Part 8 of Spring Sorted: the 8-week series on getting your salon Christmas ready.
This is the Christmas ready salon checklist the whole series has been building towards: seven ticks, and a December that mostly runs itself.
Eight weeks ago it was September, Christmas was a vague pile of things to get to, and the honest plan was to deal with it in November. Here we are in November, and if you have been following along there is not much left to deal with.
Eight weeks ago vs now
Eight weeks ago the roster was last summer's, the phone was the only way in, bookings held only as firmly as people's good intentions, and a decent number of your regulars had quietly stopped being regulars without either of you noticing.
Now the hours are real and online, clients can book at any hour of the night, the bookings that land stay landed, the people who drifted have been invited back, the reminders send themselves, the quiet Tuesday has an offer aimed at it, and your closure dates are out in the world.
That is the argument for doing it this way rather than in one heroic weekend. A list of twenty things gets postponed. One thing a week, for eight weeks, gets done, and by the end you are looking at the same twenty things finished.
None of it was hard. Each week was one small job. That is the only reason it got done.
The Christmas ready salon checklist, all seven ticks
1. Roster locked for October to December
Your team's real hours are in Advanced Rostering, leave and December trading included, and your online booking mirrors them automatically. Everything else on this list sits on top of it. Read part one or go straight to the rostering guide.
2. Online booking switched on and promoted
Clients can book at nine at night without ringing you, and the link is in your Instagram bio, your Google Business Profile, your voicemail and your email signature. Read part two or the online booking overview.
3. Deposits on for online bookings
Online > Admin > Require Deposit, amount chosen, saved. Every December booking is committed from the moment it is made. Read part three or the deposits setup guide.
4. Clients with no future bookings invited back
You ran the filter, you saw the number, and you sent one warm message with your booking link. Read part four or the guide to marketing to clients with no future bookings.
5. Smart Send re-book reminder running
Due-back clients get a friendly nudge automatically, in your wording rather than the default. Smart Send Plus is there under Admin > Messaging when you want more. Read part five or the re-book reminder guide.
6. Spring promo code live and sent by SMS
One code, aimed at your quietest slot, applying itself when the client books online. Read part six or the Advanced Discounting guide.
7. Closures announced, public holiday surcharges automated
Clients know your holiday dates, the closed days cannot be booked, and your surcharge applies itself at the till. Read part seven or the automatic surcharges guide.
While you are tidying the last of it, put your holiday hours on your Google listing too. Google has a special hours setting for exactly this, and it is the first place people check on a public holiday.
Anything unticked? Pick one and finish it today
Almost nobody gets seven out of seven, and it is not a test. If you have four, you are in better shape than you were in September and considerably better shape than most salons heading into December.
If you are going to do one more thing this week, do the one with the shortest distance between effort and effect. That is usually deposits, because it is two minutes and it protects the most expensive slots in your year. If deposits are already on, do the re-book reminder, because it works every day afterwards without you.
The one to leave until last, if something has to go, is the promo code. It is the only item on the list that is about filling gaps rather than protecting what you already have, and in December most salons do not have many gaps to fill. Save it for February, when it will earn more.
Every one of these is built into Simple Salon and ready to switch on. There is nothing here to buy and nothing to install.
What is next
Spring Sorted finishes here, but the season does not. From 16 November we are on to gift vouchers for Black Friday, which is the single easiest December revenue most salons leave on the table. Then from 30 November, The 12 Days of Simple Salon, which is exactly as festive as it sounds.
For now though: your roster is set, your book is protected, your reminders are running and your admin is done. Go and enjoy the busiest, best part of the year.
Questions salon owners ask before Christmas
What should a salon do before Christmas?
In order: set the roster so the hours exist, switch on and promote online booking, turn on deposits, invite back clients with no future booking, automate your re-book reminders, aim one promo code at your quietest slot, and announce closures and set public holiday surcharges. That is the whole list.
What is the fastest way to get a salon Christmas ready?
Roster first, deposits second. The roster decides what can be booked at all, and deposits decide whether what gets booked actually holds. Between them they cover most of what goes wrong in December, and together they take about fifteen minutes.
Does Simple Salon include all of these features?
Yes. Rostering, online booking, deposits, client filtering, automated messaging and discounting are built in and ready to switch on. Pricing is in AUD per Bookable Operator and capped at 7 operators, with Starter at $25, Pro at $45 including 200 SMS per operator monthly, and Max at $55 with 300.
The Spring Sorted series
Eight weeks, one simple step at a time, until your salon walks into December completely handled.
- Part 1: How to Set Up Your Salon Roster for the Christmas Rush
- Part 2: Salon Online Booking: Stop Losing Clients When You Are Busy
- Part 3: Salon Booking Deposits: How to Protect Your December
- Part 4: How to Get Salon Clients to Rebook Before Christmas
- Part 5: Automated Salon SMS Reminders That Fill Your Book
- Part 6: Salon Promotion Ideas: Promo Codes and SMS Offers for Spring
- Part 7: Salon Public Holiday Surcharges and Closures Made Easy
- Part 8: The Christmas Ready Salon Checklist (you are here)
Walk into December sorted
Already with Simple Salon? Run the checklist. Switch it on today for anything still unticked, and give yourself the quiet December you have earned.
Not with us yet? Every item on this list is one system rather than seven, which is the only reason it adds up to an hour instead of a project. Start your free trial and walk into December sorted. See what it costs, or look at what is built in.
