Booking software for beauty salons and skin clinics
A beauty menu is the hardest kind to put online: a 15-minute brow tint sits next to a 75-minute dermaplaning facial, new clients need a consultation first, and treatments like microneedling must not be rebooked too soon. TimeToBook handles the mixed menu, uses mask time as processing time so you can start the next client, sends reminders, and takes deposits on the expensive appointments. It is free for one therapist.
Free for one staff member. No card needed. Last updated 28 October 2026.
The short version
TimeToBook fits beauty salons and small skin clinics with one to about ten therapists who want online booking, a shared calendar, reminders, client notes and deposits, and who are tired of per-staff fees or marketplace commission. Treatment rooms and machines are set up as bookable resources so they never double-book. It has no intake forms or course packages; most salons use a consultation service and their existing paperwork for those, and a clinic selling six-session courses runs the course itself and uses TimeToBook for the diary.
Beauty salons and skin clinics by the numbers
Figures we use when we talk to beauty therapists. Every one links to where it came from.
- 7%
- Of monthly revenue UK hair and beauty businesses say they lose to no-shows and late cancellations.
- 4 to 6 weeks
- The usual gap between facials, tied to the roughly 28-day skin cell turnover.
- 4%
- No-show rate for medical spas against a US$216 median ticket, the costliest combination in the beauty benchmark.
- 80%+
- Of UK hair and beauty businesses employ fewer than five people.
Source: Fresha cancellations study, 2026
Source: Woman & Home, dermatologist guidance, 2024
Source: Zenoti industry benchmark, 2026
Source: NHBF industry statistics, 2024
What beauty therapists need from booking software
The problems that come up every time we talk to beauty salon owners, and what TimeToBook does about each one.
| The need | How TimeToBook handles it |
|---|---|
| A menu that runs from a 15-minute tint to a 90-minute treatment | Services are grouped into categories on your booking page (Facials, Skin treatments, Brows, Waxing) with their own durations and prices. Clients can add several services to one booking, so brows plus a facial is one appointment with one confirmation. Start times are offered every 15 minutes by default, and a service can be as short as 5 minutes. Feature details |
| Mask time and LED time where the therapist is free | Give a facial processing time: hands-off minutes after the active part, which another client can be booked into. A 60-minute facial with 20 minutes under LED lets you start a 15-minute tint or a consultation while the mask works. The calendar draws the processing strip under the booking so you can see the gap. Feature details |
| A consultation before a new client's first advanced treatment | Add "Skin consultation" as a service, free or paid, and tell new clients to book it first in the service description. Your consent and medical history form stays on paper or as a PDF you email; TimeToBook does not have built-in intake forms. The answers go into the client's notes, which show on every future booking. Feature details |
| Microneedling and peels not rebooked inside the recovery window | Set the rebook interval on the service (6 weeks for microneedling, say) and rebooking reminders in TimeToBook Plus prompt the client when the gap has passed rather than before it. TimeToBook does not refuse an early booking, so keep the minimum gap in the service description and check the client's history, which is on the booking screen. Feature details |
| A course of treatments booked up front | Repeat bookings in TimeToBook Plus book the same appointment every N weeks in one go, so a six-session course at 4-week gaps becomes six bookings on the calendar at once. There is no package or session-counter feature: you charge per visit or take the course payment outside the system and note it on the client. Feature details |
| Deposits on expensive treatments only | Deposits are set per service, as a fixed amount or a percentage, so a dermaplaning facial can require one while a brow tint does not. The deposit is refunded automatically if the client cancels inside your notice window and kept if they do not show. Part of TimeToBook Plus, where online payments are available in your region. Feature details |
| Several therapists, different skills and prices | Each service is assigned to the therapists who do it, so a client who picks microneedling only sees the people trained in it. Price and duration can differ per therapist, and each therapist sets their own working hours, including a week A and week B rota. Feature details |
| Treatment rooms as well as people | Set the room or machine up as a bookable resource, the same way you add a staff member, and assign the room-bound treatments to it. Clients book the room's time, it cannot be double-booked, and it has its own column on the calendar. Each resource is priced like a staff member. Feature details |
A beauty salon service menu, as TimeToBook stores it
Every service in TimeToBook has a duration, optional processing time (hands-off time another client can be booked into), optional buffer time (clean-down nobody can book into), a price, and a rebook interval that drives automatic rebooking reminders. Here is a typical beauty salon menu set up that way. Durations are typical, not rules; adjust them to how you actually work.
Processing time is the mask or LED portion the therapist can step away from; buffer time is the room reset nobody can book into. The rebook column is what drives rebooking reminders: facials monthly, microneedling at the clinic-standard 4 to 6 weeks, LED fortnightly during a course.
| Service | Duration | Processing | Buffer | Rebook | Typical price |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Skin consultation New clients, before microneedling, peels or laser | 30 min | – | – | – | Free |
| Express facial | 30 min | – | – | 4 wks | £25 to £30 |
| Custom facial | 60 min | 15 min | 10 min | 5 wks | £40 to £65 |
| Dermaplaning, express | 30 min | – | – | 5 wks | £28 to £40 |
| Dermaplaning facial | 60 min | 15 min | 10 min | 5 wks | £40 to £60 |
| Microneedling | 60 min | – | 15 min | 6 wks | £60 to £100 |
| LED light therapy | 30 min | 20 min | – | 2 wks | £35 |
| Chemical peel | 45 min | – | 10 min | 4 wks | £50 to £90 |
| Brow shape and tint | 30 min | – | – | 4 wks | £15 to £25 |
| Makeup application | 60 min | – | – | – | £50 to £55 |
Typical prices are UK ranges from published salon menus, checked October 2026. Set your own in TimeToBook; the software does not dictate pricing.
