Choosing salon software: criteria and questions

Why a list of criteria works better than a ranking

A ranking of salon software is outdated quickly. Prices, packages and terms change, and what suits a hairdresser with five chairs does not automatically suit a freelance pedicurist working from home. A list of criteria stays true. On this page you will find ten points on which salon software really differs, with the question to ask every provider at each point.

We deliberately do not name other providers. You are best off reading current prices and terms at the source, and a guide without names stays useful for longer. After each criterion you can read how MyWest scores, using only things you can check yourself on the site or in the terms. That way you know where you can hold us to account.

1. A fixed fee or a price per staff member

Some providers charge a fixed amount per salon, others an amount per staff member or per diary. With a one-chair salon that makes little difference; with a team of five or eight the difference over a year can add up considerably. Also look beyond the introductory price: a low first month or a discount says nothing about what you pay in the second year, and a price excluding VAT is a different price from one including VAT.

• Ask every provider: what do I pay per month, including VAT, with one, three and eight staff members, and what changes after the introductory period?
• MyWest: three plans per salon, from EUR 19 per month excluding VAT (from EUR 22.99 including 21 percent VAT in the Netherlands). Bronze at EUR 19 is for 1 staff member, Silver at EUR 49 for up to 5 and Gold at EUR 79 for up to 15.

2. Commission on bookings through a marketplace

Some systems are also a marketplace. New clients find you through the platform and you pay commission on them, sometimes only on a new client's first booking, sometimes on every booking. That can be useful if you actively want to win clients, but it is a different business model from software: you are not paying for a tool, you are paying for a supply of clients. Mind the small print: does a client you already knew count as a new client, and can you switch off your marketplace profile without your own booking page changing?

• Ask every provider: do I pay commission on bookings or clients, how is it calculated, and can I switch the marketplace off?
• MyWest: MyWest is not a marketplace and does not charge commission on bookings or revenue.

3. Contract length and notice period

Pay attention to the term. An annual contract with automatic renewal or a three-month notice period makes switching expensive, even if you find after two months that the system does not suit you. A subscription you can cancel monthly keeps you flexible. Also ask what happens to your data after cancellation and whether you can take it with you.

• Ask every provider: what is the minimum term, what is the notice period and what do I get back if I cancel early?
• MyWest: there is no minimum term. You can cancel at any time, then pay only the current month, and nothing is charged after that. There is no refund for months already paid.

4. What is included as standard

Check which parts are in the price and which you pay for separately: online booking, till, stock, appointment reminders, extra staff members or extra locations. A low entry price with paid modules can end up more expensive than a package that includes everything. So first make a list of what you use every day and tick off, per provider, what is standard.

• Ask every provider: which parts are in the price I see, and which costs come on top?
• MyWest: three plans (Bronze, Silver and Gold) from EUR 19 per month. Diary, online booking, client management, till and stock management are already in Bronze; Silver and Gold are for teams of up to 5 and 15 staff members. Your salon gets its own booking page at an address like your-salon.mywest.app.

5. What you have to enter yourself

Every system is empty when you start. Ask what you have to enter yourself: services and prices, opening hours, staff, clients and products. And ask who helps you with that: only a manual, or also someone who looks along. A system you have set up in an hour beats a system that takes you a week, even if it has fewer options.

• Ask every provider: how long does it take to get started, what do I have to enter myself and can I get help?
• MyWest: signing up takes about three minutes and works without payment details. You enter your services, staff and opening hours yourself afterwards; you can import your clients (see criterion 6).

6. Switching and taking your data with you

Your client file is the most valuable thing in your system. Ask every provider two things: can you import your clients when you arrive, and can you take them with you when you leave? Look at exactly what comes along: only names and contact details, or also services and appointment history. An import that can be reversed if something goes wrong is reassuring.

• Ask every provider: which data can I import (clients, services, appointments), in which file format, and can I export everything again?
• MyWest: you import clients from a CSV or Excel file (.xlsx, up to 10,000 rows). The columns are recognised and you check the mapping before you import. This covers name, phone number, email address, date of birth and notes. Services and appointment history are not carried over automatically yet and we do not store address details yet. If something goes wrong, we undo the import within 24 hours.

7. Language and country

Do you work in the Netherlands, in Belgium or in another country? Check that the software works in your language, that VAT is handled correctly for your country and that the payment methods match what your clients use. Software built for another market often leaves you to do the calculating and translating yourself.

• Ask every provider: does the software work in my language and country, and how is VAT handled for my country?
• MyWest: available for salons in the Netherlands and Belgium. For other countries your own VAT regime applies automatically.

8. Support

You only notice the quality of support when something goes wrong, so ask about it up front: which channel can you use, on which days and at which times, in which language, and is it included? A phone number does not help if nobody picks up, and an email address does not help if you only get an answer after three days. The smartest thing is to ask a real question yourself during the trial and see how quickly and how clearly it is answered.

• Ask every provider: where can I go with a question, how soon do I get an answer and does support cost extra?
• MyWest: you reach us through the contact form on the site and your question arrives as a ticket. Feel free to test it during your trial.

9. GDPR and data processing agreement

Your system holds personal data about your clients, sometimes including notes about treatments. Under the GDPR you are responsible for that data and the provider is your processor. You therefore need a data processing agreement, and you need to know where the data is stored, how long it is kept and what happens to it after cancellation. That belongs on the website, not only after you send an email.

• Ask every provider: do I get a data processing agreement, where is my data stored and what happens after cancellation?
• MyWest: the data processing agreement is on the website. The data is stored with a database provider in the EU West region. After the agreement ends, personal data is deleted within 30 days, and on request first handed over in a common format.

10. The trial period

A trial is the only way to see whether the system fits the way you work. Look at the conditions: do you need a payment method to start, does the trial automatically become a subscription, and are all features available or only a limited version? Use the trial with real appointments and real clients, not only with sample data.

• Ask every provider: how long is the trial, do I need payment details and what happens at the end?
• MyWest: 14 days free with all features, without payment details when you sign up. You pay nothing during the trial, and if you cancel before it ends you pay nothing. If you continue, you set up your payment yourself.

How to use this list

Make a table with ten rows and a column per provider. Fill in only what you have in writing, for example from the website or an email. A question a provider cannot or will not answer is an answer in itself. Then give extra weight to the rows that matter most to you: commission if you already have many regular clients, switching if you are bringing a large client file, support if you have little time to work out how things work.

Keep two systems and try each for a week with real appointments. You will then know not only what is on the price list, but also what it is like to work with every day.

Honest about what MyWest does not do yet

An honest guide also mentions the limitations. When switching, we currently bring clients across, but not yet your services or appointment history, and we do not store address details yet. That is no reason not to try us, but it is a reason to ask every provider the same thing. If you want to see whether MyWest suits your salon, start the free 14-day trial and see for yourself.