Multi-location salon software

Salon Software for Groups and Chains

Every branch keeps its own books, staff and stock. You get one login that switches between them, reports that put them side by side, and stock that can move from the branch with too much to the branch that ran out.

Per branchOwn books
Side by sideBranch reports
TransfersStock between sites
NoPer-seat fee

What software do salon groups and chains use?

Salon groups and chains use multi-location salon software: a system that keeps each branch's bookings, billing, stock and staff separate, while giving the owner one place to compare locations and move things between them. In practice a group needs five things a single-salon app does not provide:

  • Separate books per branch, so one location's cash, stock and staff never mix with another's.
  • Side-by-side reporting, so you can see which branch is actually carrying the group.
  • Stock movement between sites, with a record on both ends.
  • Permissions per location, so a branch manager sees their branch and not the group's numbers.
  • One owner login that switches between branches instead of five sets of credentials.

At the top of the market, enterprise platforms such as Zenoti and Phorest serve large chains, usually priced per employee with an implementation process to match. Salonipy covers the same five essentials for small and mid-sized groups — two to roughly ten locations — at USD 5 per branch per month, with no per-seat fee and nothing to install.

The two ways multi-location software is built

It is worth understanding this before you choose anything, because it decides what the software can and cannot do for you.

One shared database. Every branch writes into a single pool of data. Clients, stock and staff are group-wide by default. This is how enterprise platforms work. The benefit is a genuinely unified view; the cost is complexity, price, and the fact that every branch is exposed to every other branch's mistakes.

Separate books, linked. Each branch keeps its own complete set of records, and the group layer sits on top for reporting and movement. This is how Salonipy works. The benefit is that branches stay clean, independent and fast, and a manager cannot see or damage another site's data. The cost is that group-wide things are deliberate rather than automatic.

For most groups under about ten locations, the second model is the better fit — largely because the failure mode of the first one is one badly trained receptionist editing a product or a price for the entire company.

How branches work in Salonipy

Each branch is its own account

A branch has its own login, clients, services, prices, staff, stock and bills. It also sets its own currency, tax name and rate, receipt size and language, which is what makes a group across two countries workable at all.

The owner switches between them

Sign into your branches once on a device and you can move between them from the branch switcher, without logging out and back in each time.

Branches are managed from the main branch

One branch is the main one, and that is where branches are added or removed. Your account carries a branch allowance which is shown on the Branches screen.

Reports read each branch through its own login

Cross-branch features do not bypass a branch's own security. They read each location through the login you have signed in with, which is why branch reports cover the branches signed in on that device.

Comparing branches side by side

The point of running three salons rather than one is that you can tell which of the three is working. Branch reports put your locations next to each other for today, this month, last month or this year, comparing:

  • Sales and number of invoices
  • Average bill
  • Collected, and outstanding still owed
  • Expenses and net profit
  • Clients served, and how many were walk-ins

Average bill and the walk-in ratio are usually the two that tell you something you did not already know. A branch with strong sales and a low average bill is busy but not selling; a branch with a high walk-in ratio has traffic but is not converting anyone into a regular, which is a marketing problem rather than a staffing one.

Moving stock between locations

Every group has the same recurring problem: one branch is sitting on twelve tubes of a colour nobody there asks for, and another branch ran out of it on Friday.

Pick the product, the quantity and the destination branch, add a note such as the rider's name, and send it. The receiving branch gets the same product — matched by name, or created there if it does not exist yet — and the transfer is written into both branches' stock history. That two-sided record is the part that matters: stock leaving one site and arriving at another is exactly where inventory goes missing when it is handled over WhatsApp.

The same client, at more than one branch

Clients do not respect your org chart. Someone who normally visits your Gulberg branch will walk into DHA because they happened to be nearby, and the front desk there has never heard of them.

Each branch keeps its own client list, but Salonipy links them by phone number. Two things happen as a result:

  • When you add a client whose number already exists at another branch, Salonipy tells you which branch they belong to and offers to copy their details across, so you are not retyping a name, birthday and notes that the company already has.
  • On a client's profile you can see their activity at your other branches — visits, total spend, anything still outstanding, and when they last came in.

That second one is the one owners care about. A client who owes money at one branch should not be quietly running up a balance at another, and a client who spends heavily across three of your sites is a better client than any single branch's records make her look.

Who can see what

Because each branch is a separate account, the permission question mostly answers itself: a branch manager signs into their branch and there is nothing to accidentally expose. Group-wide numbers exist only where the owner has signed into the branches.

Inside a branch, the usual controls still apply. Staff use a PIN and see only the screens allowed to them, owner-only areas such as reports, payouts and settings sit behind a separate Owner PIN, and you can build custom roles that open specific screens. In a chain this matters more than in a single salon, because you are not standing in the room.

