Five Absolute Solid Facts why a Specific Software program is a must for every Clinic/Day Spa

Many years ago the more successful clinics were the ones that took the time to manually record and calculate their numbers to know exactly what they and their teams were doing, where their profit was coming from and where improvement was needed, they also marketed to their client list well. Understandably only a few were doing this as it took ages, needed a good system and an eye for detail to keep the information accurate… oh how times have changed.

The computer age has opened up a world of opportunity for even the busiest clinic owner to have all the information they need (and more) at their fingertips within a few seconds… and that spells success for a lot more people.

If you don’t yet see why you should systemise your clinic with a specifically designed software package have a look below at the five absolute solid facts why you should be considering it soon.

1          More efficient booking system;

Appointments, appointments, appointments … the lifeblood of every clinic, and if the appointments are not managed in an efficient way you are losing valuable time between clients, at the start and end of the day, before and after breaks like lunch etc and you know what I’m talking about… how many times have you gone to your paper based appointment book and found five minutes here and 10 minutes there between clients or a space that’s not big enough to fit a client in just before an operator is to go on a break because the handwriting has overlapped the next time slot, or when they are due to come back, this leads to inefficiency and a loss of time, and time is money in the beauty business. How much money are you losing daily to the little time bleeds that a computerised appointment diary will not allow you to have – go on have a look back at your past 3 months bookings and add up the lost time due to inefficient bookings. Scary isn’t it. When we first computerised our salon we picked up $12,000 in the first year of extra business due to more efficient bookings… and that alone justified the cost of buying the software. Could you do with an extra $12,000 this year?

2          Reports that tell you what you NEED to know;

When was the last time you sat down and analysed your salon results? Did you manually calculate the average client bill, facial %, massage numbers and types, what percentage of your business did waxing contribute last month? Did you figure your wage percentage out using a pen and a calculator or did you just put it in the too hard, too long and too tired to do it basket?

A computerised system will have all the above information (and much more) in a matter of seconds, which then gives you the time to actually use the data to improve your clinic results as opposed to using all your energy just to find and calculate the information.

A computerised system will provide you with the ability to put your targeted treatment and sales figures in then produce reports based on your KPI’s (Key Performance Indicators) so you can see at a glance where you and your team are performing well and also highlighting areas that may need adjustment and improvement. Information is important to today’s clinic owner and if you’re not getting it in an orderly or timely manner you are putting yourself behind the eight ball from the start.

3          Tidier client records, Printable client files, Easier recall of past treatments and purchases;

How often are you hunting through your client record cards looking for your next client’s information? Only to give up trying to find it and taking the client through without being armed with her past history… maybe the card has been lost at the back of the cabinet in the beauty room, or you may finally find the card only to see that the handwriting is illegible or worse it hasn’t been updated since June 1961! In any case, this is costing you sales and almost certainly, from time to time, clients! Perhaps your team have a different filing system than you do? The question is: how long are you going to suffer from the same issues before realising that a software system will alleviate them all immediately! Clinic systems will keep your client records in order, all you have to do is print them at the days start and update the history after each client, nothing could be simpler and you save many hours a year (sometimes a month!) from searching for client cards. Also it is a much more professional way to manage your data – and clients are secure in the knowledge that their information is kept safe and not just laying around to be lost and believe me – most of the team actually like updating their clients’ data on the computer so it’s easier to get them to do it.

4          Marketing that gets you new business from existing clients;

Email, Text, E-newsletters, Mail-outs, Promotions, Special Offers, Client invites to special events… the list goes on and on. There is a saying amongst marketers that the ‘Money is in the List’ meaning that it is no good having a great service or product if you haven’t got a list of people’s names to promote it to.

A Clinic system should have a marketing module that allows you to easily and quickly stay in touch with your client base. You can text confirmations of appointments, or fill a quiet afternoon with a great txt only offer. Regular newsletters can be emailed to clients as can promotions and special offers… oh and the only thing more important than a system allowing you to do this is in fact using it when you have got one!

5          Payroll/Accounts/Tax, tidier, faster and easier than longhand and cheaper than an accountant doing it;

Are you spending hundreds (or thousands?) of dollars on accountancy fees? Maybe you fill long evenings or weekends ‘doing the wages and the books’ and not spending that time with family or friends… kick it to touch with a computerised system, some specialised clinic systems come with wages and accounts modules that allow you to quickly process accounts and run the wages efficiently, allowing you to spend the time and money saved on doing what you want to do.

Summary;

So if by now you haven’t realised the benefit of having a specialised Clinic specific software package in your clinic go back and read the five solid facts again, and repeat that until you see that your life will become easier and your clinic will become smarter for doing so.

You can save time and money by investing in a clinic specific software package, your clinic will benefit, your team will thank you and so will your family and friends… the only person who may not be so happy is your accountant… because their bill should become cheaper from doing less work, although I suspect they will be happy too because your Clinic will be running more smoothly and profitably as a result.

A few years ago a specialised Clinic Software System was a luxury only the big clinics could afford, today it is so affordable that every Clinic / Spa looking to be at the top of their game should have one as a matter of necessity.