The key to choosing the right salon management system for your business

Sharn Necchi on what you should be asking yourself before investing in a new solution:

Selecting the right software can be stressful as there’s so much choice out there, from cloud-based systems that require a consistent internet connection to those that are embedded into a computer and don’t rely on connectivity.

The first thing you need to ask yourself is “what are you looking to change about how you run your salon?” When I ask potential clients this question most of them say they want to book appointments quickly and have a better understanding of their financial status, but you also need to think about how the system can change the way you complete your everyday tasks for the better.

List the things you think this new software might be able to help you with and then order your thoughts into two lists – “must-haves” and “would likes”. This will help you understand what’s important to your business, but don’t forget to think about which hardware the software will be running on as this is a crucial factor.

Budget is also important. If you’re coming from a paper book system to software then your expenditure will have been very minimal up until now so you may be shocked to hear the costs of salon management systems, but it’s worth it. If you’ve had a system in place for many years and haven’t looked around for a better deal, now may be the time for a change.

Sharn Necchi is client relationship manager at salon software provider Salon Partner. She is responsible for new client set-up, customer support and technical advice.