A booking system for a small hair salon: what do you need?

When you work alone or with a couple of staff, the appointment book has to be quick to use between two customers. This is a practical checklist for choosing a system, working out the cost and testing the setup before customers start booking.

10 November 2026 · 6 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.

Illustration of a salon owner planning the working day with a laptop and a notebook.

In short

Start with your own services, how long they take, your breaks and your hours. Those decide which times customers can book.
Test a booking made by a customer, and an appointment you add yourself after a phone call.
Compare the total price for your team, including messages and any add-ons.
Decide which appointment book is the real one from day one, and check the appointments you already have.

Start with your working day

Write down what a normal day actually looks like. When you open, which services you offer, how long each one takes, and when you need a break. An appointment book is only useful when the times it offers match what you can deliver. A free quarter of an hour between two appointments isn't a free haircut slot if the cut takes thirty minutes.

On your own? Check that you can find a customer, change an appointment and add a break without losing track of the day.
A few of you? Check working hours and which services each stylist does. The salon being open doesn't mean everyone is available.
Taking walk-ins? Work out how someone who drops in gets recorded in the same appointment book as the online bookings.
Regulars who book their next visit before they leave? Test that you can quickly find the next suitable time and put the appointment on the right customer.

Five features to try before you choose

Appointment book and availability. Add a short service, a long one, a break and some time off. Check that customers can only pick times that work.
Customer database. Find an existing customer, create a new one, and see how the system stops you ending up with two records for the same person. Look at how the customer list can be exported, too.
Booking and changes. Go through the customer's login, booking and cancellation on a phone. Then take a phone booking from the salon's side.
Reminders. Find out which channels are used, when the message goes out and what costs extra. Don't assume every customer gets an SMS.
Staff access. Log in as a staff member and as the owner. Check that each role sees what it needs.

Stamly puts the digital appointment book, the customer database and online booking in one place. Staff use Stamly Business for things like today's appointments and clocking in. Customers still pay directly in the salon, and the booking system doesn't replace your card terminal.

What does it cost for one, three or five staff?

Price it for the number of people who'll use the system, then ask what the bill becomes if you hire one more. These examples use Stamly's current prices for one location, per month after the trial, in Norwegian kroner and excluding VAT:

One staff member: Standard, NOK 349 a month excluding VAT for one location.
3 staff: Standard, NOK 647 a month excluding VAT for one location.
5 staff: Standard, NOK 945 a month excluding VAT for one location.

The first two months are free. You add your card when you set up payment, and the first charge comes when the two months are over. Cancel before then and you pay nothing.

In Stamly, notifications in the app and by email are free. SMS is an add-on for customers who have neither the app nor an email address, and you buy a pack when you need one: 500 SMS for NOK 750 in Norway (in other countries the price follows what an SMS costs there). A website on your own domain is extra, priced by agreement. Look at the full price list and the price calculator before you start.

Run a test appointment before your first customer

Pick a test customer you've agreed with, and a free slot. Have a colleague (or a friend, if you work alone) go through the booking as a customer while you watch the appointment book. Then find the customer, move or cancel the appointment, and check that the time becomes free again. Delete the test appointment when you're done. One run-through like this catches mistakes in service lengths, staff choices and opening hours before a real customer runs into them.

Moving from paper? Use the checklist for switching to a digital appointment book. Already on another system? Read how to switch booking systems and handle the customer list. An imported customer list doesn't mean future appointments have moved across.

Check whether the system is helping

Keep a simple tally before and after you start: how many bookings come in by phone, how often an appointment has to be corrected, and how long it takes to find a free slot. Tell the difference between more visits to your booking page and more treatments actually done. The goal is a salon that's easier to run and easier to book, not a calendar that just looks different.

Questions and answers

Can a hairdresser who works alone use Stamly?

Yes. Stamly has one plan, Standard, with one staff member included, and each extra staff member costs a little more. The appointment book, customer database, loyalty and the other included features come with it. The current amounts and add-ons are on the pricing page.

Can we keep phone bookings once we have online booking?

Yes. The salon can add appointments for customers who call. Put them in the same appointment book as the online bookings, so availability stays correct.

Do old appointments move across automatically when we start using Stamly?

No. The help with CSV import covers the customer list. Future appointments have to be handled and checked as a separate part of the move.

Is a website included in the subscription?

The salon's page on stamly.net is included. A website on the salon's own domain is an add-on, priced by agreement.