Square Appointments for Salons

frenchcuthair · ‎10-26-2018

Hello!

Since November 2017(ish), our salon dived into the world of Square, using practically every feature they have to offer, including their latest POS system. Square Appointments was a really nice testing ground, where we managed to use features that were not intended to be used in certain ways.

There are a few things we wish Square had. So here are a few 'Is There A Way' questions I will throw out there and see if anyone has a solution. Perhaps I'm not answering the right questions, so I'll be a specific as possible.

Is there a way to have a button to collapse the left side menu, allowing more room for the calendar?
I feel that there is valuable real estate needed to make the calendar view look bigger to accommodate all 12 stylists.
Is there a way for a client book two stylists back to back?
this is a major feature for most salon based booking system. Having two different stylists on one person is not uncommon.
Is there a way for new clients to simply choose an "I'm feeling lucky" option when booking an appointment online?
Sometimes a new client don't know (or care) who does their hair, they just need it ASAP. A 'One Click Wonder', if you will, for the next availability for single or multiple services from any stylist.
Finally, is there a way for each individual stylist to have their own deposit ?
Basically, certain stylists would like to have a bit more security for 'NO SHOWS' by having their own terms. Instead, the salon receives the money and we have to figure out the rest afterward which is counter productive.

Hope these questions make sense. I will check this from time to time. Any help would be fabulous!

THANK YOU!!!

FCH

Helen · ‎10-28-2018

Thank you for your post @frenchcuthair! This kind of detailed feedback is really useful for the Appointments team as they plan and build new features.

I've answered each question below, you might want to check out number 3 sooner rather than later! 😀

1. Is there a way to have a button to collapse the left side menu, allowing more room for the calendar?

It sounds like you're referrign to the Calendar view from your online Dashboard? There isn't a way to collapse this but out of interest are you viewing it from a computer browser or from an iPad?

2. Is there a way for a client book two stylists back to back?
While you can book overlapping Appointments clients aren't able to do this using the Online Booking site. This is a popular request we're tracking here: Does Square offer double booking?

3. Is there a way for new clients to simply choose an "I'm feeling lucky" option when booking an appointment online?
🎉 There is! From your Appointments Dashboard navigate to Calendar & Booking. Scroll down to the Online Scheduling section and toggle the option 'Show option to book with 'Any Available' staff member' on. With this enabled clients will see a button that allows them to choose whoever is available for their selected service!

Screenshot 2018-10-28 at 15.02.33.png

4. Finally, is there a way for each individual stylist to have their own deposit?

I'm afraid it's not pssible to do this with Square Appointments. It's an interesting request though and hopefully we'll have a solution for separate deposits and separate cancellation policies this in future.