What is Salon POS Software? Expert Advice on Choosing the Best One

Whether you manage a hair salon, nail salon, or a barbershop, you need to get the right POS solution to deliver exceptional services. You can achieve extraordinary results if you can find a POS system that fits the type of your business. A salon POS software will enable you to make transactions faster and save time. You need to understand that POS software for a salon is bringing more benefits than a traditional cash register. It is a system of different solutions that gives you management power and leads to a lucrative business. Also, it provides additional features, such as email marketing, loyalty programs, or customer relations management, to add more value to customer services. As a result, you stand out in the competition with your extensive focus on customer satisfaction.

What is Salon POS Software?

Point of Sales solutions enables the business to make payment transactions. Traditionally, managers utilized cash registers to make the same operations. They were useful because people used cash mostly. However, nowadays, people prefer card payments, together with eWallets and many different versions of e-payments. Cash registers are not able to handle such transactions. Besides, POS software includes other functions, namely reporting or inventory management.

POS solutions are accessible for businesses in the commerce and hospitality sectors. However, it was not common to see salon POS software in many locations. The reason was that most POS systems were not well-suited for salon businesses. Most of them lacked an appointment or booking functions. Today, this trend is changing. POS has become an essential tool to manage a salon business successfully. New systems involved services that fit the needs of this unique sector.

Advantages of POS Solutions

This system brings a lot of benefits to your business. First, it offers inventory management function, which makes it different from traditional cash registers and booking tools. With its help, one can manage the inventory of brush, shampoo, or oil products that are sold in beauty salons. Second, the beauty salon POS system involves employee management features. This function is similar to scheduling tools and helps employees to track time. Again, booking software in salons are not capable of providing this feature. Even if a few of them do, they are not at high-level management. Lastly, managers enjoy salon POS software because of the reporting system. They can monitor the busy times, work hours, costs, or productivity. Therefore, POS also makes managers’ and supervisors’ jobs easier.

Choosing a POS system

Whether you need a nail salon or barbershop POS solutions, there are several features that you need to contemplate. Current cash registers and booking tools do not offer all previously mentioned functions in one device. Preferring the POS system over them does not mean that you should not be enjoying the advantages of booking features. Any POS provider you are going to choose should provide you with a comprehensive system. Below, I will explain to you which features a salon POS software has to offer.

Appointment management

One of the challenging operations of any salon business is handling appointments. The reason is that there can occur a lot of problems, including double or incorrect booking. Traditionally, people used paper books to note appointments. When POS software for a salon was developed, they considered the drawbacks of having paper books. Now, if you use a barbershop POS or any other salon software, appointments will be integrated with employee schedules. Any worker will be able to access the booking online and check if they have an appointment. Besides, if there are any last-minute changes, the system will notify the employee. Therefore, you will not face any surprises when the customer arrives for the service. 

This cutting edge technology also provides email or text notifications. If the staff members do not have time to go online and check appointments, these notifications will be useful for them. Also, appointment management function ensures that the clients are evenly distributed among stylists. Besides, they consider the schedule and minimize the waiting time for customers. Any client will have an enhanced experience in your salon, which will help your business to stand out. 

Card Processing with Salon POS Software

The availability of various options simplifies the payment process. Nowadays, not many people use cash to make payments. Even if they do, they might not have additional money with them when they need unexpected treatments. As a result, you, as a manager, will let go of some portion of revenue. Besides, customers value the salon more if it provides conveniences. Therefore, having a multi-payment option in-salon POS software ensures that clients prefer your location over your rivals. However, you need to be careful about safety issues, too. The software should be PCI (Payment Card Industry) compliant to ensure that card data of customers are secure from breaches or frauds. 

Online Booking

Online Booking feature increases revenues. The research indicates that 40% of clients prefer to schedule their appointment after work. This research reveals that if your business does not offer an online booking function, you will lose 40% of potential clients. As you make scheduling more comfortable, these people will even visit your salon more frequently. Therefore, your salon business can turn them into loyal customers if you start online booking and integrate it into your POS software. Besides, this feature is connected to appointment management, too. A business manager can anytime access the appointment management and get real-time information about potential revenues. As a result, owners and managers also enjoy instant reporting functions. 

CRM

Customer relationship management has become an essential area of focus for many businesses. While some sectors just started understanding the necessity of customer management, salon businesses have long been focused on it. The reason is it is a service sector, and they engage with clients more than any other industry. POS systems understand this need and integrate customer relationship management into its offering. A professional beauty salon POS system and barbershop POS solution will store any data about the client. For instance, you can easily input the color, length style, or cut design of clients. One can even add photos and save the names of customers. As a result, next time, when that client visits the salon, stylists can provide the same service, or they can be more aware of which treatments their clients went. All these features lead to increased customer satisfaction, and hence, lucrative business. 

Loyalty Programs

Loyalty programs are effective ways of promoting business and increasing customer retention. Discounts, free trials can be a part of such programs. People need to visit the salon periodically, namely weekly or monthly, to benefit from this promotion method. While programs help managers to keep the clients and gain their minds and hearts, merely offering discounts might not work. You must ensure that the benefit you provide as a result of loyalty should be valuable. For example, your loyalty program will be useless if you provide color treatment to a customer who is against dying her hair. As you have already understood, loyalty programs should also target the unique needs of clients. 