What TimeToBook costs a beauty salon
The first staff member is free, forever. Each additional staff member is £10 a month. No marketplace commission, no contract.
Solo beauty salon
Free
One bookable person. Online booking page, calendar, email reminders and confirmations, client records, the mobile app. Not a trial.
Three-therapist salon
£20/month
3 bookable staff: the first is free, then 2 × £10. The owner plus two therapists, each with their own services, prices and hours on one calendar.
SMS reminders
Prepaid credits, £4 per 100. They never expire. Email reminders are free and unlimited.
Deposits
Take a deposit on online bookings with TimeToBook Plus. A 7% platform fee per deposit, card processing included. No monthly fee for payments.
No marketplace commission
Nobody takes a cut of a booking made through your page, and your clients are your clients. The only per-transaction fee is on payments taken through TimeToBook, where that is available, and it includes card processing.
Is TimeToBook right for your beauty salon?
Simple on purpose. Here is who it suits best, and the few things we leave out.
A good fit if you…
- Run a beauty salon or small skin clinic with one to about ten therapists
- Want clients to book brows, facials and skin treatments online from your Google listing and Instagram
- Need mask and LED time to count as free time for the therapist
- Want deposits on the long, expensive treatments without a separate payments subscription
- Are paying per-therapist fees or a marketplace commission and would rather not
What we don’t do
- Consent, medical history or intake forms inside the booking flow (keep your current form and note the answers on the client)
- Courses, packages or memberships with session counts and instalment payments
“All I needed was the basics. I'm a new sole trader owner of a one person beauty business. Time to book was exactly what I needed to keep cost low as I build my business. It's so easy for clients to book using the link, done in minutes.”
Questions beauty therapists ask us
-
Can a client book a facial and a brow tint in one appointment?
- Yes. Clients can add several services to one online booking. The services run back to back with the same therapist, and the client gets one confirmation and one reminder for the whole visit.
-
How does processing time work for a facial?
- When you set up a service you can split it into active time and processing time. Processing time is hands-off: the mask is on, the LED is running, the therapist is free. Other clients can be booked into it online or by you. On the calendar it shows as a striped strip under the booking so nobody forgets the client is still in the room.
-
Does TimeToBook have consultation or consent forms?
- No. Most salons on TimeToBook keep their existing paper or PDF form and record the important answers (contraindications, allergies, retinoid use) in the client's notes, which appear on every booking. If your insurer needs a signed digital form inside the booking flow, that is the one thing to check first.
-
Can I stop clients booking microneedling too soon after their last session?
- Not automatically. TimeToBook does not compare the booking date with the last visit. You can state the minimum gap in the service description, and the client's history is on the booking so you can spot an early rebook. Rebooking reminders in TimeToBook Plus send the "you are due" email only once the interval you set has passed, which keeps most clients on the right cadence.
-
Can I sell a course of six treatments?
- You can book the six appointments in one go with repeat bookings (TimeToBook Plus), spaced at whatever interval you choose. There is no package feature to count sessions down or take a single course payment, so most clinics charge per visit or take the course payment separately and note it on the client record.
-
How do I schedule a treatment room that two therapists share?
- Create the room as a bookable resource, assign the room-bound services to it, and give it the room's hours. The room then has its own column on the calendar and cannot be double-booked online. Each resource is priced like a staff member.
-
What does it cost for a salon with three therapists?
- The first bookable person is free and each additional one is a flat monthly fee, so three therapists is two additional staff. The per-staff price for your region is on the pricing page. There is no commission on bookings and no contract.
-
Can I take deposits?
- Yes, with TimeToBook Plus, where online payments are available in your region. Set a deposit per service, fixed or a percentage, up to full payment. Deposits are refunded automatically for cancellations inside your notice window and kept for late cancellations and no-shows, and they are paid out to your bank after the appointment. There is a platform fee per deposit that includes card processing, and no monthly fee for payments.
Further reading
-
Multi-Service Bookings Made Simple
Clients don't always come in for just one thing. Here's how to handle cut-and-colour appointments, multi-step treatments, and longer visits without calendar headaches.
-
Cancellation Policies That Actually Work
How to write a no-show and cancellation policy that protects your time without making first-time clients feel locked in. With a template you can steal.
-
Know Your Clients, Build Better Relationships
A good stylist remembers their regulars. Client management helps you remember everyone — their preferences, their history, and when they last visited.
TimeToBook for other businesses
-
Lash and brow studios
Booking software for lash and brow techs: infill timing, patch tests as a separate booking, deposits on full sets, 24h SMS reminders. Free for one technician.
-
Waxing studios
Booking software for waxing, sugaring and laser studios: short back-to-back slots, combos, 4 to 6 week rebooking reminders, deposits on long services. Free for one.
-
Day spas
Booking software for small day spas: long treatments, room reset buffers, multi-treatment bookings, deposits. Honest about rooms, couples and packages.
- All industries
Set up your beauty salon in an afternoon
Type in your services, add your hours, share the link. Free for one person, £10 a month for each extra staff member after that.
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