We here at SuperSalon would like to wish you and yours a safe and happy holiday season. It's the time of year when we warmly reflect on our relationships with our clients, how they have progressed over the year, and how we plan on better serving in the years to come. For the 2019 holiday season, [...]
What Does this Mean for Salon Businesses? On January 14 of next month, Microsoft will no longer support the Windows 7 operating system. If your salon’s PC is still running Windows 7 after the support end date, Microsoft will no longer handle maintenance or support for your machine. This includes security updates, patches, and bug fixes. [...]
Increasing the average ticket price is a challenge faced by many salon owners. Owners often look at their monthly revenue breakdown and see the majority of tickets are for the same few services. This is especially true in instances where a salon has a reputation for doing a specific service well. SuperSalon and iOffice can help [...]
Two weeks ago we discussed some of the ways that SuperSalon and iOffice can help salon owners mitigate certain risks that are inherent to the industry. We talked about how owners can use the receipt printer options to store release forms, and how all compliance documentation is stored securely on the cloud. This week, we would [...]
Implementing an effective inventory management strategy is the difference between having a few products on the shelves, and increasing your overall profits. In addition to the services they perform, most salons also carry an inventory of retail products to help their clients maintain the style achieved during their visit. Optimizing the sales performance of retail products [...]
While owning any business comes with certain risks, there are unique ones to the beauty industry that can prove challenging when first starting. Mitigating these risks before they can become lawsuits should be a part of a salon’s daily practices and training. Maintaining a professional, safe, and clean location means that accidents will be unlikely. The [...]
Salon owners know that happy clients are critical to the success of their business. Customers have more choices than ever, and it is critical for owners to differentiate the customer experience in any way they can. While a pleasant experience and quality service are most critical to turning a walk-in to a repeat customer, here are [...]
The best software-based salon management systems usually consist of two components; a point-of-sale used locally at the salon, and an online repository for sales data. For our clients, these components take the form of SuperSalon and iOffice, respectively. Between the two of them, they form the nexus of one of the most widely used salon management [...]
Running a 21st century salon business can be equal parts profitable and stressful. One of the most stressful prospects a salon owner can think of is to have a mistake made with payroll. Having a good software-based salon management system can go a long way in avoiding these mistakes, especially if they are systems like SuperSalon [...]
Business owners competing in the beauty market need a special mix of cunning and determination to survive. This is probably best illustrated by the fact that 80% of all beauty salons fail within the first 18 months of their operation. SuperSalon users can take comfort in addition to a world class salon management system, they are [...]
Choosing the best payment processing method for your business is as important as selecting your staff. As more businesses rely on software-based management systems to run their operations, there has been a shift from stand-alone card processing methods, to integrated ones. A stand-alone processing method only connects to a cash register and the third-party merchant processor, [...]
Regular returning clients are the lifeblood of any successful salon business. While much of the success in turning first-time customers into repeat ones depends on the skill and charisma of your frontline staff, the SalonCheckin enhancement module for SuperSalon can make it so this is all they have to focus on. Scheduling, marketing, and managing details [...]
With over 100 reports available to SuperSalon and iOffice users right out of the box, it’s easy to see why our salon management system is so popular. There is no area of a salon business that SuperSalon is unable to track or tabulate if it’s managed by our point-of-sale or our cloud management and backup system. [...]
What percentage of your salon business consists of customers just walking in for the first time? Further, how is your percentage rate in making sure those clients come back within three months? Making sure first-time customers become loyal ones is one of the most important drivers for growth in any salon or spa, or any other [...]
The Permissions settings in SuperSalon's point of sale are the first line of security for accessing critical areas of the system. With them, owners and managers can determine who has access to each part of the POS and at what level. And, reports like the audit trail can track who uses these permissions and when. The [...]
The beauty industry at large has come along way since the days of tiny barbershops and humble neighborhood beauty salons. While some of these smaller salon businesses still do exist and thrive in some places, even they find themselves in the need for modern management systems to both organize and optimize their businesses. Pen and paper [...]
In our most recent post, we talked about how SuperSalon can modernize a salon business’ tipping program. The last point in that post we touched upon was the ADP Tip Card program which is an enhancement feature for SuperSalon and iOffice that takes the headache right out of the process altogether. Our partnership with ADP has [...]
