Simple Salon vs Square Appointments
A Salon-First Alternative to Square Appointments
Purpose-built for hair and beauty businesses, with transparent pricing, your choice of payment processor, and tools that go far beyond basic scheduling.
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Bring your own processor
Square Appointments locks every payment through Square, even with rates you've already negotiated elsewhere. Simple Salon takes a BYO approach: connect the processor you want and keep your own rates.
Reporting built for salons
General scheduling tools report on appointments and revenue alone. Simple Salon's 40+ reports go deeper, covering rebooking rates, revenue per service and staff performance, the data a growing salon actually needs.
Automated rebook reminders
Smart Send fires rebook reminders, win-backs and appointment reminders by SMS, email or WhatsApp, on its own.
Why Salon Owners Are Switching From Square Appointments
Simple Salon is a Square Appointments alternative built specifically for salons rather than as a general-purpose tool for any service business. Multi-staff rostering, rebooking and retention reporting, loyalty, and memberships are built in for salons, so the salon-specific insight is included rather than something you pay extra to chase. Square Appointments is a capable scheduling tool, but it was built as a general-purpose solution for any service business, not specifically for salons.
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Owners managing multiple staff, tracking rebooking rates, or running loyalty and membership programs often find themselves hitting walls with the free tier or paying for a platform that still doesn't give them the salon-specific insight they need. If you're searching for a Square Appointments alternative that treats salon management as the primary use case, not an afterthought, Simple Salon is worth a close look.
The real cost: Square Appointments vs Simple Salon
| Feature / Cost | Simple Salon | Square Appointments |
|---|---|---|
| Monthly price (4 staff) | A$180 (A$45 × 4 operators) | $49-$149/location/mo (unlimited staff) |
| Payment processor | BYO (Tyro, Stripe, Worldline, PIN, Mercury, KPay) | Square only, cannot BYO |
| Salon-specific reports | 40+ reports incl. KPI dashboard, rebooking rate & benchmarking | Basic |
| Marketing automation | Smart Send included: rebook reminders, win-back, birthday, follow-up | Basic |
| Memberships & packages | Included | Add-on |
| Loyalty points | Included | Add-on |
| Multi-location management | Dome multi-location included | Separate subscription |
| BNPL (Afterpay, ZipPay) | Supported | Not available |
| SMS reminders | 200 SMS/operator/month included on Pro | Pay per message |
| Staff rostering | Full rostering included | Basic |
| Free trial | Yes | No (free plan, not a trial) |
• Square Appointments pricing: squareup.com/us/en/appointments/pricing, verified 23 August 2026, prices in USD per location • Simple Salon pricing: simplesalon.com/pricing, verified 23 August 2026, all prices AUD ex GST
You Shouldn't Be Locked into One Payment Processor
Square Appointments requires you to process every payment through Square. If you already have a preferred EFTPOS terminal, a negotiated rate with Tyro, or a setup with Stripe or Worldline, you can't use it. Simple Salon takes a BYO approach: connect the payment processor you want, keep the rates you've negotiated, and integrate Afterpay or ZipPay for clients who prefer to pay in instalments. Your payment setup is yours.
Reporting That's Built Around How Salons Actually Perform
General scheduling tools report on appointments and revenue. Simple Salon's 40+ reports go deeper: rebooking rates, revenue per service, staff performance, retail vs. service split, KPI benchmarking, and more. When you're trying to grow a salon business, you need data that reflects the metrics that actually matter, not generic booking charts.
Marketing Automation That Runs Without You
Square's marketing features are basic by design. Simple Salon's Smart Send automatically sends rebook reminders when a client is due back, win-back messages to lapsed clients, birthday offers, post-visit follow-ups, and appointment reminders via SMS, email, or WhatsApp. These campaigns run on their own. You set them up once and they keep working in the background.
Memberships, Packages, and Loyalty: All Included
With Square, memberships and loyalty points are add-ons that cost extra. With Simple Salon, they're part of the plan. Sell recurring memberships, pre-paid service packages, gift vouchers, and run a points-based loyalty program without bolting on extra products or paying additional monthly fees.
Fewer Wasted Gaps Between Your Appointments
When a client books online, Simple Salon can offer them the times right beside your existing appointments, either straight after one finishes or just before the next one starts. Your day then stays in bigger working blocks instead of breaking up into short gaps that are too small to fill.
Your data is yours, always
Some providers make it hard to leave, locking your client list and history behind a paywall, charging you to export your own data, or tying you into long contracts and other strange rules. We don’t play those games. With Simple Salon your clients, bookings and reports are always yours: export everything anytime, at no cost, with no lock-in. If you ever move on, you take it all with you.
Switching
Moving from Square Appointments takes a day, not a month
1
Export your data
Download your clients, services and history from Square Appointments. We’ll show you exactly where the buttons are.
2
We import it for you
Our team helps bring your client list and appointments across. Once we have your files, most salons are up and running within a day.
3
Keep taking bookings
Share your new booking link on your socials and your book keeps filling, now with no commission on new clients.
Ready to Try a Salon Management Tool Built for Salons?
Start a free trial and see why salons switch from Square Appointments to Simple Salon.
FAQ
Frequently asked questions
Is Simple Salon cheaper than Square Appointments for a multi-staff salon?
For a 4-operator salon, Simple Salon Pro works out to approximately A$180/month (A$45 per operator). Square Appointments Plus is USD $49/month per location, so the base price is lower, but Square's Plus plan lacks memberships, loyalty, and advanced reporting that are included in Simple Salon Pro. The real comparison depends on what add-ons you'd need to reach feature parity.
Can I keep my current EFTPOS terminal if I switch to Simple Salon?
Yes. Simple Salon supports BYO payment processors including Tyro, Stripe, Worldline, PIN Payments, Mercury, and KPay. With this salon software, you are not locked into a proprietary payment system.
Does Simple Salon have a free trial?
Yes. Simple Salon offers a free trial so you can evaluate this Square Appointments alternative before committing. Square Appointments has a free plan (limited to one location with basic features), but it is not a time-limited trial of the full product.
What reporting does Simple Salon offer that Square doesn't?
Simple Salon includes 40+ reports covering rebooking rates, revenue by service and staff, KPI dashboards, benchmarking, retail performance, and more. These are salon-specific metrics that help you run and grow your business, not generic analytics dashboards.
Does Simple Salon support online bookings through Google or social media?
Yes. Simple Salon supports Reserve with Google, Facebook booking, and Instagram booking, so clients can book directly from search results or your social profiles.
Does Simple Salon have a mobile app?
Yes. Simple Salon has iOS and Android apps for managing your salon on the go.