Cities

Running a salon in Toronto: neighbourhoods, winters and many languages

Toronto is a city of neighbourhoods, from the old town centres of Scarborough, Etobicoke and North York to the strips along Queen, Dundas and the Danforth, with commuters arriving from across the GTA. Your clients and your staff may have roots on several continents, and the weather can change your day before you open the door. Here is how to set up a barbershop or salon diary for the way Toronto works.

Subway, streetcar and GO: where your clients come from

Downtown shops near the subway lines and the Financial District see office workers at lunch and after five, many of whom catch a GO train home to Mississauga, Brampton, Markham or Vaughan. A shop on a neighbourhood main street depends more on locals who walk or take the streetcar, and on families booking around school and hockey practice. In the suburbs, most clients drive and plaza parking matters more than transit.

Commuter clients care about their train. Put short services such as cuts, line-ups and beard trims online in the late afternoon, so they can finish in time for the GO.
Neighbourhood shops can lean on Saturday regulars: let them pick their usual barber on the online booking page.
Use the minimum notice setting to stop someone booking a slot they cannot physically reach in time.

Winter: snow days, slow streetcars and late arrivals

A heavy snowfall or a deep freeze slows the TTC, clogs the highways and makes some clients decide to stay home. You cannot plan the weather, but you can plan for it. From December to March, consider leaving a slightly longer gap between appointments at the busiest times, and send reminders close enough to the appointment that a client looking out of the window can let you know early.

Clients who book through your Telegram link can cancel there themselves while there is still enough notice, which opens the slot again for a walk-in. A missed appointment is marked as a no-show and counted on the client profile. Our guide to reducing no-shows covers this in more depth.

Long weekends and the summer cottage exodus

From Victoria Day in May to Labour Day in September, many Torontonians head north on long weekends, and Friday afternoons before those weekends can go quiet. The days just before them often get busier instead, as people want a fresh cut before they leave. Thanksgiving in October, the holiday season in December and back-to-school in late August bring their own rushes.

Look at the calendar a month ahead
Before a long weekend, open online booking a few extra days ahead so regulars book their pre-weekend slot early.
Give staff the quiet Fridays
Rotate days off on summer Fridays. When a day off is in the diary, nobody can be booked with that barber.
Remind people after the summer
"We miss you" messages can go automatically in September to clients who gave marketing consent and have not been in for a while.

Teams and clients who speak many languages

In a Toronto shop it is common for the owner, the barbers and the customers to have different first languages. Makastam lets each user choose their own panel language: English, Turkish, German, Russian or Arabic. The owner can review the till in one language while a barber checks his day in another. The staff roles and logins page explains what each role can see.

Your booking page opens in the client's browser language where it is one of those available, and the client can switch it on the page. French and many of the languages spoken in Toronto's neighbourhoods are not among them yet, so for clients who prefer another language, add a note to their profile so whoever is free knows how to greet them.

Local settings: time zone, currency and phone numbers

Makastam stores the country, time zone and currency per business. A Toronto shop runs on Eastern Time, so bookings, reminders and the end-of-day report follow your clock, including the switch to and from daylight saving time. Tickets, the till and reports are in Canadian dollars, and phone numbers are stored with the country code, so clients can type their number the way they normally would.

Prices are entered before tax and you choose the tax rate per line, including zero. Whether a service is subject to GST or HST, and at which rate, is something to confirm with your accountant; Makastam does not file anything with the CRA for you.

If you run a barbershop, the barbershop page shows how walk-ins, quick sales and barber commission fit together day to day.

Set up your Toronto shop on Eastern Time

Add your barbers, choose your reminder time and share your booking link.

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Frequently asked questions

Does Makastam work in Eastern Time and Canadian dollars?

Yes. Time zone and currency are set per business, so a Toronto shop sees bookings and reminders in Eastern Time and tickets and reports in Canadian dollars.

Can my barbers use the system in their own language?

Yes. Each user chooses their own panel language from English, Turkish, German, Russian and Arabic. The booking page opens in the client's browser language where available and can be switched by the client.

Snow days wreck my schedule. What can I do?

Leave a little more slack in winter, send reminders closer to the appointment, and let Telegram users cancel while there is still notice so you can fill the slot with a walk-in.

Does Makastam handle GST or HST?

You can set the tax rate on each line, and prices are entered before tax. Which rate applies to your services and how you report it is a question for your accountant.