Like many others who work in the service sector, hairstylists and other salon staff are dependent on tips to supplement their wages. This addition to their livelihood makes tracking and issuing of tips a very important aspect of any salon business. If not managed properly, tipping policies can quickly degenerate into chaos and hurt feelings from [...]
Continuing the weekly showcase of our SuperSalon enhancement modules, we’d like to describe the benefits of one of our most effective ones: the Reserve With Google extension to SalonCheckin. With this upgrade of an already amazing feature, salon clients are able to Google your locations, book their appointments, request their stylist, and more. This feature requires [...]
Small businesses like beauty salons don’t always have don’t always have astronomical budgets for marketing and branding purposes. Getting your name out there is largely a function of word-of-mouth advertising from satisfied clients, but that doesn’t necessarily have to be the case. The SuperSalon salon management system has many bells and whistles to help business owners [...]
Very few tools are available to SuperSalon and iOffice users that are better able to gauge staffing needs than the Schedule Forecast Report. Located in the “Sales” category of the greater Reports menu, this often overlooked report can help business owners stay ahead of the curve with their staffing needs, and save money on labor costs. [...]
Last week we gave an overview of the various enhancement modules that can be bundled with SuperSalon, and we’d like to start an ongoing showcase of each of them. The enhancement feature we’d like to focus on this week is the incredibly effective Rate My Visit module. This extension of SuperSalon adds a layer of customer [...]
Having the most accurate possible snapshot of your payroll costs is important for anyone who wants to run a successful salon. The SuperSalon salon management system comes stock with an entire category of payroll reports, but none are more informative, and capture the entire data set quite like the aptly named Payroll Report. Shown below is [...]
Packed with features and options, SuperSalon and iOffice are by far the most complete solution in software-based salon management systems. Through the years we have cultivated several close relationships with the biggest names in the American beauty industry, and have honed our offerings based on the direct input of our client base. Because no two business [...]
Fast and reliable mass communication for business owners who oversee several locations is important for keeping everyone on the same page. Users of SuperSalon and iOffice have access to an advanced feature that allows them to do just that in a quick and convenient way. The Mass Messaging Utility located in the “Tools” section of iOffice [...]
Customer retention in the beauty industry means repeat visits. While many salon management systems offer POS functionality, only SuperSalon and iOffice were designed from the ground up to help business owners keep familiar faces coming through their doors. While most of these customer retention features are covered in initial training, they can sometimes go overlooked by [...]
This week’s report focus will be on one of the most detailed and widely used barometers in SuperSalon/iOffice: the Monthly Financial Report. It can be found under the “Sales” heading in the greater Reports submenu of either the POS or the iOffice cloud management and backup system. This report is for business owners who want a [...]
Owners of beauty salons know that the key to the success of their enterprise lies in a twofold approach to profitability: service AND retail sales. Where many other businesses in the greater service industry tend to focus on just one of those two, beauty salons and other similar enterprises need to strike a balance between both [...]
Continuing our ongoing showcase of our most widely used reports, we’d like to focus this week on one of the very few reports that are able to be edited in SuperSalon or iOffice: the TimeCard report. Located in either the POS or iOffice, under the “Payroll” heading, this report ensures the most accurate payroll possible by [...]
With summer officially upon us, we are all looking forward to hot sunny days and a chance to relax. With kids out of school, we are all reminded of how much we looked forward to this wonderful time of the year when vacations and time with family were the only thing on our minds. Nowadays, with [...]
As mentioned previously, we would like to focus some of our readers’ attention on the vast reporting features of SuperSalon and iOffice. As part of that, we will be showcasing the most popular and widely used reports in several upcoming posts. One of the best ones we’ve felt to start out with is the Production Report, [...]
One of the biggest advantages to the SuperSalon salon management system is its ability to report on any aspect of the business. From financial and personnel information, to royalty and logistical data, SuperSalon and iOffice have salon business owners covered on all fronts. However, with over 100 to choose from, sometimes it’s hard to know where [...]
Making sure our clients have everything they need to be successful with our offerings is very important to us here at SuperSalon. We have a very deep-rooted commitment to excellence that every staff member adheres to, from the highest points of our management, to the newest employee training for a Support role. In this post, we [...]
