Makastam for beauty salons

A diary and treatment list for each therapist

Not everyone in a beauty salon offers every treatment. In Makastam you set, for each staff member, the treatments they offer, their working hours and their days off. In the day view each therapist has their own column, so whoever is on reception can see at a glance who is free and when.

When a client picks a treatment on your online booking page, only therapists who offer it are listed. Free slots are worked out from working hours, time off and existing appointments, and each booking takes up as long as the treatment lasts. In settings you choose which treatments and staff are bookable online; anything you prefer to discuss first, such as treatments that need a consultation or patch test, can simply stay off the online page.

A missed long treatment is an expensive gap

When a client does not turn up for an hour-long facial, that hour can rarely be filled at short notice. That is why reminders are one of the most useful habits for a beauty salon. A confirmation goes out when the appointment is booked, and a reminder follows the number of hours beforehand that you choose.

Messages are sent free of charge through Makastam's Telegram bot, with no account of your own to set up. If the client booked through Telegram, they can cancel there too when they cannot make it, and the slot opens up again. Automatic messages over WhatsApp are coming soon. Details are on the Telegram reminders page, and practical ideas for cutting missed appointments are in our guide to reducing no-shows.

The client profile shows how many times each client has not turned up. Spotting the ones who regularly miss without warning makes it easier to decide how to handle them.

Retail and stock

Moisturisers, serums and SPF go on the same ticket as the treatment and come off stock automatically. On the quick sale screen you can find a product by name or by barcode. You can also give the therapist who made the sale a separate retail commission, so the effort of recommending a product shows in their earnings.

• The product sales report shows how much of each product you sold and, if you have access, its cost and margin.
• The service profitability report takes the cost of products used during treatments into account.
• With more than one branch, stock is kept per branch and can be transferred between them.
• A stock count brings the number in the system back in line with what is actually on the shelf.

Courses of treatments

Many beauty salons sell treatments as a course. Makastam does not currently have a separate module for tracking course sessions, and we would rather say so up front. Salons usually add the course to the ticket as a single custom item, take the payment and write the remaining sessions in a note on the client profile. Each visit is then booked as an appointment and the therapist who did the treatment appears on the ticket line, so their work is credited correctly.

Reception, therapists and owner: each on their own screen

Many beauty salons have someone on reception. In Makastam everyone logs in with their own account. Reception handles bookings, tickets and payments; a therapist only sees their own appointments, ticket lines and earnings; an accountant can review reports and expenses. The till, salon takings and other staff earnings are only visible to the owner and any manager you allow. The staff roles and logins page covers the roles in detail.

Therapists can be paid on commission, a fixed wage plus commission, or by renting a room or chair. Different rates per treatment category are possible too. If you run a salon in Australia, our page on salons in Sydney looks at the local side of things.