Online appointment booking for hair salons, barbershops and beauty studios
In the salon, the phone rings while the colour is processing and the next customer is already waiting. This guide shows how to take appointments online, noticeably reduce no-shows and schedule your team so the day runs without gaps.
ForHair salonsBarbershopsNail salonsBeauty salonsSpas and wellnessLash and brow studios
A large share of online bookings are made in the evening and at weekends, when nobody in the salon can answer the phone.
Processing, rinsing and clean-up are separate blocks of time. Resavis blocks them out automatically.
Every customer who doesn’t turn up leaves an empty chair. Reminders and deposits are the most effective remedies.
What makes scheduling hard in this industry
The phone rings mid-treatment
Every call interrupts the work at the chair. If nobody picks up, the booking goes to the next salon down the street.
Customers who don’t turn up
A forgotten appointment on a Saturday morning is almost impossible to fill at short notice. With colour appointments, a no-show is particularly costly.
Different durations for each staff member
The senior stylist does a cut in 40 minutes, the apprentice needs 60. A rigid time grid suits neither of them.
Regulars want their stylist
Customers come for one particular person. Online booking has to let them choose their staff member without leaving the rest of the team empty-handed.
How Resavis solves this for Salons & Barbershops
No special features, just the existing building blocks combined the right way: services, staff, buffers, form builder, payments and notifications.
Services with duration, price and buffer
Every service gets its real duration plus clean-up time. Full colour: 120 minutes plus a 15-minute buffer. Your calendar stays realistic.
Different times for each staff member
Under Staff, you set a separate duration and price for each service. The booking page takes them into account automatically.
Choice of stylist or ‘no preference’
Customers choose their stylist or leave it open. In that case, the person with the next available time gets the appointment.
Deposits for long appointments
For balayage or extensions, ask for a 20 to 30 per cent deposit via Stripe or PayPal. Customers who have paid a deposit turn up.
Email reminders
A reminder goes out automatically one day before the appointment, with a link to reschedule or cancel. Cancellations come in good time instead of not at all.
Questions before the appointment
The form field ‘Has your hair been coloured in the last six months?’ appears only for colour services, so you know in advance.
No-show calculator: what do missed appointments cost you?
Enter your own figures. The calculator shows how much revenue you lose each year to customers who don’t turn up, and how much of it reminders and deposits can save. The effect of these measures is an assumption that you can adjust.
How to set up Resavis for Salons & Barbershops
Six steps, in this order. Most businesses are taking bookings within an hour.
Set up services by category
Cuts, colour, treatments, beard. Each service with a realistic duration, price and clean-up time. Colour services get a buffer of 10 to 15 minutes.
Add your team with working hours
Each staff member with their own days, breaks and days off. Part-timers and apprentices only get the services they actually carry out.
Adjust durations per staff member
Where your senior stylist is faster than the apprentice, set a different duration and price for each service.
Deposits for colour and long appointments
Connect Stripe or PayPal and set a deposit of 20 to 30 per cent for services over 90 minutes.
Set up reminders and a cancellation deadline
Reminder 24 hours before, with cancelling and rescheduling allowed up to 24 hours before the appointment. That leaves time to fill the slot again.
Share your booking link
Link in your Instagram bio and on your Google Business Profile, a QR code in the shop window and at reception. A widget on your own website.
How a customer books with Salon Marlen
A sample business from your industry with typical services, team and form fields. Click your way through, nothing is saved.
Settings that have proven their worth in this industry
Starting values for services, booking page and notifications. You can change everything at any time.
| Setting | Recommendation | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Time slot interval | 15 minutes | A fine interval fills the gaps between appointments of different lengths. |
| Minimum notice | 2 hours | No appointment that starts in ten minutes while every chair is taken. |
| Maximum advance booking | 8 weeks | Regulars book their next appointment as they leave the salon. |
| Cancellation deadline | 24 hours | Times freed up early enough can still be booked by someone else. |
| Reminder | 24 hours before | One day is the ideal gap: close enough to remind, early enough to replan. |
| Deposit | 20 to 30 per cent for 90 minutes or more | Protects long colour appointments without putting people off booking a quick cut. |
| Phone number required | On | If you are running late or someone is off sick, you can reach the customer straight away. |
Setup checklist for Salons & Barbershops
Tick off what is done. Your progress is saved in your browser until you delete it.
Frequently asked questions: Salons & Barbershops
Can customers choose their stylist?
Yes. On the booking page, customers choose a specific staff member or ‘Any staff member’. With ‘Any staff member’, Resavis gives the appointment to the person with the next available time. You can also switch off staff selection entirely.
How do I plan processing time for colour?
Set up the service with its total duration including processing time, and add a buffer for rinsing and clean-up. If you want to look after another customer during the processing time, create two shorter services instead and add the second appointment to the calendar manually.
What happens if a customer doesn’t turn up?
In the admin area, you set the appointment to ‘No-show’. The status remains visible in your customer records. For services with a deposit, you keep the amount paid, provided your terms allow for this.
Can I still serve walk-in customers?
Yes. Online appointments only take up the times that customers actually book. You can also use your working hours to exclude times from online booking, for example keeping Saturday afternoons for walk-ins only.
Does booking work through Instagram too?
Yes. Put the booking link in your Instagram bio or your story highlights. Customers land directly on the available times, on their phones too.
Related industries
Dental practices, Physiotherapy, Alternative practitioners
Read the guide Sports & FitnessPersonal trainers, Yoga and Pilates, Fitness and boutique studios
Read the guide Personal ServicesPhotographers and videographers, Domestic helpers and cleaners, Small repairs and assembly
Read the guideTaking bookings within an hour.
Set up your services, team and booking page with this guide. Free for 14 days, no credit card required. Questions? +49 1577 5588 888 (also WhatsApp).