Last week we showcased some of the great work that’s been done by the folks in the Implementations and Training departments, and the first interactions clients have with SuperSalon when just beginning. In this post we would like to focus on another aspect of initially starting up with us, the process of hardware fulfillment. Clients have [...]
In order for us to achieve the success and market share that we enjoy, we at SuperSalon have relied on one of the best teams in the industry. Every one of us, from our live support department to our upper management and directors, are committed to our company mission, and to the success of every client [...]
We at SuperSalon believe in the constant improvement of our offerings. With each new release, we like to think that the user experience is more enhanced, and salon owners are more successful in managing their enterprises. With the majority of suggested improvements coming from our clients in the form of enhancement requests, we have the opportunity [...]
Internet outages are one of the biggest annoyances of the modern era. Fortunately they don’t usually last very long, but their effect on businesses can be stressful and inconvenient. With so many important aspects of business being reliant on network services, such as payment processors, the potential for lost revenue as a result of the Internet [...]
We at SuperSalon have had the honor of enabling and witnessing the success of many salon owners over the years. Each success story is different, but they all have very much the same factors at play. Business success in the 21st-century is all about harnessing the newest technology, and using it to your advantage to outwit [...]
Both SuperSalon and iOffice are in a constant state of improvement. With each new version that is released, we are committed to fine-tuning our salon management system in a way that best serves salon owners across the world. The vast majority of these improvements are the result of direct client input via the Enhancement Request process [...]
When selecting a software-based salon management system, one of the most important factors to consider is how easy it is to adopt. Onboarding staff members to a new system can be challenging. In the case of SuperSalon, our training program is second to none in the industry, making this transition as painless as possible. For several [...]
At this amazing moment in our history, a spirit of cooperation and collaboration exists all around the globe. People are finally working together for a healthier planet and a brighter future. In our previous post, we went over some of the ways our company is doing its part to make sure the next generation has a [...]
In recent years, a global consensus has been achieved that asks us to make the commitment to pass a healthier planet to the next generation. Governments and private enterprises around the world are working together to ensure that environmental goals are achieved before situations become out of control. ProPoint Solutions, the parent company of SuperSalon, has [...]
Dusty, dirty equipment is an eye-sore but also can affect performance too. In extreme instances, there can even be a risk of a fire. This is due to thermal buildup in a computer that is unable to properly ventilate due to accumulated dust on both the intake and outtake fans in the case itself. In our [...]
For hair salons and other businesses in the beauty industry, cleanliness is important year-round. From constant sterilization of equipment to the unending battle to prevent the floor from turning into a gigantic dreadlocked carpet via ubiquitous sweeping, following behind in salon related cleaning duties is a recipe for disaster and lost business. But what about your [...]
A salon is an investment, from staff to square footage, and for all business owners it is important to protect your investments every way possible. Luckily, salon owners who use SuperSalon have access to a way to protect their hardware investment at their finger tips: The Hot Swap Program. Whether it’s by natural disaster, theft, or [...]
One of the hallmarks of success for a salon owner is to have multiple locations, or be part of a vibrant franchise of several stores. However with this success comes a unique set of challenges in the form of keeping your customer data organized. Luckily, users of SuperSalon can rely on the Centralized Customer Database (CCD), [...]
Client relationships are important for any business, in any industry. However, in the case of the beauty industry, these relationships are far more critical. Though it is important to have a skilled staff who can efficiently perform their services in a timely and professional manner, building an actual relationship with your customers is what guarantees return [...]
Beauty salons, like most businesses in the greater service industry, rise and fall by how happy they can make their clientele. This is especially true for the beauty industry where personal services are given that can affect customers self-esteem so profoundly. Let’s face it, walking around with a bad haircut has a more lasting negative effect [...]
It wasn’t until very recently that business owners in all sectors of the economy had to rely on expensive and unreliable methods to give their enterprises visibility. With the emergence of the Digital Age, however, print and broadcast methods of advertising have taken a backseat to online presence and direct engagement. We now live in an [...]
A healthy customer database is worth its weight in gold, and can become a source of repeat business for years to come, if maintained properly. This is why the developers of SuperSalon have gone through great lengths to make sure that each customer profile can contain the maximum amount of data for each client that visits [...]
