How hair salon businesses use SalonBook
A hair salon runs on time blocks that vary widely. A men's cut is 30 minutes, a women's cut and blow-dry is 60, a full balayage with toner can be three hours. SalonBook lets you set a duration for every service, so the calendar reflects what actually happens at the chair and clients can only book slots that fit.
Most salons set up SalonBook in an afternoon. You add your stylists, build the service menu, set each stylist's working hours and breaks, and connect Stripe, Square or PayPal for payments. The booking page goes live at ocmpro.com/your-salon immediately, and you can point a custom domain at it on the Pro plan.
The day-to-day for a stylist
Stylists open the calendar on their phone in the morning and see their day, with client notes attached to each appointment. Before a color client arrives, the stylist can read the last formula and the notes from the previous visit. After the service, they add the new formula and anything the client mentioned, then book the next appointment while the client is still in the chair.
When a client cancels inside your policy window, the waitlist takes over. SalonBook offers the opening to clients who asked to be notified for that stylist or service, and the first to accept fills the slot without anyone at the front desk making calls.
The day-to-day for an owner
Owners use the reports to see bookings, revenue and no-show rates by stylist and by service. The client list shows who has not visited in more than eight weeks, which is the group most salons target with a follow-up message. Gift certificates, memberships and loyalty points are all managed in the same place, so a client's balance is visible at checkout.
Start free, upgrade when you add staff
SalonBook pricing is flat and public. The Free plan costs $0 per month and covers one stylist, five services, online booking, a calendar, a client list, email confirmations and a public website with the theme studio. A solo stylist renting a chair can run their whole book on it.
The Pro plan is $39 per month, or $348 per year (about $29 per month billed annually), and covers up to three staff members with unlimited services and products. Pro adds deposits and cancellation fees, SMS reminders, the waitlist, the client portal, intake forms with digital signature, loyalty, referrals, gift certificates, memberships, an online shop, invoices with tipping, reports, all ten website templates, custom CSS, the embed widget, a custom domain with SSL, and Google Tag Manager and Meta Pixel support.
Enterprise is $89 per month, or $828 per year (about $69 per month annually), for unlimited staff, plus a JSON data API and headless mode. Every paid plan includes a 14-day free trial, has no contract and no setup fee, and can be cancelled at any time.
| Salon size | Plan | Monthly price | What you get |
|---|---|---|---|
| Solo stylist or suite renter | Free | $0 | 1 staff, 5 services, online booking, calendar, client list, public website |
| 2–3 chair salon | Pro | $39 (or $29/mo annually) | Up to 3 staff, deposits, SMS reminders, waitlist, forms, loyalty, custom domain |
| 4+ chairs or multiple locations | Enterprise | $89 (or $69/mo annually) | Unlimited staff, everything in Pro, JSON API, headless mode |
There is no marketplace commission, no per-booking fee and no per-client acquisition fee on any plan. Your payment processor (Stripe, Square or PayPal) charges its own processing fees, and SalonBook does not add to them.
Getting your clients to book online
The best hair salon appointment app does nothing if clients keep calling. These four steps move most of a salon's bookings online within a few weeks.
- Add your SalonBook page as the Book link on your Google Business Profile. Clients searching your salon name see a booking button directly in the search result.
- Put the same link in your Instagram bio and in the link on every post that shows your work. Service photos in SalonBook mean the client lands on the exact service they saw.
- Embed the booking widget on your existing website if you have one, so clients never leave your site to book.
- Turn on 24-hour and 1-hour reminders and post-visit follow-ups. Each message carries a link back to the booking page, which trains clients to self-serve.
Clients who book online can also use the client portal to reschedule or cancel within your policy, view invoices, save a card, check loyalty points and send referrals. Every reschedule they handle themselves is one fewer phone call for the front desk.
| Task | Paper book or texting | SalonBook |
|---|---|---|
| Booking after hours | Client waits until you open | Client books 24/7 from the website or Instagram |
| Reminders | Manual texts the night before | Automated SMS and email at 24h and 1h |
| No-shows | Lost revenue, no recourse | Deposit or no-show fee under your policy |
| Color formulas | Index cards or memory | Notes and visit history on the client record |
| Filling a cancellation | Call down a list | Waitlist auto-books the next client |
| Rebooking | Depends on who is at the desk | Recurring appointments and follow-up messages |
Who SalonBook is for
SalonBook works for a single stylist in a suite, a three-chair neighborhood salon, and a multi-stylist salon that needs unlimited staff. Because the Free plan has no time limit and paid plans are flat, you can start small and add staff as the salon grows without a pricing surprise.
If you currently rely on a marketplace app, the biggest change is that clients who find you become your clients, with their history and preferences in your CRM, and no commission taken on the visit.
Set up your service menu, add your stylists and take your first online booking today.
Start freeFrequently asked questions
Is SalonBook free for a solo hair stylist?
Yes. The Free plan is $0 per month for one staff member with five services, online booking, a calendar, a client list, email confirmations and a public website. It does not expire.
Does SalonBook charge a commission on bookings?
No. SalonBook has no marketplace commission, no per-booking fee and no per-client acquisition fee. Only your payment processor's standard fees apply.
Can I require a deposit for color services only?
Yes. On the Pro plan you set deposits per service, as a partial or full amount, so long color services can require a deposit while quick cuts do not.
Can each stylist have their own hours and breaks?
Yes. Every staff member has their own availability, breaks and blocked time, and clients can book a specific stylist or choose "any available staff".
How do clients get reminders?
SalonBook sends email confirmations on every plan. The Pro plan adds SMS and email reminders at 24 hours and 1 hour before the appointment, plus follow-up messages after the visit.
Can I use my own domain for the salon website?
Yes. Pro and Enterprise plans include a custom domain with SSL. Every plan includes a page at ocmpro.com/your-salon with the theme studio.