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5 Best Salon POS Software

The best spa point of sale (POS) features will help businesses take online payments, book appointments, schedule staff, track inventory, and collect client data.

    Kymberlin Bush
  • Last updated onUpdated

  • Matt Sherman
  • REVIEWED BY

    Matt Sherman

    Lead Staff Writer

Our content reflects the editorial opinions of our experts. While our site makes money through referral partnerships, we only partner with companies that meet our standards for quality, as outlined in our independent rating and scoring system.

Salon point of sale (POS) software is meant to make life easier for salon owners, employees, and customers alike.

We’ve taken the time to analyze dozens of the best POS systems for small business owners based on pricing, ease of use, features, and more to bring you our top choices for salon POS systems!

Learn More About Our Top Picks

CompanyBest ForNext StepsBest For

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  • Free appointment website builder, free POS system, affordable card reader
  • $0-$69/location/month
  • Monthly contracts, no early termination fee
  • Free appointment website builder, free POS system, affordable card reader
  • $0-$69/location/month
  • Monthly contracts, no early termination fee

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  • Free software, works on all devices, excellent staff and resource management
  • $0/month, 20% commission fee on all first-time bookings
  • No contract, no early termination fee
  • Free software, works on all devices, excellent staff and resource management
  • $0/month, 20% commission fee on all first-time bookings
  • No contract, no early termination fee

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  • Highly customizable full-service software
  • $25+/month
  • No long-term contracts; custom fees
  • Highly customizable full-service software
  • $25+/month
  • No long-term contracts; custom fees

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  • Huge add-on app market, easy to use, lots of POS hardware options
  • $14.95+/month
  • Custom contracts
  • Huge add-on app market, easy to use, lots of POS hardware options
  • $14.95+/month
  • Custom contracts

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  • Booth renter accounts, booth rental manager, free trial available
  • $29+/month
  • Custom contracts
  • Booth renter accounts, booth rental manager, free trial available
  • $29+/month
  • Custom contracts

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Read more below to learn why we chose these options.

What Is A Salon POS System?

A salon POS (point of sale) system is software that, when paired with a credit card reader, allows business owners to manage the administrative parts of their salon, such as client bookings or product inventory, and take payments for services after clients finish up their appointment.

There are many different reasons why you would need a salon-specific POS. Most salon POS software comes with appointment booking portals so clients can self-book appointments, salon-wide calendars so staff and owners can view upcoming reservations, inventory management for sale and for use in your salon, and customer relationship management tools.

5 Best Salon POS Software For Your Salon Or Spa

The best salon POS systems will offer features for scheduling, taking payments, managing inventory and resources, maintaining service packages, and marketing your business. Here are our top five:

How The Best Salon POS Systems Compare

Multi-Store Support Inventory Management Employee Management Online Booking
Square Appointments
Fresha
Vagaro Paid add-on
Clover Depends on software plan
Rosy Salon

Square Appointments: Best For Independent Contractors

Square Appointments

Total Rating 4.8
Pricing4.8

Ease Of Use5.0

Features4.8

Customer Service4.5

User Reviews4.7

Pricing

Contract

Equipment Cost

Get a free card swiper from Square at no cost when you create a free account. Claim your card reader.

Pros

  • Free plan for individuals
  • No-show protection and cancellation fees
  • Integrated online booking feature
  • Offline payment mode

Cons

  • No video conferencing for online appointments
  • Limited customizability
  • No self check-in feature

Photo of an open laptop with the Square Appointments calendar page open
Why Square Is The Best Choice For Independent Contractors

We appreciate that Square, with its ever-expanding line of software for in-person and online transactions, makes it increasingly easy for even a single person to manage an entire business.

This fully integrated POS, eCommerce, inventory management, appointment scheduling, and marketing solution with free features is great for independent contractors and full-time business owners alike.