A modern beauty salon can be a very hectic place. And with so many moving parts, efficiently managing these enterprises can be daunting. It wasn’t until about a decade ago that modern software-based salon management systems were available on the market. Prior to that, the vigilance required by business owners to be successful resulted in a [...]
Users of the SuperSalon salon management system enjoy a comprehensive suite of tools to help them realize their vision of a successful salon enterprise. Over time, as SuperSalon’s database accumulates more information about clients and their activities, the resources at salon owners’ fingertips become even more comprehensive. Many locations don’t even realize the treasure trove of [...]
Like many others who ply their trade in the service industry, salon staff are dependent on gratuities for their livelihoods. Much like how salon owners depend on a dual revenue stream of product and service profit, salon staff are dependent on their own in the form of wages and client tips. Being such an important part [...]
A thriving service industry is a clear indicator of both a healthy national economy and a good standard of living for its citizens. There are very few other places in the world where this is more prevalent than in the United States where the vast majority of new businesses are those that could be classified under [...]
Customer retention is key to the success of any business, perhaps even more so in the beauty industry. With repeat customers, a salon enterprise is guaranteed to survive and flourish in a time when the industry has never been more competitive. Salon owners have several strategies at their disposal to keep clients coming back, but users [...]
With a new year comes new tax rates for many locations throughout the US. Luckily, SuperSalon comes with easy to use tax implementation tools right out of the box. Whether it’s a temporary local tax, VAT tax, or a replacement tax, SuperSalon has its users covered. This article will go over the step-by-step instructions involved in [...]
Secure gift card options are an excellent way to foster customer loyalty, and ensure profitability by allowing locations to receive revenue before any services are even performed. SuperSalon provides several reliable solutions for gift cards, the newest being our partnership with Factor4. This standalone system is a popular option for business owners throughout the US and [...]
Of all the reports available to SuperSalon customers, few are more popular and versatile than the Daily Report. Much like the Salon Dashboard, this report organizes a large amount of data into an easy to read format, and is generally …
Very few of SuperSalon’s extended features have been more popular than the Centralized Customer Database (CCD). In fact, since we first wrote about it in 2015, hundreds of salons all over the United States and Canada have begun to utilize it in their day-to-day operations. This blog post will go over some of its capabilities, the [...]
SuperSalon 5.9.8 is just around the corner, bringing several new features and improvements that our Development team has been working hard on for some time. This is been a very eventful year for SuperSalon updates, with some of the best integrations and improvements being saved for last with this most recent update. Email receipts, ADP Tip [...]
SuperSalon has many features that assist its users in moving through the ticket and sales process as quickly as possible. One of these is the Quick Keys feature that appears in the Checkout screen, just prior to final settlement. These allow users to quickly add the most popular products or services to each ticket, with a [...]
In keeping with our commitment to always stay at the forefront of the current technical landscape, ProPoint is happy to announce that a new feature for the SuperSalon point of sale is in its final stages of development. An upcoming addition to our extended services will include the ability to send salon clients their receipts via [...]
With the release of 5.9.7, SuperSalon now has extended capabilities for the SMS messaging feature. Now, instead of only one way communication between a location and its client base SuperSalon allows for two-way communication where clients can actually respond to text messages. This new capability comes at no additional cost for current clients using our SMS [...]
Located under the Sales > Schedule Forecasting section of the Reports tab of both iOffice and SuperSalon is a tool that can assist business owners in more effective staffing. Matching the correct number of employees on hand to the correct amount of customer flow makes payroll costs more efficient, and this blog post will show how [...]
The store sync feature of iOffice is one of its most useful and widely used tools for accounts that have multiple locations. With it, users are able to establish and equalize several aspects of their salon business across each location. In this article, we are going to focus on the Permission settings, and the proper way [...]
Many areas of North America and Canada have programs in place that allow for certain clients to be exempt from sales taxes. These could be for either products, services, or any other salon offering depending on the circumstances. SuperSalon enables its users to create unique tax-exempt programs for use with the system, as well as integrate [...]
Users of the SuperSalon Knowledge Base will notice a new area in the content that has just recently been posted in the last couple of weeks. This new Reporting section will serve to explain, and hopefully take away some of the mystery, surrounding the many reports that are available for both SuperSalon and iOffice. The first [...]
