Your 9 Best Phorest Alternatives & Competitors for Salon Owners in Canada

Are you considering Phorest alternatives and competitors for your hair salon in Canada? You are not alone. Many salon owners are also looking for more user-friendly or cheaper software that delivers satisfactory results.

Top Alternatives For Phorest

1. Zolmi
2. Insight Salon Software
3. Fresha
4. Booksy
5. Mio Salon
6. Zenoti
7. DaySmart Salon
8. Mindbody
9. Mangomint Salon Software

Compare Sites Like Phorest

Zolmi

Zolmi Salon Software & Mobile App, next to Phorest is amongst the top salon POS software, providing a wide range of solutions to manage your salon on the go.

Zolmi's free plan features will meet most of your requirements if you are a single-person salon:

• streamline salon scheduling, including one-click checkout and speedy rebook functions
• stock management with salon point of sale
• free (completely!) unlimited email appointment reminders
• staff rostering

To give your salon business a boost, Zolmi's premium plan will provide you with just the right set of functionalities you need:

• automated solutions for increasing positive customer reviews on your Google My Business
• SMS reminders
• robust inventory management features: automated ordering, minimum stock level alerts, stock take to name a few
• back bar management allowing you to check and increase your margins
• customized salon marketing solutions from emails to SMS
• online payments - your customers making payments or deposits during booking, ability to automatically charge no-show fees
• a robust reporting suite with staff payments and performance

Zolmi also provides reliable, friendly, and available support, considering your individual needs: assistance with importing your client database and adding a custom-made report for your salon business.

Insight Salon Software

Insight provides salons with online booking, point of sale (POS), client experience and booth rental management features. They also allow salon managers and staff to track inventory and team performance, set flexible schedules and send out email advertising materials in one place.

Insight offers clients a free trial before purchasing and has various packages, depending on your salon's needs. You can also book a demo to get to know the product better. Their mobile app works on both iPhone and Android devices.

For new users, some of Insight's more state-of-the-art features like the ability to create packages and manage services by category and staff member might be a bit complicated at first, so be prepared to spend some time getting caught up.

Their interface also features a lot of drop-down menus and small text, so it's not as intuitive or easy on the eyes as it could be. Their website features a well-organized knowledge base for customers who need support and gives you a live chat option.

Fresha

Fresha offers a broad range of advanced features for salon owners to help them stay organized, book appointments, take payments and market the latest services to their clients. Their software includes both a free trial and a free version as well as paid options with upgraded features.

They also provide gift card management, secure client payment processing using "pay by link" as well as website and social media integration to help you reach clients and encourage them to book.

In spite of their many available features and integrations (including social media platforms, your salon's website and Google Calendar), Fresha does not provide accounting software integration, which can mean more work transferring this data manually.

Also, it's difficult to incorporate add-ons which raise the price of an appointment into an existing service when booking. This may be confusing for staff and clients and make upselling a service a bit more challenging.

booksy

Booksy is a salon marketing software that offers a wide range of features. Their platform and app are easy to use, and they provide customer support just in case.

One of Booksy's most interesting features is its "Boost" option that lets you promote your salon's services and gain more visibility during slower times. By using Booksy, clients can also search for service providers in their area, which can help quickly bring in new business.

You can keep detailed client history records including appointment information and even a before and after image gallery, making it easy to get up to date before a client shows up. Speaking of clients, their SMS appointment reminders come with pre-made message templates to save you and your team time, too.

When using Booksy, things to look out for include their customer service- there can sometimes be longer than ideal delays when responding to questions or concerns. Any deposits you take need to go through their payment system, which can be inconvenient for some salons.

Additionally, Booksy does not offer a free version of their software, although they do offer you the option of a free trial before you decide to purchase it.

Mio Salon

Mio Salon is a versatile tool that can help you automate a lot of your salon's administrative functions, including appointment scheduling, client and employee management, POS and payroll.

