Ways to Optimise Your Salons’ Finances

Optimising salon finances requires a strategic approach to maximise revenue and minimise costs. One effective way to boost repeat business is by offering membership programs. These programs incentivise customers to return regularly in exchange for discounts or exclusive perks. Memberships not only increase customer loyalty but also provide a predictable income stream, which is crucial for long-term financial stability.

Another impactful strategy is to implement online booking systems. This can significantly reduce no-shows by offering clients reminders and easy rescheduling options. No-shows can be a major drain on revenue, and providing a convenient, user-friendly booking system encourages clients to stick to their appointments, minimising lost income.

On our Enterprise package we offer your own unique online booking link where your customers can book in. We also offer the option for customers to be able to purchase your services from their online account bringing you more revenue even when your salon is closed!

 

To attract more clients during slower periods, salons can introduce promotions or discounts during off-peak hours. Offering time-limited specials or discounted services during these quieter times can help fill empty slots that would otherwise generate no revenue. It's a smart way to keep staff busy and maximise the utilisation of resources.

 

Regularly reviewing and planning your expenses is essential for managing costs effectively. By keeping a close eye on overheads and recurring expenses, you can identify areas where you might be overspending and implement adjustments. For example, cutting back on unnecessary purchases or negotiating better terms with suppliers can significantly lower operational costs.

 

Managing energy consumption is also a simple but often overlooked way to save money. For example, turning off light switches in unused rooms when not needed can help lower your electricity bill. Implementing energy-saving practices where possible can contribute to long-term savings.

 

It's also worth considering if any equipment or supplies can be sourced from cheaper suppliers. Regularly researching market options and renegotiating with vendors may yield better deals, helping you reduce costs without compromising quality.

 

Finally, a crucial step in optimising finances is to regularly evaluate your pricing structure. Raising prices might be necessary to cover rising costs or reflect the value of your services. Even small price adjustments can make a big difference to your bottom line, so ensure your pricing stays competitive while supporting your profit margins.

We hope this blog helped you with some ideas on how you can optimise your finances and continue bringing in revenue for your salon!

 

Salon Tracker x

Enterprise Features on Salon Tracker

This weeks blog is going to focus on how our customers have benefited from upgrading to our Enterprise Subscription. 

For those of you who aren’t aware, our Enterprise Subscription includes our Online Booking and Siteview features, as well as access to Cloud Storage. 

Over the course of the past few months we have had numerous customers upgrading to the Enterprise package, specifically for the ability to use Online Bookings.

Because who doesn't love the idea of getting bookings in even when your salon is shut?

Online Bookings

Our customers see a significant growth in bookings when they introduce the online booking system into their salon as, naturally, online booking offers customers the flexibility of being able to book an appointment at any time of the day. There are several other benefits of introducing an online booking system, such as reduced phone calls and emails, as customers are able to book at their own accord instead of contacting you and your team. For those of you that own Tanning Salons, customers are able to see their remaining minutes on their account. Customers also have the ability to see your opening hours and an interactive map view of where the salon is for those that may not have visited before.

Siteview

Our Siteview feature is one that has been useful to our customers for years now. With this feature you are able to view all your customer records, your calendar  and even generate all your reports so you can view your sales from the comfort of your own home. We also offer the option to book, edit and cancel bookings straight from your phone through Siteview. 

This feature is perfect for all salons, so that if you get messages away from the salon you can still book clients in. Further, for anyone with self-employed stylists or beauticians, it can be set so that they can only view their own columns on the calendar, ensuring that double bookings aren’t being added. The calendar view will also allow employees to view their working hours, this is great for those of you that work in a rota format, as employees can quickly and easily check what days and times they’re working.

The Siteview app is ideal for taking a quick overview when you’re away from the salon, enabling you to look at a dashboard of the days takings, bookings and customers, as well as being able to see the reports.

Cloud Storage

With the Enterprise package you also get cloud storage. This means that if anything were to happen to your PC or laptop your data would be safely stored on the cloud where we can restore it for you on a new Salon Tracker. This is great for if you run into any trouble. You just have to make sure when shutting down Salon Tracker that your data is synced online.

Multisite


If you are a multisite, the Enterprise package is the perfect option for you! With Enterprise you are able to link your sites together so customers can use their minutes in any of your salons if you so wish.

If you have 3 or more sites you are also entitled to a free HQ when they are on our Enterprise package. This means you can access all of your sites on Salon Tracker to see your bookings, takings and reports. This is great for when you are unable to head into the salons and need to see what's going on!