At times, the payroll process for a business requires flexibility in how staff are scheduled and how they are subsequently paid. SuperSalon allows you to configure multiple pay periods, for multiple employees. This allows several forms of payroll to be tabulated at the same time. This article will show you the step-by-step process for creating a [...]
A major update to the SuperSalon point of sale is right around the corner. SuperSalon 5.9.7 is the largest update to be released so far this year, and it contains several new features and bug fixes to help improve the user experience, from business owner to front line employee. We at ProPoint Solutions are very proud [...]
Locations will sometimes need to augment the prices of their Service offerings based on certasin circumstances. A good example of this would be an extra charge attached to a perm service if the client has unusually long hair. This extra charge is referred to as a "Sub Item" in the context of SuperSalon, and this article [...]
With so many different business models in the salon industry, it is a constant challenge to ensure that our offerings can accommodate them all. The flexibility of our software allows business owners to configure their salon Services to carry different prices depending on the staff member who is performing them. This is the Price Groups feature [...]
SuperSalon comes with built-in support for several peripherals and and devices, right out-of-the-box. Users can take advantage of the most modern retail sales devices available such as the newest receipt printers, bar scanners, and more. This article will give a high level overview of pole display support, and introduce the reader to the settings and customization [...]
Giving business owners the ability to customize their user experience of SuperSalon down to the finest detail has been an important part of its ongoing development. As of SuperSalon 5.6, locations that utilize the Appointment Book have the ability to convert their established appointments into workable tickets. This article will go over the procedure involved in changing [...]
Changes to state and local tax policies can often be fast and unexpected. Keeping up with these rates and changes to percentages, and then applying them to individual locations has the potential to be a very bothersome chore. Luckily, business owners who use SuperSalon and iOffice have a utility at their disposal to quickly update all [...]
In keeping with our new release schedule, ProPoint Solutions is happy to announce that the new version of our flagship point-of-sale system, SuperSalon, is almost ready for general release. This comprehensive update represents several months of hard work on the part of our Development and Quality Assurance teams, and we are grateful for their efforts. This [...]
Users of SuperSalon have several options available to them when it comes to managing their retail products. In addition to the Inventory Manager, the Products submenu located in the Manager menu also has the Edit Multiple screen. This interface enables users to perform almost all tasks available in the Inventory Manager, as well as establish important [...]
In order to accurately report on both staff performance and customer satisfaction, it is vital to factor in how long clients have to wait prior to their service. To meet this need, ProPoint Solutions has added calculations to SuperSalon and iOffice that allow business owners to establish acceptable wait times, and even use them to better [...]
Very few interfaces within the SuperSalon POS are as important to overall business success as the Company Info submenu located in the Setup tab. In here, several metrics and settings are established that will be important to other functions of the system. An example of this would be establishing store hours which will determine the time [...]
The SalonCheckin extended feature for SuperSalon is one of the most popular extras that ProPoint Solutions offers to our users. With it, salon clients are able to book their services online and even request the specific staff member they would like to have during their visit. This is accomplished by either a customized webpage, or a [...]
Wrapping up the first quarter of 2018, ProPoint solutions finds itself building on the successes of previous years, and solidifying its position as an industry leader for many years to come. We would like to take this opportunity to update our clients, shareholders, and well-wishers on what we have accomplished in this first quarter, as well [...]
Ticket Voids Explained Sometimes it becomes necessary to cancel or delete a sales ticket during the course of a workday. This could be for any number of reasons, and SuperSalon enables its users to be able to perform this important task both during and after the final settlement has taken place. This article will go over [...]
Research of current and past sales is enhanced for SuperSalon users in the Search Sales submenu of the Manager tab. By filtering queries by date, payment method, and a host of other metrics, salon staff are able to quickly find the ticket they are looking for. By selecting this ticket, there is a wealth of information [...]
One of iOffice's best features is its ability to mirror the SuperSalon POS in enough ways for it to be feasible to perform administrative tasks like adding new Payment Methods, and have them available for use at the salon with a single upload. This article will go over the step-by-step procedure involved in creating a new [...]
Having equipment act up during a busy workday is never an enjoyable experience. This is particularly true in the case of your salon's receipt printer. Since they are an integral part of the sales and check-out process, it's important to keep receipt printers working, as expected, throughout the workday. Fortunately, our partnership with POS-X has made [...]