In total, Mio Salon offers 23 different automations to help free up you and your team and save time. Some of their most interesting features include automatic staff reminders so that people are always prepared for a booking, and the ability to create and track multi-sitting packages.

Mio Salon offers a free fourteen-day trial, but their website is not transparent with their pricing policies, asking you to email them if you want more information. Further, while their reports do look very user-friendly, they do not have a lot of detailed functions to let you really dig into your salon's data.

Finally, Their support page has multiple troubleshooting topics organized by category. Still, no images or explanations to go with the instructions they provide, which may be confusing for hairdressers who aren't tech-savvy or at least comfortable with computers.

Zenoti

Zenoti works on both Android and iPhone mobile devices, and they offer a broad range of features, including online booking, payment processing, employee management and email marketing.

Zenoti's reporting and analytics tools make it easy to visualize your salon business's data and dig deeper into how clients feel about your salon. They also provide detailed inventory tracking and reporting, including push notifications to help avoid shortages.

You can use Zenoti salons software to send out automated appointment reminders, cutting down on no-shows. Salon owners also have the option to offer gift cards and process payments online.

You might face some challenges with the setup, since Zenoti's software has a steep learning curve as you get to know its features and how to use them. This could be frustrating for new salon owners or anyone without the time to get to know the tools.

Also, while Zenoti does offer a free demo of their salon management system, they don't provide a free version of the software itself.

DaySmart Salon

Another alternative to Phorest is DaySmart Salon which will give you a competitive advantage. You can choose between a monthly or a one-time subscription according to your preference.

Like Phorest, DaySmart Salon has incredible features such as stock management, salon POS, online booking, text and email salon reminder notifications, and staff management. The best thing about this salon booking app is that it can be customized to suit your business needs since businesses differ in the kind of services and complexity.

DaySmart Salon is accessible through the website browser as well as iOS and Android mobile devices. It has an easy-to-follow and logical structure, which makes it easy to use the salon scheduling software. Additionally, it gives you crucial information about your salon, which you can use to make some adjustments to enhance your services. You can store your clients' details for future use, such as in marketing campaigns and streamline business activities.

Mindbody

Mindbody is an appointment and management app appropriate for small and medium-sized salons and fitness studios. Email and text campaigns, marketing management, staff management, and payment processing are among the other features.

Customers will have no problem finding your company using the application. Mindbody makes it simple to track critical business insights like sales, client retention, earnings, and attendance. It also assists in reactivating inactive clients, organizing marketing campaigns, and developing business strategies to increase profitability.

You can also use the app to promote your services by publishing images and giving out press releases showing potential clients what they would benefit from choosing your services. The application also allows clients to redeem and buy gift cards.

Mangomint Salon Software

Mangomint has an intuitive and visually-appealing interface to help salon owners and team members stay on top of daily tasks. Let's take a closer look at some of the unique features.

Their automated waiting room lets clients check themselves in when they arrive, and automatic notifications send out a message when their stylist or treatment room is ready for them.

They offer good customer support, with live people available to respond to your questions, and an easy-to-navigate online learning center to help you get set up and address any issues along the way. A few areas where they might improve in the future include allowing group bookings for salons that take these (this would come in handy for major events like weddings, etc.) and creating a single dashboard where you can access and view everything as needed.

Top Salon Apps Like Phorest & Their Cost

Every salon app has its price depending on its functions and the size of your business. Some of the applications have a free trial period, free plans, basic versions, and premium packages. However, the premium package is the best option if you want unlimited features to suit your salon needs.

Conclusion

The salon managers can use several Phorest alternatives to keep their business running smoothly in Canada. Salon software has a wide range of features and choices with different solutions. Knowing your business needs will help you choose the most appropriate application that is simple and provides you with the convenience you need to stay ahead of the business competition.

Consider other factors, such as pricing and customer support, in addition to the application's features, before making a decision.

Overall, our number one Phorest competitor is Zolmi.