Choosing a Salon Software Program to meet your Needs

A quality salon software program can offer many advantages to your business and help you gain more success as your business grows while a poor program can actually hinder the success of your salon and decrease your overall productivity. There are several different things to consider when you are trying to find the right software, and some of those considerations will be based on your personal preferences. Many software companies offer free trial subscriptions, and as you try out different programs, you will come to find that even the way that information is presented on your computer screen may influence your decision. Your ultimate choice will depend on what works best for you, personally, but there are a few key features that should be included in any salon software program that is worth trying.

There are five basic features that your salon software should include in order for it to actually provide you with some assistance in running your business. First, the program you choose should have a client records operation that stores information about the services and products that each client has previously purchased. By maintaining a record of this type of information, the software enables you to customize your communications with clients. For example, you can send a client an email reminder about getting a haircut based on the amount of time that client has gone between haircuts in the past. You can also send email notifications to that client when certain products he or she has purchased before go on sale.

One of the most important operations that should be included in your salon software is a point of sale cash register. Most programs that are available will include this, but some are more advanced than others. A good point of sale operation will include all of the information about a sale on one page, so you do not have to continually click from one screen to the next to complete a transaction. The program should also be capable of calculating tax and gratuity for your customers.

Your salon software should also include a comprehensive scheduling operation that allows you to keep track of your employees. The employees that are paid an hourly wage will have to check in when they arrive and check out when they leave. This feature enables you to maintain better accuracy when you are reviewing timesheets and processing paychecks. If an employee is habitually late, his or her actual arrival time to work is recorded every day. In addition to accurate payment schedules, you can also quickly see and address problems with an employee's punctuality.

Your software should also include an inventory tracking operation. Some advanced programs allow you to track the sales of each product and set parameters for automated re-ordering. Some inventory tracking systems also include automatic updates for price changes from suppliers. The final requirement for a good salon software system is a marketing function. The marketing operation allows you to generate customer mailing lists and sales promotions, and keep track of sales trends. It also allows you to analyze your past promotional materials and their effectiveness based on your sales figures.

There are many excellent salon software programs to choose from, and only you can decide which program best fits your needs. You will want to find a program that includes all of the operations that you consider most important, but the program also needs to be easy to use and understand.