SuperSalon's flexibility enables its users to finely tune almost any aspect of their business, and in the area of discounts, this flexibility is enhanced by permitting the use of barcodes for convenient reading. Further, label printers can be configured to print these barcodes for products, or even a reference sheet close to the register. This article [...]
When initially setting up a salon’s payroll, one of the first things to establish is the frequency in which staff members will be paid for their work. This article will go over the step-by-step process involved in creating both a weekly pay period, and one that reflects multiple instances per month. While this process is also [...]
Commission plans serve as great incentives for staff members to perform at their absolute best, and both SuperSalon and iOffice support some of the most flexible commission plan creation features in the industry. Users are encouraged to experiment with their own combinations of the various templates, and all definitions are explained within the Knowledge Base glossary [...]
Product Brands are the companies are licensed to create and distribute products under their own name, such as Paul Mitchell™ or Redken™. SuperSalon can be configured to recognize these brands via the interface located in the Products submenu of the Manager menu. Breakdown of the Brands Menu Submenu Located in Manager > Products > Brands, this [...]
One of the most popular features in iOffice is the ability to configure reports to be automatically sent to key staff members so they are always up-to-date on important sales, logistical, and performance related information. These Auto Reports can be a vital tool for upper and middle management to monitor their locations’ progress, and this article [...]
The ProPoint Knowledge Base has received several updates since its launch in Q1 of this year, and has become an indispensable part of the training and onboarding process for our offerings. Now this learning resource has received an entirely new section devoted to the extended services we offer to enhance the user experience of both SuperSalon [...]
Keeping staff informed of important news and announcements can oftentimes be a difficult prospect. To address this challenge, SuperSalon and iOffice include a little known feature than can eliminate the headache, and reduce the time needed for staff communications significantly. The Mass Messaging Utility allows owners and franchisees who are responsible for multiple employees to send [...]
After our initial announcement of the collaboration with Google on the improvement of our SalonCheckin and Mobile Apps extended features, we have seen an increased interest in these programs from our clients. Email and phone inquiries have both had the same general theme of “how can this help my business?”, so this blog post will touch [...]
SuperSalon's receipt printing capabilities can be customized to meet your salon's individual needs. We've made it easy for users to create your own headers, footers and messaging to help drive customer loyalty. To get started, click or tap the "Setup" tab in SuperSalon and select "Receipt Printer" from the list of selections. From there, click or [...]
One of the best ways to ensure repeat business from your clientele is by always maintaining an array of discounts that can be used for your offerings. Since SuperSalon point-of-sale, one of the world’s leading salon management systems, was designed to enable business owners to create as many discounts as they would like, you see any [...]
A busy location, with several employees on the schedule at once, can have challenges in keeping staffing at an optimum. And, having to determine break times during a rush can add to the stress. Since the 5.6.5 version, SuperSalon has featured a built-in function that allows managers and senior staff members to pre-configure breaks before things [...]
Though you may not experience them often, outages in required business services can result in lost revenue and delays in customer service. When an internet service provider has an interruption of service, credit card processing can often grind to a crawl (with telephone authorizations) or stop completely. SuperSalon also loses the ability to upload data to [...]
Ever since the first versions of the SuperSalon salon management software were released to the public, our mission has been to provide the most customizable format to accommodate almost any service based business. Over the years, our appeal has been recognized by more than just the frontline area of the beauty industry as seen in our partnerships [...]
Being able to collect and store all of the information possible about your clients is critical to the success of your business. We at ProPoint Solutions have recognized this value for robust data collection, as well as detailed customer profiles, and have incorporated these features into the PoS since the first release of our software. The [...]
Of all the extended features available to users of SuperSalon, the Business Audit Tool located in iOffice is one of the most effective for keeping track of critical events while not onsite. Once a premium extended feature, it is now available to all iOffice users. This tool tracks certain metrics in the realms of both salon [...]
As far as SuperSalon terminology goes, “Vendors” are defined as the fulfillment sources of products and/or supplies for the salon. In addition to retail products, Vendors can also provide tools and infrastructure materials. This article will break down the Vendors submenu as well as go over the process involved in entering a new vendor into the [...]
