Write down the current booking journey
Follow a real appointment from the first call or message through confirmation, arrival, service and rebooking. Note where information is copied, where staff wait for an answer and where mistakes appear.
This turns a vague software search into a set of jobs the new system must perform.
Separate must-haves from attractive extras
For one salon, customer self-booking and deposits are essential. Another already has enough demand and mainly needs a shared calendar, client history and staff access. Treat these as different buying problems.
- How appointments enter the diary
- Whether clients must self-book online
- Number of staff and permission levels
- Client notes and import requirements
- Marketplace discovery and payment needs
- Reporting, support and cancellation terms
Calculate the complete monthly cost
Include the subscription, extra users, locations, marketplace commission, payment fees, SMS charges, hardware and optional promotion. Use a typical month and a busy month rather than relying on a headline price.
Check whether prices include VAT and whether introductory terms change later. Save a copy of the terms you relied on.
Test the difficult cases during the trial
Create a long service, move an appointment, add staff time off, import a duplicate client and try the product from a phone. Ask a staff member who did not configure the account to complete the same tasks.
A successful demo is helpful; a realistic working test is better.
Check data exit as well as data entry
Ask how to export client and appointment data if the salon later changes systems. Confirm what happens after cancellation and how long records remain accessible. A system should not become impossible to leave.