Requests arrive everywhere
Instagram, WhatsApp, the phone and the booking tool each hold their own queue, and none of them can be read together.
Nothing to wire up. You describe the business in plain language, Ifa designs and builds it, and you check the plan before any of it exists.
Beauty salon software
Beauty salon software for the work around the chair: enquiries, bookings, client notes and follow-ups.
Ifa is salon management software you set up by describing your salon in plain words. Working hours and availability are checked before a booking is made. Every enquiry has an owner and a next action, and the notes from the last visit are there at the next one.
Illustrative workflow · Guided pre-launch setup
Starting workflow
- 1Enquiry
- 2Needs & availability
- 3Booking
- 4Service preparation
- 5Follow-up
- 6Repeat visit
Salon scheduling software books the chair. The rest of the day still lives in five places.
Booking apps do one thing well. The enquiry before the appointment and the follow-up after it are where salons lose people.
Replies have no clear owner
A customer waits while everyone assumes somebody else is checking the diary.
Context is separated from the enquiry
What she asked for last time is in a thread nobody opens at the next handoff.
Follow-up depends on memory
Unconfirmed requests and repeat-visit reminders vanish the moment the day gets busy.
A visible path from first message to repeat visit.
The stages are named the way a salon names them, and each one still shows who holds it and what happens next.
- Step 01
Enquiry
Capture the channel, requested service, and preferred timing.
- Step 02
Needs & availability
Confirm the request, practitioner, timing, and any preparation details.
- Step 03
Booking
Record the agreed service, time, and responsible team member.
- Step 04
Service preparation
Keep relevant notes, preferences, files, and open questions together.
- Step 05
Follow-up
Make unfinished replies and post-service actions visible.
- Step 06
Repeat visit
Track the appropriate next contact without relying on memory.
Illustrative workspace
See which enquiries still need a next action.
An illustrative workspace built from example records. It shows the view and the vocabulary a beauty team would review during guided setup.
Guided setup
Guided setup starts with the way enquiries move today.
We follow one real enquiry from the message that started it, agree the stages, then go through the workspace with your team before any pilot.
Questions we map together
- Which channels create new enquiries?
- Who checks availability and confirms the booking?
- Which customer notes need to follow the request?
- Which unfinished conversations should appear as follow-ups?
You see the proposed stages, fields and responsibilities, and correct them, before the pilot starts.
Who this starting workflow is (and is not) for
A practical fit for
- Hair salons, barbers, and nail, lash, or brow studios
- Makeup artists and non-clinical wellness or spa teams
- Owner-led teams coordinating enquiries across several channels
Not designed for
- Clinical, medical-aesthetics, patient-record, or regulated healthcare workflows
- Businesses seeking only a point-of-sale or specialist booking replacement
- Restaurant ordering, kitchen, table, or delivery operations
Compared
How Ifa compares with salon management software
Vagaro, GlossGenius, Mangomint and DaySmart are built around the appointment book. Ifa is built around the client record and the workflow, so the comparison is about where each one starts.
| What matters | Ifa | Typical salon booking apps |
|---|---|---|
| Where the day starts | An enquiry or a client record, with the booking as one step in the workflow. | The calendar. Anything before or after the appointment is a note field. |
| Custom records and fields | Any record type your salon uses, such as clients, treatments, patch tests or products, with your own fields and saved views. | A fixed client profile with a limited set of custom fields. |
| Online booking for clients | Bookable records with working hours per worker, policies per service and a conflict check before anything is written. Customers book through a booking page Ifa creates for you or in chat on a connected channel, and your team can always book for them. | Usually included, often with deposits. |
| Automatic reminders | A workflow you define: a scheduled step that sends a message through a channel you have connected, rather than a fixed reminder switch. | Usually included as text or email. |
| Bringing your data in | CSV, Excel and JSON exports imported with preview, checks and your approval. | Varies. Many accept a client CSV only, and some charge for migration. |
| Pricing | Preview the workspace, then pay. No free tier. | Monthly plans per location or per stylist. Check each vendor. |
Written by Ifa from the vendors' public pages on September 1, 2026. Features and prices change, so confirm them with each vendor before deciding.
Switching
Switching from your salon app or a spreadsheet
Export what you have, import it, and check the match before anything is written. The client list arrives with its history attached.
Google Sheets or Excel
Download the sheet as CSV or keep it as XLSX. Column names become the field names you approve.
Square Appointments
Export customers as CSV from the Customers directory.
Vagaro
Export the customer list as CSV from Reports, then import the file.
Fresha
Export clients as CSV from the Clients list.
Frequently asked questions
- Is Ifa salon booking software or a client management tool?
- Both halves live in one workspace. You set working hours per stylist, check availability, and book, reschedule or cancel appointments. The same records hold the client, her preferences, her files and the enquiry that started it.
- Can we keep our current app for online booking?
- You can, but you no longer have to. Ifa can create a separate booking page for your salon, and clients can also book in chat on a channel you have connected. Behind either path sit working hours per stylist, policies per service and a conflict check on every booking, with reminders as a workflow you define.
- How do we move our client list from a spreadsheet or another salon app?
- Export it as CSV or Excel and import it. Ifa previews the columns, checks the values and asks you to approve the match before anything is written. The import page lists the supported formats.
- Does this cover spas or medical aesthetics?
- Spas and non-clinical wellness, yes. Clinical or medical-aesthetics work with patient records is outside what Ifa supports.
Continue exploring
Whichever one answers your next question.
Map the way an enquiry becomes a booking in your salon.
Join the waitlist and tell us where a reply, an owner or a next action goes missing.
We check every waitlist request against what we can actually support during pre-launch.