Nail salons and other beauty salons can be extremely profitable. In the U.S, the average spending on nail salon services is $8.36 billion. If your nail salon could snag even a small percent of that amount, your business will do very well.
There are many factors that can determine if a nail salon business will be successful. For example, service quality, prices, location, employees, and many others. You could have the best nail salon service in the world, but if no one can find your location, it won’t be successful.
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Whether you plan to launch your own nail salon or you already own a nail salon business, the fact is having a good POS system can save you lots of time and frustration.
Most nail salons will manually take orders, a process that can be rather time-consuming and tedious. During busy hours, the slow POS system can create delays, and nobody likes waiting around for other people to complete their payment.
Overall, having a streamlined and modern POS system can do wonders for your nail salon business.
You can things like:
- Quickly Process Card Payments
- Create and Manage Bookings in Seconds
- Process Transactions
- Track Sales Data
- Manage Payrolls
- Track Clients and Create Customer Profiles
- Create a Loyalty System for Clients
- Track Best-Selling Services
- And Much More.
The problem is there are hundreds of POS systems. It can take a long time to figure out which one is the best for your business.
If you’re wondering what is the best POS system for nail salons. After many hours of research and tests, we finally narrowed down a list of POS systems that we think are perfect for nail salons.
Before we get into that…
What Makes a Good Nail Salon POS System?
Since a nail salon doesn’t have as many items as a convenience store or a restaurant, you don’t need POS systems that focus on high-inventory businesses. Nail salons probably don’t have as much traffic as those other businesses too. They’re categorized as a service industry.
In other words, your nail salon can operate well with the basics. What you want is a simple POS software that makes it easy for you and your manicurists to process services for clients. One with visual menus would be a plus.
Ipad-based software work great for these small-businesses because you can simply bring the Ipad over to the client and show them the list of services you offer, making it very easy for them to make a decision. With the right hardware, you can even have they swipe their card to process the payment in seconds.
Cloud-Based, On-Premise, or Hybrid POS System?
These are the three main categories that POS systems fall under. I’ll briefly summarize the categories.
Cloud-based POS software runs on your devices but the data is stored in the cloud, on a remote server. Local POS systems can be run entirely offline, and the data is stored on local hard drives on the local area network. And a hybrid system is a combination of those two.
If you’re wondering which type is the best, the answer is it depends. Most people, especially in service-based industries, will prefer cloud-based and hybrid systems. Local, or offline, POS systems can lead to a lot of issues down the line. They’re very old-school.
On the other hand, cloud-based systems are dependant on your internet connection. If it’s not strong or shuts down, then you’ll lose access to your system. Being shut out of your own sales system is very frustrating!
So as you probably guessed, the best of both worlds is a hybrid POS system. One that can work offline without an internet connection, as well as with one.
In the next section, we’ll mention our favorite nail salon POS software, and you’ll know which category they fall under.
Online Booking is Important:
When it comes to choosing a POS system for nail salons, another feature to consider is online booking and appointment management. If your salon can provide people with the option to make an appointment online, they’ll take it. An online payment method would be great too!
There are many POS platforms that offer online booking features. Most of them offer to create a free website for your business as well. Having a ready-made website with a template for your industry can save you the hassle of hiring a website designer and whatnot.
The goal is to make it as convenient as possible for your clients to order services from your salon. No more wait times. Once you develop a modern and streamlined POS system for your nail salon you’ll notice that not only is your business making more money, but your clients are much happier too.
Of course, creating a perfect POS system for your nail salon is easier said than done. Now that you have an idea of some features to keep an eye out for when browsing POS systems, let’s take a look at some of our recommended nail salon POS systems.
Let’s take a look at our recommended POS companies:
Best Nail Salon POS Software
Here’s what we think is the best nail salon POS software.
Square is a great POS software for service-based businesses. It’s an all-in-one suite of tools that you can use to improve your business. The cool thing about Square is it’s an app on Google Play and Itunes, meaning you can run it on Android and IOS devices. Not limited to Ipads only – which is great. Another notable feature is their Square Reader tool, a mobile device that processes card payments. You just plug the device (looks like an adapter) into your phone and have your client swipe their credit card to process the payment. It doesn’t get easier than that.
They also have terminals for accepting and printing receipts. Perfect for home-call manicures!
Besides that, Square has plenty of other features. They also have a point of sale hardware line, complete with software and hardware bundles and kits. It really is an all-in-one point of sale service.