If you would like to take a look at our Enterprise package in further detail don’t hesitate to contact us to get booked in for a free demo and trial on 0113 350 8230, or alternatively you can email info@salontracker.co.uk.

Salon Tracker x

Halloween Marketing Tips

 

As it is October, the spooky season is upon us!

Halloween is a delightful time of year where people come together and bond over all things wicked and wonderful. 

In this blog, you will learn some tricks and treats of the trade and how to implement the Halloween spirit into your salon and get your customers into the spooky mood.

 

Decorate your Salon

In order for your customers to get into the Halloween spirit, the first step is for you to decorate your salon accordingly.

This means pumpkins, cobwebs, ghosts, skeletons, you name it! 

You could also leave a bowl of Halloween sweets for people to take as they leave, and have a Halloween music playlist playing while the salon is open, to really get your customers into the spirit. 

If you are really wanting to take this year’s Halloween to the next level, you could request that staff come in with Halloween makeup and Halloween outfits! 

Halloween decorations is a great way for your salon to keep up-to-date with the season and show your customers that Halloween is a fun and frightful time of year.

Halloween Offers & Promotions

Running Halloween offers and promotions is a great way to boost your sales and get booked up during the spooky period. 

Offers such as devilish discounts, freakish freebies or rebellious refer a friend schemes are some ways that you can encourage your customers to get into the Halloween spirit. 

This will help to increase your revenues and profits and also get your current customer base spreading the word to their friends and family, potentially resulting in new customers!

 

Halloween Social Media Posts/ Email Marketing

In this day and age, you are able to share your thoughts and ideas with thousands of people at the click of a button. 

Why not use this to your advantage at this time of the year? 

Start creating Halloween themed social media posts and stories to show your current customer base and potential new customers that your salon is participating in the spooky season! 

You could post how you’ve decorated your salon to show your customers you are participating in Halloween, or you could post your Halloween offers and promotions to remind your customers these are running and how long they are running for so that they don’t miss out. 

You could also send out Halloween emails to your customers, reminding them of these offers and link your social media handles to the emails for customers to take a further look into these.

 

All of these methods of marketing are great ways for your salon to prepare for the Halloween season. Your customers should leave your salon feeling ready for the spooky season!

Salon Tracker x

How to Maintain a Sun-Kissed Glow: Autumn 2024 Look Book

As the leaves change and the air turns crisp, it’s easy to miss that radiant summer glow. But just because summer is over doesn’t mean your tan has to be! Autumn is actually the perfect time to keep your skin looking beautifully bronzed—without worrying about damaging sun exposure. Let’s dive into how you can maintain that gorgeous, sun-kissed glow all season long, effortlessly.

1. Offer sun sessions for a Flawless Glow

As the days grow shorter and cooler, spending time in the sun isn’t really an option. That’s where tan beds come in!

At your salon you can showcase the opportunity to give your customer the perfect bronze tan —whether you want a light, subtle glow or a deeper tan that looks like you just came back from vacation.

 

2. Extend Your Tan with Tanning Lotions

To help your tan last longer, we recommend using a high-quality tanning lotion. Hydration is key when it comes to maintaining a glowing tan as dry skin can lead to faster fading and uneven patches. In your salon you can offer a variety of lotions that not only hydrate your skin but also help your tan stay fresh and even!

Pro tip: Let your customers know that they should exfoliate before applying your tanning lotion! It’ll help remove dead skin cells, allowing the cream to go on smoother and their tan to last longer.

 

3. Autumn-Ready Skin Prep

Your skin changes with the seasons, and autumn is the time to shift to more nourishing and hydrating products. After the sun-soaked days of summer, your skin might be feeling a little dry or damaged. The cooler air doesn’t help, either! Salons can offer rejuvenating body treatments and facials that are perfect for prepping skin for a long-lasting tan.

Offering treatments or products in your salon with ingredients like aloe vera, shea butter, and vitamin E is great during Autumn. These ingredients will replenish and repair their skin during these colder, dryer months.

 

4. Embrace the Warm, Autumn Glow

One of the best things about autumn tanning? The warm, golden tones that complement autumnal fashion so beautifully. Whether you’re layering cosy sweaters or rocking a new lipstick, that hint of bronze on your skin will make everything pop.

We love pairing a fresh tan with rich autumn colours like burgundy, mustard, and olive green—hello, ultimate autumn vibes!

 

5. Pamper Yourself with a Seasonal Spa Day

Why not treat yourself to a full beauty refresh this autumn? Pair your tanning session with a hydrating facial, a body scrub, or even a mani-pedi for the ultimate seasonal self-care day. You’ll leave feeling refreshed, glowing, and ready to take on all the autumn activities with a radiant complexion.