Square Appointments Pricing

Square Appointments Plans Price  When To Use
Free $0/month You are a single user with basic booking needs
Plus $29/month You have multiple locations and multiple staff appointments
Premium $69/month You want added permissions and advanced reporting

Note that prices are per location, not per register. You can use as many devices as registers and schedulers as you want in a single location.

Square also offers add-ons such as Square Loyalty program builder (starting at $45/month) and Square Marketing (starting at $15/month), which will both help small business owners gain a more consistent customer base.

Square Appointments Features

Square Appointments Features Availability
Multi-Store Support
Contactless Payments
Multi-Channel Selling
Gift Cards
Customer Loyalty
Marketing Tools
Online Ordering
Inventory Management
Reporting
Menu Management
Delivery Management
EBT Acceptance
Employee Management
Text Messaging

Square Appointments’ best features for independent stylists are all free, including:

  • Free Booking Website: Personalize your free website with an easy-to-use website builder to make it easy for your clients to book. Already have a website? Add a Square “Book Now” button to your existing site. Guests can also book via Google integration and a generated QR code.
  • Square Assistant: Feature that automatically sends appointment reminders via SMS and/or email.
  • Sales Channels: Health and beauty products can be sold online for pickup and/or delivery as well as in-person during appointments.
  • Custom Contracts: Make custom waivers, contracts, and other official documents for customers to sign before their appointment.
  • Deposits: Square allows you to use its prepayment feature to take deposits for higher-value appointments.
  • Mobile & Offline Mode: This feature allows you to get paid even if there’s no WiFi available.

No-show protection (a highly valued feature for independent contractors) is not included with the free plan. You could get around this by charging a deposit fee for every appointment.

Square Appointments offers even more features for Plus plan users:

  • Confirmation Notifications: Instead of just a reminder message, clients will receive an interactive text and/or email that allows them to confirm, cancel, or reschedule their appointment.
  • Cancellation Policy: Create your custom cancellation policy that requires clients to cancel within a certain timeframe and provide payment information when they book. If there is a no-show or late cancellation, you can easily charge your specified fee with the card info on file.
  • Multi-location Management: With the Plus plan, you can manage your staff, calendar, and online bookings across multiple locations. You will still need to pay a monthly subscription fee per location.

Note: While you aren’t charged a fee for refunds, you will have to pay the payment processing fee whether you keep the money or refund it back to a customer who has canceled an appointment. Keep this in mind when developing your cancellation policies.

Features that are notably lacking (for now) from Square Appointments include video conferencing for service professionals who want to offer online appointments and a self-check-in feature for your clients.

Square Appointments Hardware Costs

Square Appointments can run on iPads, tablets, and desktop computers. Here are the prices for some of the most popular Square units:

There are plenty of handheld, mobile, and countertop hardware options to choose from.

Square Appointments Payment Processing

Square requires you to use its in-house payment processor and charges the following fees:

  • In-Person Payments: 2.5-2.6% + $0.10 per transaction (2.5% for Plus and Premium plans, 2.6% for Free plan)
  • Online Payments: 2.9% + $0.30 per transaction
  • Card-Not-Present/Card-On-File Payments: 3.5% + $0.15 per transaction
  • AfterPay: 6.0% + $0.30 per transaction

Note: Charges to your customers, such as no-show and cancellation fees, will be subject to online payment processing fees.

What To Watch Out For

Square has a transparent month-to-month contract that you may cancel at any time, so you don’t need to worry about lengthy contracts or early termination fees.

Because you don’t get a merchant account when using Square, some of the biggest complaints from users are account/fund holds that take too long to be resolved.

Square also has a great warranty coverage policy, which includes device replacements on damaged hardware that you didn’t purchase directly from Square.

When To Choose Square Appointments

  • You want a free plan with almost everything you need to run your business as an independent contractor.
  • You like flat, transparent processing fees.
  • You need the ability to take payments in-salon, at a customer’s home, and anywhere in between with or without WiFi.

