Custom Software for Salons & Spas
Salon and spa software — starting with whether you need any
For a lot of studios, a booking app like Square Appointments is the right answer, and we'll tell you so. When it isn't enough, we build the pieces around it: the website, client records, retail, and the messages that eat your evenings.
Sound familiar?
- Clients book through two different systems, and every so often two of them show up for the same chair.
- Booking requests are buried in Instagram DMs, somewhere between compliments, questions, and spam.
- No-shows leave an empty slot you could have filled, and there's no easy way to see who does it twice.
- Client notes, allergies, and consent forms live on paper, in a drawer, or in your memory.
- Retail sales are tracked loosely — you know the serum sells, not how many are left on the shelf.
Most studios should start with a booking app
If you're a solo artist or a small team, a booking tool like Square Appointments already handles online booking, appointment reminders, and card payments for far less than custom software costs. Our standard pricing is a $650 monthly platform fee plus $49 a month per person who signs in. For one person, that's $699 a month. That's real money for a solo studio, and for most of them the booking app is the better buy. We'll say that on the first call.
Custom work starts to pay off when the booking app is fine but everything around it isn't: two calendars that don't agree, client history scattered across paper and DMs, retail you can't see, and an owner answering messages at 11 p.m. Our guide on whether you need a custom booking system walks through the trade-off.
What we build for salons and spas
To be plain about it: our only salon project so far is the GEM Beauty Bar website. Everything else here is built to order.
A website built around one booking system
The site sends every booking to one system, so there's one calendar to trust. When we built the website for GEM Beauty Bar, a solo esthetics studio, the first decision was to run bookings through one system, Square, instead of paying for two. The site also has a rule-based skin-type quiz and structured data that helps search engines understand the studio. No AI in it. Status: Live.
Client records with consent and intake forms
Intake answers, allergies, treatment history, signed consent forms, and notes from each visit, all on the client's record where you can see them before the appointment starts. Access is set by role.
Retail and loyalty
Product sales tied to the client who bought them, stock counts that update as you sell, and a loyalty program that rewards regulars the way you actually want to. If your booking tool already does part of this well, we use it rather than rebuild it.
AI that drafts your replies, for you to approve
AI drafts a reply to a booking request or a client review. You read it, change what you want, and send it yourself. It doesn't book, refund, or post anything on its own.
A simple daily dashboard
One screen in the morning: today's appointments, who's new, who has an allergy or a consent form on file, yesterday's sales, and which products are running low.
Frequently asked questions
What does custom salon or spa software cost?
Our standard rates are a $650 monthly platform fee plus $49 a month for each person who signs in. A solo studio is $650 + $49 = $699 a month; a two-person studio is $650 + 2 × $49 = $748. The monthly fees cover hosting, monitoring, backups, security updates, bug fixes, and email support. Changes after launch are $150 an hour, done only after you approve them in writing, and text messaging is billed separately. Rates are adjusted to each project and confirmed in a written quote before work starts. For many solo studios a booking app is the better buy, and we'll tell you if that's you.
Will it work with Square or Vagaro?
Often, but it depends on the platform and your plan. Square publishes a Bookings API: on its paid Appointments plans, outside software can create, change, and cancel bookings, while the free plan allows less. Vagaro publishes a public API covering appointments, customers, employees, and locations, plus webhooks that announce changes. Some booking tools offer little more than an export. We check what your account actually allows before we quote anything that depends on it. If the honest answer is to stay on the tool you have, that's the answer you'll get.
Who owns our client list and records?
You do. We claim no ownership of your data. We own and maintain the software and license it to you while you're a client, which is why hosting, fixes, security updates, and monitoring are included. Either side can end the agreement with 60 days' written notice. On the way out, your data is made available for export in a common format, such as CSV, and you have 30 days after the agreement ends to take it. Transition help is available at the hourly rate. No hostage data.
How long does it take to build?
Simple tools have taken one to two weeks; a full operations platform has taken four to eight. Those are ranges from past projects, not promises. Your written quote includes the timeline for your project.
Tell us how your book fills up. We'll tell you whether you need us.
A short conversation about your studio, then a written quote — or a straight answer that your booking app already does the job.
Get a Quote