POS software allows for such type of customization in loyalty programs. As mentioned before, businesses can collect data about customers in their salon POS software. With the help of this data, business managers will create loyalty gifts tailored to the preferences of clients.

Email Marketing

Email Marketing continues to offer considerable benefits to attract customers and get more revenue. According to the research of DMA in 2018, each dollar spent on email marketing brings around 32$. This figure indicates that the return on email marketing is very high. So, how a salon business can get the advantage of emails?

Contemporary salon POS software assists one in creating, design, and distribute emails. With the help of a customer relationship feature, one can add emails and related information of clients to their database. Later, you can create emails that target everyone or particular segments. As you have information about the services offered to clients beforehand, you can find out which segment needs a haircut for their children or which clients graduate this year. Then, you can create promotions to target specific segments and distribute them directly. Consequently, salon managers can communicate their messages to customers quickly and effectively.

Instant Reporting

Salon POS Software eases the decision-making process and monitoring the responsibility of managers by providing immediate real-time reports. If any manager needs to make a decision, they can directly enter the system and analyze the information. This function is compatible with many different devices. No matter of time, place, or device, managers can monitor costs, profits, inventory, or schedules. Some up-to-date versions of POS software also allow integration of Key Performance Indicators. These indicators show the progress toward a unique goal, such as the service of the volume of a stylist per day. If a salon utilizes accounting software, then this software can be integrated with the beauty salon POS system to increase efficiency and accuracy.

Inventory Management

Managing the inventory is a challenging issue for all types of businesses. Salon businesses are no different, either. First, one needs to ensure that there are enough supplies for providing services such as coloring products. Second, some salons also sell products like oil, shampoo, or brushes to get additional revenues. An effective manager needs to be able to analyze which products are sold most and increase its supply. Besides, he should detect the products with low quantity and order beforehand to avoid stock-outs. Without the inventory manager, counting each product every day is an overwhelming process. Besides, people are prone to mistakes so that miscalculations can occur. Hence, with the inventory management function of POS software for a salon, businesses enjoy increased profitability and decreased stock issues.

Employee Management

Salons can employ their stylists or rent the space for them. In both cases, managers need to know the revenues of each chair per day. Besides, they should track appointments and generate schedules. The employee management feature of salon POS software allows managers to do these tasks fast. The system calculates the commissions, reports booth rental fees, and generates ready reports about the workforce. Besides, as mentioned before, notification systems that connected to employee management assist staff members in organizing their schedules, too. 

Traditionally, all information about client visits was on paper. Sometimes, people made mistakes while noting the revenues, or they intentionally tried to trick the management. The employee management function of the beauty salon POS system avoids all these problems and ensures hustle-free control.

Customer Support

Different from other functions, customer support is a feature that your provider should offer. Any provider of POS software for a salon should have extensive customer focus. They need help to install the system or train staff to use the software effectively. If your business operates at the weekends or during the evenings, the POS provider should do the same. The reason is that if you face a problem on weekends, the company should be able to help you instantly. Waiting Monday can never be the right solution and will result in decreased revenue and unsatisfied customers. Besides, some professional POS providers offer routine maintenance to have minimum downtime.

I advise you to collect as much information as possible about several providers before choosing one. It is beneficial to work with a company that understands what your business needs or who is 24/7 available to lend a hand if help is needed. Therefore, try to read customer reviews or request references before partnering with a POS provider. 

Basic Features

I have informed you about the unique features that any salon business will need in its POS system. They all bring more value to your company and lead to enhanced customer satisfaction. However, while looking for special features, one should not ignore or undervalue the basic properties of salon POS software. Without basic essential characteristics, the different sides of the POS system will be useless.

Simplicity

A POS solution should have a simple and user-friendly design. Though it should offer many different functions, the staff should be able to learn and handle operations quickly. If the software is complicated to use, and the high learning curve is required, the business might get hurt. The reason is that during the transformation stage when you will move operations from traditional to POS system, you will not be able to provide excellent services. Therefore, customers will also be unsatisfied with your business, though you were trying to achieve better services with POS.

Scalability

Business changes over time dramatically. Your salon might get new locations, many staff members, or need downsizing during economic hardship. The salon POS software should be able to adjust these changes. Before choosing a POS provider, ask if it is possible or to what extent the software allows for scale up or down. Otherwise, changing the POS system after your business is well-established can be an overwhelming task.

Cost

The cost of the POS solution can make a big difference when it comes to provider selection. Though I understand that long-term benefits of the POS system are worth the high price, it can be prohibitive for small businesses. In more detail, small businesses might need to make a massive investment in salon POS software that might risk their whole processes. Therefore, when you choose a provider and POS type, ensure that its price fits your budget. You can either buy the entire system or use it based on fees. No matter whether you need a nail salon, hair salon, spa, or barbershop POS, you need to do extensive research about providers and costs before selecting one. 

Bonus Tip

After so many features to consider, you might feel overwhelmed. Many different providers offer various products. If you do not have much information about POS solutions, you might not be able to choose the salon POS software that fits the unique needs of your business. At this point, Posvice comes to the rescue. Posvice offers you a platform to access information about various companies and review feedback from their real clients. Besides, the most crucial function of this platform is that it allows comparing. All you need to do is selecting the products you want to compare. You will see a comparison of POS software products based on their price, supported platforms, or other offerings like free trials. Posvice assists you in choosing the best option for your business.