Get Started With Square Appointments

Read our in-depth review

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Fresha: Best For Small Salons On A Budget

Fresha


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Pros

  • Unlimited free plan
  • Exposure via Fresha’s online marketplace and app
  • Lower payment processing fees
  • Excellent customer service

Cons

  • Finder’s fee if you decide to book new clients through Fresha marketplace
  • No time clock
  • No virtual appointments

fresha spa software
Why Fresha Is The Best Choice For Small Salons On A Budget

We like that Fresha's software itself is free and the payment processing fees are lower than most flat-rate payment processors in the industry.

There are so many salon-specific features, like the ability to monitor shampoo or nail polish used in the salon, that salon and spa owners will have no trouble setting up the booking and retail sales solutions they need.

Fresha Pricing

Fresha is completely free to use, except for paid marketing blast campaigns and a 20% commission fee on first-time client appointments clients book through the Fresha marketplace.

This fee does not apply to any existing clients. It only applies to the very first appointment a new client books. You may not profit from these appointments, but you do have the chance to reel in a lifelong customer that, if not for Fresha, might never have found your business.

Note: Make sure to import your existing client list to Fresha before launching your business’s booking site, that way you won’t have to pay that commission fee for returning clients.

Fresha Features

Fresha is a salon and spa-specific POS and booking software, and its most unique features include the ability to:

  • Generate links to services, memberships, vouchers, and everything your business has to offer
  • Accept walk-in and standing appointments
  • Offer products and services as packages
  • Set up your own deposit and cancellation fees
  • Create custom consultation forms, with the option to send prior to a client’s appointment
  • Allow clients to save appointments to their online calendars
  • Set employee services, commission rates, availability, and scheduling rules

The software has great resource tracking capabilities, including the ability to create resource-dependent appointment bookings (e.g. a massage in a certain room) so you don’t double book anyone. You can also track your inventory and the Fresha platform has built-in invoicing, purchase ordering, and stock order receiving management.

We also like that you can generate reports on referral sources and cancellation reasons. By doing this, you can better understand why clients cancel appointments and work to alleviate any of their pain points.

Fresha Hardware Costs

Fresha is cloud-based and works on all operating systems, including iPads, smartphones, and desktop computers. The company offers a proprietary card reader, the Fresha S1, and charges a one-time fee for card readers. You simply request one via your Fresha partner platform portal.

Fresha Payment Processing

You must use Fresha’s in-house payment processing, which charges 2.19% + $0.20 flat fee per transaction, whether its a purchase made online or in person.

This is the smallest payment processing fee out of all POS providers on this list.

What To Watch Out For

Fresha is refreshingly transparent about its service offering. There are no monthly fees, so there’s no cancellation policy.

The only requirement is that if you want to accept payments for products and services listed on your Fresha account, you must use Fresha for payment processing.

When To Choose Fresha:

  • You want free software that works on almost all hardware
  • You want exposure via Fresha’s online marketplace and app
  • You don’t need the ability to have virtual appointments via video chat

Get Started With Fresha

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Vagaro: Best For Personalized Health & Wellness Businesses

Total Rating 4.5
Pricing4.2

Ease Of Use4.8

Features4.8

Customer Service4.7

User Reviews4.7

Pricing

Contract

Hardware Cost

Pros

  • Great for salon/spa owners with independent contractors
  • SOAP notes to document client progress
  • Free EMV card reader
  • Payroll and accounting integrations

Cons

  • Customizable pricing can get confusing
  • Each location must have its own Vagaro subscription

Vagaro salon pos system
Why We Chose Vagaro As The Best Option For Personalized Health & Wellness Businesses

We love that Vagaro is a highly customizable POS solution that works for a variety of beauty, wellness, and fitness businesses. It's also great for business owners who contract individual stylists, trainers, massage therapists, nutritionists, acupuncturists, etc.

