Skip to main content
Blog

It’s time to burn the salon appointment book

It’s time to burn the salon appointment book

I’ve been in the hair and beauty industry for over 30 years and let me tell you, these days it’s changing faster than ever. In my role as South Australian Sales Manager, I meet a lot of business owners trying to decide whether to stick with what they know – pen and paper – or get with the times and embrace technology.

Let me show you the biggest reasons why Shortcuts will revolutionise the way you do business – in the best way possible!

It will pay for itself… and then some

When I used to work in the salon, we would see the same issue over and over again. Say you have three different price levels for an updo, $75 for 30 minutes, $100 for 45 minutes and $125 for an hour. The team member making the original booking only scheduled a 30-minute appointment, however the service ends up taking an hour – you’ve effectively lost $50.

Now if you had a salon software system like Shortcuts in your business, you would have a record of who booked the original appointment as well as who changed the appointment length. This detailed appointment history allows you to hold your staff accountable and encourage them to correctly quote and charge for their time.

This is just one of the many ways that your salon software will help you boost your profits and recoup the initial start up cost as quickly as possible.

Your customers can book from Google

This is one we’re all super excited about at Shortcuts. If you’ve been following us lately, you may have seen our big announcement that we are now Google partners! One of the coolest parts about this is the soon-to-be released feature, Reserve with Google. In a nutshell, this will let your clients search for your business and book directly with you without leaving Google! This feature is already being used in similar industries and is having a HUGE impact on businesses.

I know what you’re thinking… How would that even work?

Well, we know your customers are already searching for you on Google. All Reserve with Google does is skip the middle man (your website) and give your customers an easier, quicker way to book an appointment. Your Shortcuts Appointment Book syncs automatically with Google to display a range of available appointment times. When booked, a new appointment will instantly appear on your main salon computer and anywhere else you access your Appointment Book.

Want to know more? Check out some FAQs here.

https://www.facebook.com/ShortcutsAustralia/posts/10156890515443991

Make better use of your time

We all know how easy it is for those 15 minute gaps to appear throughout your daily schedule. What may seem like nothing at first quickly adds up into a whole bunch of wasted time that could have been extra appointments earning you money!

One of the best parts about the Shortcuts Appointment Book is its integration with Online Booking. You have complete control over the appointments your clients see when they are booking with you online. We also have a few nifty tools within Shortcuts that can help you streamline your day.

First, employee booking intervals allow you to set the duration of appointments for each of your team. This ensures that the proper amount of time is being allocated for each appointment so your team are as productive as possible without leaving your customers waiting around.

You are also able to adjust the efficiency settings within Online Booking. A higher efficiency setting means your clients will be offered appointments that fill gaps in your schedule. When a customer is looking for an appointment online, they’ll first see options that are next to existing appointments in your schedule. This  feature leads to more solid blocks and less waiting around for you and your team! The popularity of Online Booking also means you’ll soon find yourself spending less time fielding phone calls and more time doing what you do best.

Bonus tip: Check out our new Cloud Appointment Book and there’ll be almost no need for you and your team to be wasting time behind the front desk!

See future earnings and plan ahead

As a business owner or salon manager, the reporting capabilities within Shortcuts will rock your world. The beauty of salon software is the visibility it gives you over your business. At any point, you are able to pull reports that look ahead and see the value of booked appointments for the day, the week or the month. This is a lifesaver when it comes to rostering staff, and enables you to work with your team to add value where needed. By coming to your morning meeting armed with this info, you are able to put your team in the frame of mind to suggest extra services, which not only means extra dollars for the employee, but more revenue for the business.

Burn the book

Over the years when I have coached salons through the process of moving from a paper appointment book to salon software, I would encourage a ceremonial burning of the book. Well… more like cracking of the champagne. And that’s because it really is a new beginning. Not just for your salon, spa or barbershop, but for your team and your clients too! If you’d like to learn how Shortcuts can help you take your business to new heights, let’s have a chat!