selection and request management are in the Professional plan.
- Pre-accounting is included in Professional: client cards, selling session packages and deducting each session, invoicing and collections all sit in the same panel.
- The full appointment tracking system, with a per-person calendar, recurring bookings, a waitlist and reminder messages to clients, is in the Premium plan and works on themes that support calendar booking.
In a salon, the day starts and ends with the phone. While one client is having her colour done, someone calls about two o'clock on Saturday, another postpones a manicure, and a slot in the diary gets crossed out three times. Beauty salon booking software turns that chaos into a single list: who, when, which service, which staff member.
In this article we first cover what a salon really needs from booking software, then the no-show problem, and finally what you can do on each Heyşirket plan. The same logic applies to hairdressers, nail and lash studios, skincare clinics and spas.
Part 1 · Purpose What does beauty salon booking software do?
Booking software has three jobs. Taking bookings: clients pick a suitable time on your site without calling, even at night. Keeping order: every booking appears on the same list with its service, duration and staff member, and two people aren't booked into the same slot. Knowing your clients: who had which service how often and what's left on their package, all on the client card.
A paper diary or a messaging app can handle these jobs for a while. Once you have more than two staff and ten bookings a day, forgotten, double-booked and lost appointments start. That's where software proves its worth.
Part 2 · Choosing What should you look for when choosing booking software?
| Feature | Why it's needed | Question to ask |
|---|---|---|
| Online booking on your site | Cuts phone calls; you don't miss clients who book at night | Can clients choose the date and time themselves? |
| Services and durations | A colour and an eyebrow wax don't take the same time | Can each service have its own duration? |
| Staff selection | Clients often come for a particular person | Can a booking be assigned to a staff member? |
| Confirmation and cancellation | An unconfirmed booking locks a slot | Can you confirm and cancel bookings? |
| Reminders | Reduces no-shows | Is a message sent to the client automatically, or do you turn it on? |
| Client card and packages | Packages such as laser or skincare are tracked session by session | Can you see the remaining sessions? |
| Invoicing and collections | Keep bookings and money in one place | Can you go from a booking to an invoice? |
| Personal data | Client phone numbers and history are personal data | Who holds the data and who can access it? |
You may not need all of these from day one. For a one-person studio, booking requests from the site and a tidy list are enough. In a salon with three or four staff, staff selection, reminders and package tracking soon become essential. We look at different levels of need separately in online appointment system.
Part 3 · Loss How much does a no-show cost?
A no-show isn't just one lost booking. That slot could have gone to someone else, the staff member waited, materials were prepared. Do a quick calculation with your own numbers:
| No-shows or last-minute cancellations per week | 6 |
|---|---|
| Average service price (example) | 600 TL |
| Weekly loss | 6 × 600 = 3,600 TL |
| About 4.3 weeks per month | 3,600 × 4.3 |
| Monthly revenue missed (example) | 15,480 TL |
The figures are an example. Use your own salon's weekly no-shows and average price.
- Send reminders: A short message the day before goes a long way to prevent forgetting.
- Make cancelling easy: If clients think cancelling is a hassle, they simply don't turn up. Easy cancellation wins the slot back.
- Fill freed-up slots: Let someone who's waiting know; a freed slot often fills the same day.
- State your deposit rule clearly: If you take a deposit for long treatments, say so on the site and in the confirmation message.
Part 4 · Routine How do you set up a daily routine in a hairdresser's booking system?
However good the software, you set the rules. These are the issues salons struggle with most; deciding on them once before you switch the software on prevents arguments later.
- Enter realistic durations: Set each service's duration from the real average, e.g. 30 minutes for a short cut and 90 minutes for root colour and blow-dry. Durations set too short keep everyone waiting by the end of the day.
- Leave buffers: Put 10 to 15 minutes between jobs where colour needs to develop or cleaning is needed.
- Keep each staff member's day separate: If days off and lunch breaks don't show on the booking list, two jobs get booked into the same slot.
- Choose which hours are open online: You don't have to open every slot online; you may prefer to take long treatments by phone.
- Keep personal data to a minimum: Name, phone, service and time are enough on the form. Don't write health information in client notes; if a necessary note such as an allergy exists, keep it short and strictly work-related.
Write these decisions down once and share them with the whole team. The booking software applies the rules, but the salon owner sets them.
Part 5 · Website Where bookings begin: the salon website
Before booking, clients look at two things: services and prices, and the feel of the salon. So booking software shouldn't be considered separately from the site. The service price list, staff introductions, opening hours and photos should sit right next to the booking button.