Another Square feature is its customer booking websites. Clients book an appointment through your website and you can view your schedule on their free app. They have plenty of tools and hardware to use. With a few modifications, you can create a really smooth point of sale system with Square.
On the surface, Vagaro looks like a search engine for service-based establishments. But they offer a lot of other tools that are great for nail salons.
Vagaro is another all-in-one cloud-based POS platform. They not only have sales management software but also hardware bundles. Their hardware focuses more on the service industry, which makes it perfect for nail and beauty salons.
One thing I liked about Vagaro is their prices are very transparent, and their hardware bundles are budget-friendly. One of their flagship products is a wireless credit card reader with a dock.
They also have an “Essential” hardware kit for under $100. So you can buy some equipment without having to break the bank.
The software works great too. They have a really cool online booking system that integrates with Facebook, Yelp, and other platforms.
You can also view and manage your orders in the calendar view. Speaking of online booking, they include a custom website builder, so you can create a responsive website and start taking orders in minutes.
One interesting feature is the ability to create feedback surveys. You can create a wide range of surveys and forms to collect information from your clients, a great way to improve your service.
Overall, a good POS system for service-based businesses, like nail salons!
SimplyBook.me is a great online booking system for nail, spa, and hair salons. Unlike the other POS companies, Simply Book does not provide POS hardware. Instead, they’re more of a booking service with the option to integrate with a wide range of third-party tools.
That doesn’t mean it lacks features. SimplyBook has plenty of great features!
One of its main features is a client-booking website. It’s their strongest feature. You can customize the website as you see fit, and it can even handle online payments. They have plenty of hair salon templates too.
Another interesting thing about SimplyBook is it has a wide international reach. Their website can be translated into 12 languages.
Unfortunately, they don’t have an app at the moment. On the other hand, they claim an app is unnecessary because their website is mobile-responsive, so you can access it anywhere. Most of the work is done directly through their website.
If you’re just looking for a booking management service, then SimplyBook is great. It has plenty of booking features, and you can use it in a lot of countries, so your service isn’t limited to one location.
Combine that with the ability to take online payments, and you can create a well-managed business in no time. You can even create membership subscriptions and classes!
What is the Best Online Scheduling Software?
The best online scheduling software is one that has plenty of features and customization options. SimplyBook is one of the best online scheduling software.
It works with plenty of tools and social media platforms, has loads of website templates for various industries, creates detailed sales reports, and makes it easy to manage orders.
Nowadays, every service-based business should have a well-designed website with the capability of taking online orders. Most service websites will contain a phone number for bookings, but if you can make the process even easier by providing visitors with a form, you can get a lot more business.
There are also decent free options, Google Forms and Calendar can work well together for a free setup. Nevertheless, I recommend going with a professional option. It will save you the hassle.
What is the Best POS Software for Nail Salons?
For nail salons, online booking and appointment management is imperative. In our opinion, Square is one of the best POS software for nail salons because it has those features plus the hardware needed to successfully run a salon. Their software and hardware bundles are relatively budget-friendly too.
Ultimately, finding the perfect POS system boils down to your specific needs. You’re going to have to try out several until you find one that is a fit; it has the right features and for the right price. If you’re starting out for the first time, and you have no equipment, I recommend Square because they have great software and hardware bundles.
You also need to consider your employees. Manicurists need to have the option to accept tips and track their income. If you have employees, then that’s one feature to look for when choosing a POS software for your nail salon.
On the other hand, if you’re just looking for an appointment and booking management system, the other options are good choices too. SimplyBook is great for online bookings. Another company worth mentioning is Schedulr, which is quite similar to SimplyBook.
Overall, though, I think Square is the best place to start. You can also contact their sales team via live-chat or their phone hotline if you have any questions. They’ll be more than happy to provide the information you need.
The Bottom Line
With the right POS system, your nail salon can operate at peak efficiency. You can apply the same concepts to any other salon too, whether it’s hair, spa, or mobile services. You might have the idea of creating a mobile nail service.
Regardless of your industry, having an online booking and sales management software that is user-friendly and fast will do wonders for your business. Even something as simple as a wireless credit card reader can drastically improve sales.
If you make things easier for your clients, the chances of them coming back will likewise increase. The right software can save you so much time and stress by making everything so much easier for you.
So if you’re feeling frustrated with your current POS system, I recommend that you start your search with the three platforms mentioned in this article. Thanks for taking the time to read this post and I hope now you know what is the best nail salon POS system.