 

If you are interested in getting booked in with us for a free demonstration or 2 week free trial of our software then just give us a call on 0113 350 8230 or drop us an email at info@salontracker.co.uk!

Salon Tracker x

Autumn Marketing Tips for your Salon

 

As today marks the first day of October, it is now officially autumn! Autumn is one of those seasons that you either love or hate.

Autumn lovers will be wrapping up in their warm fleece-lined coat to go for a walk in the park, watching the golden leaves fall from the trees with a hot chocolate in their hand.

Autumn haters will be sat inside longing to go back in time to relive their best Summer moments.

Whether you are an autumn lover or hater, this blog will give you some tips on how to get your salon ready for the cosy season!

 

Tip 1 – Decorate your Salon

Get your customers to be on your vibe by decorating your salon with autumn decorations.

This could be some artificial leaf garlands, artificial pumpkins, fairy lights or anything that gives you that autumn aesthetic!

If you offer complimentary drinks to your customers, try purchasing pumpkin spice, ginger or chai powders/syrups, for them to spice up their usual coffee or hot chocolate and to get in the autumnal spirit.

Tip 2 – Autumn Offers

Autumn may mean feeling blue for some, so what better way to cheer up your customers than having an autumn offer!

This could be a discount on sunbed courses or extra free minutes when purchasing a course if you are a tanning salon, for customers to prolong that summer tan so they can still get their vitamin D, which is a mood boosting vitamin.

This could be a discount on beauty services or a free product when booking a beauty service if you are a beauty salon, to give your customers that confidence and serotonin boost.

 

Tip 3 – Getting Prepared!

As calm as the autumn season may be, there is also a hectic season just around the corner from this, Christmas.

Christmas in the salon industry is one of the busiest periods, as everyone is wanting to book appointments to look their best for the most wonderful time of the year.

Now that summer is over, this is the perfect time to start taking bookings for the Christmas period.

Posting on your social media accounts encouraging your customers to get their Christmas appointments booked in is a great way to remind them to book in advance to guarantee them a slot at their desired date and time.

If you still have some Christmas openings nearer the time and you want to get them filled in, try posting your available slots on your social media.

This will allow for more potential customers to easily access your availability and choose a time that suits them.

 

All of the tips above will guarantee to get your customers into the autumn spirit!

 

Salon Tracker x

What Makes us so Good at Tanning?

Here at Salon Tracker, we have been providing salon management software for tanning salons since 2008 under the original name of ‘Studio Tracker.’

We were originally exclusively for tanning salons, however over the years we have branched out into other types of salons in the beauty industry, leading to us rebranding as Salon Tracker.

Here are some key features of Salon Tracker that make us your number one choice for tanning salons:

T-Max and Sigma Integration

We offer T-Max and Sigma integration on our Professional and Enterprise packages.

This means that once ‘confirm’ is clicked on Salon Tracker, the minutes are automatically sent to the specific sunbed rather than the use of tokens or manually putting minutes on each sunbed.

Free Support

We offer FREE support, Monday to Friday, 9am-5pm.

This means that if you have any queries about our software, our team is only a phone call away!

If support is needed outside of these hours, we have an array of help videos that range from 30 seconds to 3 minutes long that cover every kind of FAQ.

They can be accessed via the ‘Help’ section of Salon Tracker or in the ‘Help’ tab on our website.

Minute Tracking

When customers purchase sunbed courses, Salon Tracker automatically keeps count of how many minutes customers have left on their courses. 

This is a useful feature as it is more convenient for staff and leaves no room for human error.

Stock Management

On our Professional and Enterprise packages, we offer the ‘Stock Management’ feature.

This feature is useful for tanning salons that sell retail products such as sunbed creams, eye protection, beverages etc.

This allows the amount of each retail product in stock to be accounted for, and there is also the feature of adding a specific warning level when the amount of a certain product is low.

This is an efficient method of stock management as the amount left of each product can be easily accessed in the ‘Products’ tab on the right-hand side.

Salons will also be notified when their products reach the warning level, prompting them to re-stock these products before stock runs out.  

Waiting List

On the timer view of our software, there is a ‘waiting list’ under each sunbed.

This allows customers waiting for a specific bed during busy periods to add customers onto the ‘waiting list’ in order for them to be automatically added to the bed when it becomes free.

Booking Rules

We offer a ‘Booking Rules’ section, meaning that salons can be run within their preferred guidelines.