Heyşirket has two themes for beauty salons: İpek, in powder pink and black with a tabbed service price list, staff, opening hours and booking section, and Lavanta, in lilac and natural tones for spas and wellness centres, with care packages and a booking section. In the Price list section you enter a group, price, duration and label for each service; groups become tabs on the site.
Part 6 · Plans A beauty salon booking system in Heyşirket: what's in each plan?
| Need | Starter (free) | Professional | Premium |
|---|---|---|---|
| Salon site, price list, staff profiles | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Booking request form (arrives as a request) | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Online booking with date and time selection | No | Yes | Yes |
| Request management: status, notes, assignment, board | List only | Yes | Yes |
| Client reviews and review QR code | No | Yes | Yes |
| Pre-accounting: client card, session packages, invoicing | No | Yes | Yes |
| Per-person calendar, recurring bookings, waitlist | No | No | Yes* |
| Reminders to clients and WhatsApp confirmation | No | No | Yes* |
*The full appointment tracking system works on themes that support calendar-based online booking. Ask us before setting up whether you can use it on your salon site. Prices include VAT: Professional 699.99 TL/month or 6,999.90 TL/year, Premium 14,999 TL/month or 149,990 TL/year. Details on the pricing page.
Part 7 · Setup Online booking on the Professional plan, step by step
Step by step: online booking for a salon
Set up the site
On the start for free page, enter your salon's name, choose the İpek or Lavanta theme and enter your address, phone and opening hours on the Business profile screen.
Enter services and prices
Add your services group by group to the Price list section on the home page: hair, nails, skincare. Add the duration too, so clients know how much time to set aside.
Turn on online booking
On the Professional plan, install the Online booking feature. Clients choose the service, date and time on your site and submit; the booking lands on the Requests and bookings screen with the "Online booking" type.
Manage bookings
Open the request, call or message the client, and set the status to Booked. You can assign the request to a staff member, set a reminder for yourself and drag cards between status columns in the Board view.
Ask for reviews
After the service, send the client the review collection link or put the QR code at the till. Reviews appear on the site once you approve them.
Step-by-step guide in the panel: Help › Requests and bookings. Details of the review process are in collecting customer reviews.
Part 8 · Pre-accounting Session packages, invoicing and collections in one place
Pre-accounting is included in Professional and above with no separate subscription. When you choose beauty centre or hairdresser as your profession, ready services such as haircut, blow-dry, colour, skincare, laser hair removal session, manicure and pedicure come built in; you enter the prices.
- Session package: You sell the client a 6- or 10-session package. At each visit, Use session on the client card deducts one session, and a mistaken deduction can be undone.
- Invoice: The package is saved first, so sessions can be used straight away; the Invoice button links the package to an invoice. Upfront or instalment payments are recorded against that invoice.
- Renewal reminder: Two sessions before the package ends, the salon owners get a collection and renewal reminder.
- Product sales and stock: If you sell shampoo or care products in the salon, you can set them up as stock items and deduct them as you sell.
You'll find what comes ready for the sector on the Heyşirket for beauty salons page, and the whole booking module on the online appointment system page.
Is there free booking software for beauty salons?
Heyşirket's free Starter plan includes a salon site, a service price list and a booking request form; requests are listed in the panel and you confirm the time. Online booking where clients choose the date and time themselves is in the Professional plan.
Can clients book on the site themselves?
Yes, on the Professional plan. The client chooses the service, date and time and submits; the booking lands on the Requests and bookings screen in your company panel, and you confirm it and update its status.
Do clients get automatic reminder messages?
Reminder and confirmation messages to clients are part of the appointment tracking system in the Premium plan and are off by default; you turn them on. On the Professional plan the reminder comes to you and you message the client yourself.
Can I track session-based services such as a laser package?
Yes. With session packages in pre-accounting on Professional and above, you sell a package to the client and deduct one session at each visit. The package is linked to an invoice, and you get a reminder two sessions before it runs out.
I have several staff; can I assign bookings to a person?
On the Professional plan you can assign an incoming booking request to a team member. A calendar with a column for each staff member is part of the appointment tracking system in the Premium plan.
See your bookings in one list Track booking requests from your site with their status, assign them to staff and get back to clients on time. Go to requests and bookings
If you don't have a site yet, you can start for free and bring your salon online today.
Author: Heyşirket Editorial Team