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Barbershop booking system: mixing walk-ins and appointments

A barbershop that takes both walk-ins and booked appointments needs online booking and a calendar the barbers can update in seconds. Stamly has an appointment book, a customer app and a customer database, but test how walk-ins fit your own routine before you decide.

· 5 min read

Written by the team behind Stamly at Inovix AS. We sell the booking system we write about, and we show where the numbers come from.

An empty green barber chair in front of a curved mirror in a bright salon.

In short

  • Customers who like to plan should be able to book ahead.
  • Walk-ins have to fit in without clashing with times that are already booked.
  • Each barber needs to see their own appointments, breaks and free time.
  • The customer database, notifications and loyalty should be easy to reach, with the right access for each person.

How do you combine walk-ins with online booking?

Decide how much of the day can be booked ahead, and when you take walk-ins. Some shops keep one chair free for walk-ins. Others take them in whatever gaps the day leaves. A two-chair shop will want something different from a place with eight barbers. Whatever you pick, it has to be simple enough to explain to a customer at the door, and to a new barber on their first shift.

Then try it on a busy afternoon. One customer books online, another walks in without an appointment, and a barber is running ten minutes late. Who updates the calendar? How do you stop the same slot being given away twice? The answers tell you whether a system works in your shop, which a feature list never will.

What should a barbershop calendar show?

  • Which barbers are working, and when they're free.
  • What has been booked, and how long each service takes.
  • Breaks, time off and changes that cut into capacity.
  • A view the barbers can read at a glance, on their phones too.

Stamly has a digital appointment book with day, week and month views, and a separate app for staff, Stamly Business, where walk-ins can be added from the phone. Read about the calendar and online booking.

How does a barbershop get more customers coming back?

Regulars are the business. A customer database makes it easier to recognise people and follow up their visits, even when they see a different barber each time. A loyalty programme gives them a reason to return, for example through points and rewards. Campaigns should be relevant, and only go to customers who have agreed to receive them.

What should you test before choosing a booking system?

Ask to see the system with your barbers' real hours and your real services. Make a new booking, move one, cancel one, and run the walk-in routine you plan to use. Check that a barber can find a customer's details quickly. A tidy calendar on a quiet Tuesday says very little about how it holds up on a Saturday.

Read the ten things to check when choosing a booking system and how to cut down on no-shows. See Stamly for salons.

Questions and answers

Does a barbershop need a booking system if it takes walk-ins?

It helps when some customers want to book ahead and others turn up without an appointment. The system has to work with the walk-in routine the shop has chosen.

Can several barbers have appointments in the same calendar?

Choose a system that shows each barber's working hours and appointments separately. In Stamly, the calendar and the staff are part of the same salon platform.

How do we avoid double bookings?

Test two bookings for the same time, moving an appointment, and how a walk-in is added in practice.

Does Stamly have a customer database and a loyalty programme?

Yes. Stamly has a customer database, points and rewards alongside the salon's booking.

Does Stamly take payment from customers at the till?

No. The customer pays in the shop. Stamly can register a completed visit and handle the loyalty points.

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