Vagaro Pricing

Vagaro’s pricing varies depending on the number of bookable calendars. A bookable calendar is a calendar that an individual performing services can use to schedule their own appointments. Admin and front desk staff do not need their own bookable calendar.

One bookable calendar starts at $25/month and each additional bookable calendar is an extra $10/month if you only have one salon location. After seven calendars, you pay $85/month no matter how many calendars you need.

If you have multiple salons, you’ll get a custom quote on your Vagaro salon POS software.

Vagaro add-ons include:

  • Self-Check-In App: $10/month
  • Live Stream Classes/Consultations: $10/month
  • Branded App: $200/month
  • Booking Website Builder: $10/month
  • Online Store: $10/month
  • Text Marketing: $20/month

Vagaro Features

Vagaro is an excellent choice for several business types, including medical spas, personal trainers and stylists, massage therapists, and more.

Vagaro works for many business types thanks to the following unique features:

  • SOAP (Subjective, Objective, Assessment, and Plan) notes for medical spa employees, personal trainers, etc.
  • Customizable forms, surveys, waivers (paid add-on)
  • HIPAA compliant software
  • Live stream classes and consultations (paid add-on)

Vagaro also has one of the most comprehensive scheduling/employee calendar management software features among salon POS system providers.

With Vagaro, you can:

  • Accept customers on a waitlist and automatically or manually pull from the list in the event of a cancellation
  • View the status of appointments in real-time on employee calendars (e.g. in-progress, prep, post-appointment cleaning)
  • Automatically assign employees to appointments and let clients choose who they work with if they want to

Plus, you get excellent general employee management features, like the ability to collect rent and commissions from independent stylists renting a booth in your salon, configure and run payroll, and automatically generate 1099 forms.

Note: If you want a more comprehensive payroll and HR software, Vagaro does partner with Gusto, one of the best payroll software for small businesses.

Vagaro Hardware Costs

The software itself is cloud-based, so you may use iPads or tablets. Vagaro gives one free card reader to each new merchant.

The POS provider also offers various POS hardware screens and accessories, including a register with a built-in customer-facing display. You can purchase cash drawers, receipt printers, barcode scanners, and additional card readers for a custom-quoted price.

Vagaro Payment Processing

Vagaro breaks payment processing fees into two tiers: one for small merchants making less than $4,000/month and large merchants that make over $4,000/month.

Payment processing fees for the two tiers are the following:

  • Small Merchants: 2.75% per swipe/chip/tap transaction; 3.5% + $0.15 per keyed-in transaction
  • Large Merchants: 2.2% plus $0.30 per swipe/chip/tap transaction; 3% + $0.19 per keyed-in transaction; $15/year association fee

Note: Online and card-on-file transactions, such as monthly membership charges, are subject to keyed-in transaction payment processing rates.

What To Watch Out For

There are several potential add-on payment processing fees, such as chargeback and retrieval fees. Read up on what those fees are and be sure to avoid them.

Vagaro hardware is under a one-year warranty.

When To Choose Vagaro:

  • You are a busy salon with multiple types of employees, services, and product offerings
  • You need the ability to make SOAP notes to document client progress
  • You only have one location

Get Started With Vagaro

Read our in-depth review

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Clover POS: Best For Customizability

Total Rating 4.3
Pricing4.0

Ease Of Use4.8

Features4.5

Customer Service4.4

User Reviews4.1

Pricing

Contract

Hardware Cost

Pros

  • Large app store and integrations
  • Simple POS setup
  • Highly customizable

Cons

  • Must purchase Clover hardware
  • Must use with Fiserv merchant account
  • Add-ons can get pricey

clover station salon pos
Why We Chose Clover As The Best Option For Customization

A lot of salon POS systems don't have specific features, such as email marketing integrations or on-site chats, that small to midsize salons could use to upgrade their customer experience.

With Clover, it's easy for you to add all the features to your POS system that you want, and gives you different hardware to work with.