There are multiple types of rules in this section that can be altered to suit each salon’s preferences.

For example, salons can limit customers’ usage of their sunbeds such as every 24 hours or even add a limit on how many bookings they’re allowed a year.

 

All of these features combined are evidence of our outstanding track record as a tanning salon software.

Want to see for yourself? Sign up for a free demonstration and a 2-week free trial today on our website www.salontracker.co.uk or give us a call on 0113 350 8230.

 

Salon Tracker x

How Social Media can Benefit your Salon

In today’s digital age, having a strong social media presence is essential for any business, including beauty and tanning salons. Social media offers an unparalleled opportunity to connect with your clients, showcase your services, and build a loyal community. Whether you’re new to social media or looking to enhance your current strategy, here’s a guide on how to use social media to benefit your salon.

Showcase Your Work with High-Quality Visuals

Salons thrive on visual appeal, making platforms like Instagram, Facebook, and TikTok ideal for showcasing your work. Post high-quality photos and videos of your services—whether it's a stunning before-and-after tan, a flawless manicure, or a trendy haircut. Use professional lighting and consider investing in a good camera to ensure your images are sharp and vibrant. Regularly updating your feed with fresh content keeps your audience engaged and showcases the range of services you offer.

Engage with Your Audience

Social media is not just about posting content; it's about building relationships. Engage with your audience by responding to comments, answering questions, and thanking clients for their positive feedback. You can also use polls, Q&A sessions, and live videos to interact with your followers in real-time. By being responsive and interactive, you show that your salon values its customers, which can lead to increased loyalty and word-of-mouth referrals.

Promote Special Offers and Discounts

Social media is a powerful tool for promoting special offers, discounts, and seasonal deals. Create eye-catching posts or stories that highlight your promotions, and encourage your followers to share them with their networks. You can also run exclusive social media contests or giveaways to attract new clients. For example, offer a free service to a randomly selected follower who shares your post or tags a friend. This not only boosts engagement but also increases your salon’s visibility.

Leverage User-Generated Content

Encourage your satisfied clients to share their experiences on social media and tag your salon. User-generated content (UGC) is a powerful form of social proof that can help attract new clients. Repost these photos or testimonials on your own social media pages to showcase real-life examples of your work. UGC not only builds trust but also creates a sense of community around your brand.

Educate and Inspire with Content

Beyond showcasing your services, use social media to educate and inspire your audience. Share beauty tips, skincare routines, and tanning advice that can add value to your followers' lives. You can also post behind-the-scenes content to give a glimpse into your salon’s daily operations, or highlight the expertise of your staff. Educational content positions your salon as an authority in the industry and builds trust with potential clients.

Use Hashtags Strategically

Hashtags are essential for increasing the discoverability of your posts on platforms like Instagram and Twitter. Use a mix of popular and niche hashtags related to beauty, tanning, and your local area to reach a broader audience. For example, #BeautySalon, #Tanning, and #YourCityName can help your posts appear in relevant searches. Creating a unique hashtag for your salon can also encourage clients to tag their photos, further boosting your brand’s visibility.

Track Your Performance and Adjust Your Strategy

Social media platforms offer built-in analytics tools that allow you to track the performance of your posts. Pay attention to metrics such as engagement rates, reach, and follower growth to understand what content resonates most with your audience. Use this data to refine your strategy, posting more of what works and adjusting what doesn’t. Regularly reviewing your social media performance ensures that your efforts are driving real results for your salon.

Run Paid Social Media Campaigns

While organic reach is important, investing in paid social media campaigns can give your salon an extra boost. Platforms like Facebook and Instagram offer targeted advertising options that allow you to reach specific demographics based on location, interests, and behaviors. A well-crafted ad campaign can attract new clients, promote upcoming events, or increase bookings for specific services. Start with a small budget, and experiment with different ad formats to see what works best for your salon.

Build a Community

Ultimately, the goal of your social media presence should be to build a community around your brand. Encourage your clients to follow your pages, interact with your posts, and share their experiences. Host virtual events, like live beauty tutorials or Q&A sessions, to foster a sense of connection. By creating a community, you turn one-time visitors into loyal clients who will keep coming back to your salon.

Social media is a powerful tool that can significantly benefit your beauty or tanning salon. By showcasing your work, engaging with your audience, and leveraging the right strategies, you can increase your salon's visibility, attract new clients, and build a loyal customer base. Whether you're promoting special offers, collaborating with influencers, or educating your followers, social media offers endless opportunities to grow your salon business. Start implementing these tips today to see how social media can transform your salon’s success.

Salon Tracker x