How to Simplify Your Salon in One Afternoon

You have read the stats. You have seen what other salons are doing. You know the benefits of online booking, automated reminders, and connected salon management. Now the question is: how do you actually get started? The good news is that it is simpler than most people expect. In our experience, most salon owners set up online booking – and connect it to their POS, reminders, and loyalty – in a single afternoon.

Before you start: what you will need

Keep it simple. All you really need is:

A list of the services you want available for online booking (you do not need to list everything – start with your most popular). Your team’s working hours for the week. Your salon’s logo and a couple of good photos. A decision on deposits: will you require one? If so, what percentage? (20% is a good starting point.)

That is your prep. Everything else happens in the setup itself.

Step 1: Set up your services (15 minutes)

Choose which services you want clients to see when they book online. You might start with your core offerings – cuts, colours, treatments – and leave specialised or consultation-based services for phone booking.

For each service, the pricing and duration will already be in your system if you have been using your POS. If you are setting up fresh, enter the basics: service name, price, and how long it takes.

You can always add more services later. Starting with your top 5-10 is perfectly fine.

Step 2: Set up your team (10 minutes)

Choose which staff members will be available for online booking. Not everyone needs to be listed – if someone prefers phone-only bookings or is still in training, leave them off for now.

For each team member, make sure their working hours are set correctly. If you are using Simple Rostering, this is a simple weekly schedule. If your team has rotating hours, Advanced Rostering lets you set different schedules for different weeks.

The booking system will only show clients times when the selected stylist is actually working. No risk of someone getting booked on their day off.

Step 3: Personalise your booking page (10 minutes)

Your online booking page is essentially a mini-website for your salon. Add your logo, a good description, and some photos that show off your space and your work.

This page has a unique URL that is searchable on Google, so it is worth spending a few minutes making it look polished. Think of it as a first impression – because for new clients finding you through search, it is.

Keep the description short and warm. What kind of salon are you? What is the experience like? What should new clients expect?

Step 4: Choose your payment settings (5 minutes)

Decide how you want to handle online booking payments:

Pay in person – Clients book online and pay when they arrive. Simplest option, no barriers to booking.

Pay a deposit – Clients pay a percentage when they book (typically 20%). Great for reducing no-shows while keeping the upfront cost reasonable.

Pay in full – Clients pay the complete service cost when booking. Maximum commitment, but can deter some first-time bookers.

There is no wrong answer here. If no-shows have been a problem, deposits are worth trying. If you are just getting started with online booking, pay in person removes any friction.

Step 5: Switch on reminders (5 minutes)

Automated appointment reminders are one of the highest-impact features you can enable, and they take almost no time to set up.

Choose whether to send reminders via SMS, email, or both. Set the timing – 24 hours before is the most common. Clients receive a message reminding them of their appointment, with the option to confirm or get in touch to reschedule.

This single step can reduce your no-show rate significantly, and once it is set up, it runs on autopilot.

Step 6: Add your Book Now button (10 minutes)

Now that your booking page is live, put it in front of your clients:

Website – Add a Book Now button to your homepage and navigation menu. If you are embedding the booking page, your software will provide a simple code snippet to paste in.

Facebook – Set your page’s main action button to Book Now and link it to your booking URL.

Instagram – Add your booking link to your bio. Reference it in posts: Link in bio to book.

Email signature – Add the booking URL to every email you send.

This takes about 10 minutes across all platforms, and it is the step that puts your booking system to work.

Step 7: Tell your clients (5 minutes)

Do not assume your clients will find your booking page on their own. Send a quick announcement via text or email: Great news – you can now book your appointments with us online, 24/7!

One message is enough to get the word out. Clients will discover it naturally from there, especially if your Book Now buttons are visible.

Total time: about an hour

That is it. Services, team, booking page, payments, reminders, Book Now buttons, client announcement. An afternoon’s work – realistically closer to an hour – and your salon is set up to take online bookings.

Most salon owners tell us the setup was easier than they expected. And the relief of having bookings arrive automatically, reminders go out on their own, and clients find them through Google is immediate.

You have earned a simpler way

You did not start your salon to spend your days on admin and phone calls. You started it because you are brilliant at what you do and you wanted to build something of your own.

Online booking – connected to everything else – gives you back the time and headspace to focus on exactly that.

Starting at $20 USD/month, it is one of the smallest investments you can make with one of the biggest returns.

Is your salon ready for online booking? Take our quick readiness quiz to find out. Take the Readiness Quiz →