Clover Pricing

Clover POS Plans Price  When To Use
Clover Payments $0/month If you only need to process payments and don’t need any POS hardware
Clover Essentials $14.95/month If you have a small retail/service-based business and don’t take returns
Clover Retail Growth $84.95/month If you have a small to mid-size retail/service-based business and need more POS features
Clover Counter Service Restaurant $54.95/month If you have a quick-serve restaurant, cafeteria, or mobile food service business
Clover Table Service Restaurant $84.95/month If you have a full-service restaurant or bar

Clover monthly pricing varies depending on where you buy it and how many integrations you use. If you buy directly from Clover, your pricing will also vary based on whether you purchase your equipment outright or opt for a lease.

If you purchase your hardware upfront, plans range from $14.95 to $94.85/month plus the one-time cost of your equipment. If you lease your hardware, plans range from $50 to $290/month.

Clover Features

Clover POS Features Availability
Multi-Store Support Unknown
Contactless Payments Unknown
Multi-Channel Selling Unknown
Gift Cards Unknown
Customer Loyalty Unknown
Marketing Tools Unknown
Online Ordering Unknown
Inventory Management Unknown
Reporting Unknown
Menu Management Unknown
Delivery Management Unknown
EBT Acceptance Unknown
Employee Management Unknown
Text Messaging Unknown

All Clover users have access to the vast Clover app market, which offers everything from form builders to employee management apps to appointment schedulers. This is the real selling point of Clover as a salon POS software provider.

For example, the Sky Salon Scheduler, which gives Clover appointment management functionality, includes:

  • Reminder texts for customers and service providers
  • Booking with partial and full deposit payments
  • Credit card saving so customers can check out faster in the future
  • eSignatures on online waivers
  • Custom calendar management and time blocking
  • Scheduling by employee or department
  • Google calendar integration

Clover Hardware Costs

Clover’s POS hardware is flexible, with options to work in just about any size space. The actual hardware tends to retail for around about $500 to $1,800, depending on whether you opt for the handheld Clover Flex, pint-sized countertop POS Clover Mini, the full-sized solution Clover Station, or some combination thereof.

You can also purchase your hardware from an authorized Clover reseller, and pricing may vary.

Clover Payment Processing

If you purchase your Clover hardware from Clover, you must use Clover’s built-in payment processing, powered by Fiserv. In this scenario, you’ll pay a processing fee of 2.3% + $0.10 flat fee, or a 2.6% + $0.10 flat fee.

However, if you have a high volume of sales, consider purchasing your Clover hardware and merchant account from one of these best Clover resellers, as they use a different, more cost-effective fee structure for larger businesses.

What To Watch Out For

If you do not purchase your Clover hardware and corresponding merchant account from Clover, be sure to read your contract very carefully. There are many Clover card reader scams out there that can devastate a person’s business.

When To Choose Clover:

  • You’re interested in a fully-customized POS system
  • You want a simple, easy-to-use plug-and-play POS system
  • You don’t mind doing extra research to find a good price or reseller

Get Started With Clover POS

Read our in-depth review

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Rosy Salon Software: Best For Booth Rental Salons

Rosy Salon Software


Visit Site


Pros

  • Salon booth rental management software
  • Client referral program
  • Good inventory management
  • Easy to use

Cons

  • Must get merchant account to use software
  • Software interface looks dated

Rosy Salon POS software
Why We Chose Rosy Salon As The Best Software For Booth Rental Salons

We like that Rosy Salon has specific software for business owners that operate booth rental salons and for individual stylists renting booths.

Renters get an affordable way to offer appointment booking services, purchase supplies from the salon owner, and take payments with a secure POS system.

Note: Rosy Salon offers a 30-day free trial, no credit card required.

Rosy Salon Pricing

Rosy Salon software pricing starts at $29/month for salon owners and $19/month for booth renters. The two software packages can connect to each other for scheduling, inventory, and rental payment purposes.