For a groupSingle-salon appEnterprise platformSalonipy
Separate books per branchNo — one salon onlyYesYes
Compare branchesNoYesYes, 9 metrics
Stock transfersNoYesYes, recorded both sides
Client seen across sitesNoYes, shared databaseYes, linked by phone
Per-branch currency & taxn/aUsuallyYes
Pricing basisFlat or per seatUsually per employeePer branch
SetupImmediateImplementation projectImmediate

What a group pays

The reason multi-location salon software gets expensive is per-employee pricing. A group with three branches and eight stylists each is paying for twenty-four seats, so every hire raises the bill and the software starts influencing decisions it has no business influencing.

Salonipy charges per branch: USD 5 a month, USD 30 a year, or USD 150 once for lifetime access, for each location, with every feature included. Three branches cost three branches whether you employ nine people or thirty. Prices show in local currency — see the pricing page, or the buyer's guide if you are comparing platforms properly.

Adding your second branch

Open the main branch

Branches are added and removed from the main branch, so start there.

Add the branch

Create it with its name and its own login on the Branches screen, within your branch allowance.

Set that location up

Sign in as the new branch and add its services, prices, staff, stock, currency, tax and receipt settings. Prices and menus often differ between locations, and they are meant to.

Sign in on your reporting device

On whichever device you use to look at numbers, sign into each branch once. That is what lets branch reports, stock transfers and cross-branch client lookup see them.

Start comparing

From then on the group view is there whenever you want it, and each branch carries on exactly as a single salon would.

What this is not

  • It is not one shared database. Clients, stock and staff belong to a branch; the group layer links them rather than merging them.
  • Cross-branch reports, transfers and client lookup cover the branches you have signed into on that device. They are not a central server view you can open from anywhere without signing in.
  • There is no group-wide price list or service menu pushed from head office. Each branch maintains its own.
  • It is not a franchise royalty or licence-fee billing system. Franchise fees between owner and franchisee are handled outside the app.
  • There is no consolidated group payroll. Payroll and commission run per branch.
  • Branch reports are clearest when locations share a currency; a cross-currency group is billed correctly per branch but not converted into a single total.

Related

Salonipy is one app, so every tool below works the same in every branch. See the full feature list.

Frequently asked questions

What software do salon groups and chains use?

Salon groups and chains use multi-location salon software that keeps each branch's bookings, billing, stock and staff separate while giving the owner one place to compare locations. The essentials are per-branch books, side-by-side branch reports, stock transfers between locations, per-branch staff permissions and a single owner login that can switch between sites. Large enterprise platforms such as Zenoti and Phorest serve big chains at enterprise prices, while Salonipy covers the same core needs for small and mid-sized groups at USD 5 per branch per month.

How does Salonipy handle multiple salon locations?

Each branch runs as its own account with its own clients, stock, staff and bills, so one location's cash and inventory never mix with another's. The owner signs into their branches on a device and can then switch between them, compare them in branch reports, transfer stock and look up a client across sites.

Can I compare sales between branches?

Yes. Branch reports put your locations side by side for today, this month, last month or this year, comparing sales, invoices, average bill, collected, outstanding, expenses, net profit, clients served and walk-ins.

Can I transfer stock between salon branches?

Yes. Choose a product, a quantity and the destination branch, and add a note such as the rider's name. The receiving branch gets the same product matched by name, or it is created there, and the transfer appears in both branches' stock history.

Do clients carry across branches?

Each branch keeps its own client list, but Salonipy links them by phone number. When you add a client whose number already exists at another branch, it tells you which branch and offers to copy their details. On a client's profile you can also see their visits, spend, outstanding balance and last visit date at your other branches.

How much does salon software for a chain cost?

Salonipy is priced per branch, not per staff member: USD 5 a month, USD 30 a year, or USD 150 once for lifetime access for each location, with every feature included and no per-seat fee. A three-branch group pays for three branches no matter how many stylists work in them.

Can I stop one branch manager seeing another branch's numbers?

Yes. Because each branch is its own account, a branch manager signs into their own branch only. Within that branch you can also set staff PINs and custom roles so reports, payouts and settings stay behind the Owner PIN.

Is there a limit on how many branches I can add?

Your account carries a branch allowance, shown on the Branches screen. Branches are added and removed from the main branch. If you need a larger allowance, contact Salonipy support.

Does each branch need its own internet connection and device?

Each branch bills on its own device, but not on its own server or terminal — any Android phone or tablet, Windows PC or browser will do. Billing continues offline and syncs when the connection returns, which matters when one location has worse internet than the others.

Does it work for a salon franchise?

It works for franchises where each franchisee runs their own books and the group owner wants visibility and stock movement between sites. It is not a franchise royalty or licence-fee billing system, so franchise fees would still be handled outside the app.

Can I run branches in different countries or currencies?

Yes. Each branch sets its own currency, tax name and rate, receipt size and language, so a group with locations in different markets can bill correctly in each one. Branch reports are clearest when locations share a currency.

What do I need to see my branches' numbers together?

Sign into each branch once on the device you use for reporting. Cross-branch reports, stock transfers and client lookup read each branch through its own login, so they cover the branches signed in on that device.

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