Booth renters can take their Rosy Salon software and client information with them if they choose to go totally independent or work at another booth rental place.

Note: Employees are considered stylists/practitioners who require their own scheduling calendar.

If salon owners opt into advanced features like SMS/email marketing, text confirmations, and image libraries, pricing starts at $37/month.

Rosy Salon Features

Rosy Salon’s most unique feature is its dedicated booth rental management software, which allows salon owners to:

  • Give booth renters access to client scheduling software
  • Allow renters to purchase products from your salon
  • Give renters control over their own finances and client list
  • Automatically deduct rent and/or commissions from booth renters
  • Choose whether renters can share their clients with other renters (an excellent choice for multi-service salons)
  • Allow renters to sell their own products to clients from within their booth

Renters have their own accounts and can remove themselves from a booth if/when they move salons.

Vagaro is the only other salon POS system that offers booth rental management, but it does not have the dedicated booth rental accounts that Rosy Salon does.

Other notable Rosy Salon features include:

  • Rewards and referrals program builder
  • Suggestive selling, which makes product recommendations to clients based on the services they received in the past and on the day of their appointment
  • Front desk management software
  • Automated text and email confirmations and reminders

Rosy Salon Hardware Costs

Rosy Salon’s scheduling and salon management software runs on browsers and as an Apple/Android app. You can take card payments with a Verifone MX915, Ingenio iSMP4, or Ingenio Link/2500 card reader. Pricing varies from between $300 and $700 for card readers when you purchase them new.

Rosy Salon Payment Processing

You will get your own merchant account with custom payment processing fees when you use RosyPay, Rosy Salon’s payment processing solution.

Be sure to read over the terms of your merchant agreement before signing off on anything.

What To Watch Out For

Since you must get a merchant account to take payments through Rosy, it’s important to note that you may face contract terms like early termination fees.

Make sure to negotiate a merchant agreement that works for your business before signing any paperwork.

When To Choose Rosy Salon:

  • You need robust booth rental management features
  • You’re interested in a client referral program
  • You don’t mind having a merchant account or dated-looking software

Get Started With Rosy Salon Software

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Service-Based POS Review Methodology

Merchant Maverick has been researching and reviewing POS providers since 2012. Our writers have tested over 100 different point of sale systems, evaluating pricing, features, ease of use, customer service, and user reviewers. Read more about how we rate POS providers.

Weighted Rating Breakdown

Pricing 40%
Features 30%
Ease Of Use 15%
Customer Service 10%
User Reviews 5%

When comparing different POS software systems, we consider many data points, including relative pricing, the depth of niche features offered, the price of hardware, and any associated payment processing fees. Our lists of the best providers include only apps we’ve deemed worthwhile from multiple vantage points. The POS vendors we pick share qualities such as widespread availability, accessibility, user-friendliness, and reasonable pricing. We also look carefully at niche features, such as check-splitting, inventory management, eCommerce, loyalty programs, gift cards, and more.

We spend an average of 10-15 hours researching and updating each one of our lists, making sure the providers included meet our internal standards for quality and reputation.

80+

Vendors evaluated

65+

Attributes assessed per vendor

20+

Features weighed

30+

Combined years of experience


What Is The Best Salon POS System For You?

The best salon POS system won’t be the same for everyone, but it should always include customizable booking features, employee management capabilities, and inventory management functions.

Always consider the cost of your software, keeping in mind that onboarding more employees can change the cost of your subscription. Be sure to check out some of the best integrations for salons and spas as well. Consider payment processing fees and agreements, along with POS hardware availability, when choosing the right salon POS system for your business.

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Kymberlin Bush

Kymberlin Bush

Expert Contributor
Kymberlin earned her Bachelor of Arts in Creative Writing from Pacific University in 2020 and resides in Portland, Oregon.
Kymberlin Bush
View Kymberlin Bush's professional experience on LinkedIn.