[Upcoming feature] Stylist pricing & duration

[aazhang]

Hi Health & Beauty sellers,

We’re excited to share that Stylist pricing & duration is in the works!

What it is

Set a different price and duration for each staff member who performs a service. For example, the same service could cost $65 with one stylist and $110 with another - without creating separate services or variations.

We’d love your feedback on two specific areas:

1. Setting a base price and duration

Each service would have a base price and duration that applies to your whole team. You’d only need to customize the staff members who charge a different price or need more time.

Anyone without a customization would continue using the base settings, including whenever you update them.

Does this match how you manage pricing today, or do you think of every stylist’s price and duration separately?

2. Changing the stylist on an appointment

Imagine a client books with Maya for $80, but Chris(who charges $120) ends up performing the service.

• Before the appointment: Should the price automatically update to Chris’s rate, or should the client keep the price they were originally quoted?
• After the appointment has been completed and paid for: Should you be able to charge or refund the difference, or should the payment stay the same while you update the stylist for commission and tip reporting?

If you have additional feedback or use-cases related to Styling pricing & duration, feel free to also share that below.

Want early access?

Reply to this post if you’re interested in joining the beta. We’ll add you to the list and follow up when it’s ready.

[tranguyen]

@mitin @TCSlaguna @Doran @Vanilla @SiBellebeauty @JessPoynter want to make sure this is on your radar 👀

[Doran]

This looks like an amazing update! I’m a solo girl but for big salons with different skill levels this is going to be so helpful. 

[dakotagrey]

This would be very helpful for my studio and staff. I have booth renters, who have to have separate check outs because they pay me rather than receiving a commission check. This has meant I have to put them into categories on the booking page AND title each service as "haircut with x stylist" because clients won't read thoroughly. It would also be helpful to move clients to other stylists, as we need to do that sometimes and right now we have to completely cancel the appointment and then make a new one, rather than just pull up that other stylist's availability and move it. These new features would make my job just a bit easier. 

[RavenandRose]

Yes, being able to switch stylists on the fly without creating a new appointment would be helpful.

[mitin]

@tranguyen this is great, i remember someone asking about this, gonna go find them and share it with them

[salontas]

Thank you! Yes this is great 

[kacey_k]

I’m an independent hairstylist and booth renter, so I don’t currently manage multiple stylists under my Square account, but I’d still LOVE to beta test this from the independent stylist perspective! 🙋‍♀️

I really like the concept, especially for salons where multiple stylists are using the same booking system but have different pricing and timing. In the booth-rental world, we may work under the same roof, but each stylist can essentially be running their own business, setting their own prices and determining how much time they need for each service.

One thing I’d definitely want to see is price and duration being independently customizable. Even for one stylist, service timing isn’t always one-size-fits-all.

As far as changing the stylist on an appointment, if that happens before the service, I think Square should clearly show any change in price or duration and require confirmation rather than silently changing what the client was originally quoted.

If the appointment has already been completed and paid, I’d prefer the ability to correct the stylist for reporting purposes without automatically changing the payment.

I’d also love to see this tested with independent/booth-rental stylists in mind, not only traditional salons with employees. There are a LOT of us using Square. 😊

Please add me to the beta list! I’d be happy to give feedback from that perspective.

[aazhang]

Thanks for your thoughtful feedback @kacey_k ! A quick clarification on the booth-rental scenario - this feature is designed for salons where multiple stylists are managed under a single Square account. If each booth renter has their own separate Square account, this feature wouldn't apply since you're each already independently managing your own services, pricing, and duration.

Since you mentioned you're a solo stylist on your own account, you already have full control over your pricing and timing today. I'm curious, is there something about that experience that feels limiting? We want to make sure we're not missing anything! Thank you!

[anniemcg]

I'm very interested in this feature as well. I'd love to get in on the beta whenever it's ready

[anniemcg]

To the specific questions soliciting feedback:

1. Yes, we would find it most useful to have a base price and duration, and then define the exceptions. Realistically, as the owner and the highest volume technician at our salon, the variance would probably only apply to me to start with.
2. I feel like its a good thing to think through, but in the cases we have to switch providers it is always a conversation with the client before services begin and we have the tools to modify pricing at our POS register. I don't really have a strong opinion on what the default behavior should be.

edit: For context, we are a salon with regular employees, not independent contractors or booth renters.

[CurlyDoodle]

I am interested in joining this beta! 

[TCSlaguna]

@aazhang  We have 10 different service providers, and yes some have different prices for the same service. So this would be GREAT for us. We would love to join the early access. 

1. Yes. Everything should be relative to the base price. Each service should have a base price and duration that applies to your whole team. You should only need to customize the staff members who charge a different price or need more time. 

2.  Pre-paid or just an appointment? We require pre-payment on all services. People usually want a specific service provider. So 

So I really think changing a service provider should have a certain flow visible by both the business/client. Something like: 

(1) Business marks the service provider unavailable. Recommends another service provider. Business would have option to Keep Current Price or Update to New Service Provider's Price 

(2) Client confirms

(3) If pre-payment, refund or additional charge. If just an appointment, amount to be charged after appointment updated. 

Additional feedback or use-cases related to Styling pricing & duration, feel free to also share that below.

1. For a specific Service Provider: the ability to turn off a service for a specific day of the week (Cindy doesn't do extensions on Tuesdays) 

2. Appointment Preferences (Location): At both my business and over the phone

Obviously hair styling is very difficult over the phone. However, our business and @DinaLRosenberg  do services over the phone. It is very puzzling why every combination except the one we need is available.

Would love to chat more on any of the above. 

Thanks! 

[SiBellebeauty]

Oh my gooodnessssssss! This is absolutely amazing and I really hope it is available in the UK too! If you need BETA give me a shout!!

[essentialnails]

Very excited for this feature! Right now, we've come up with a work around that is quite complicated and confusing clients... Please let me know when this feature launches!

[LadyJBeauty]

Oh my goodness I absolutely want to join beta! I’ve been manually discounting every service because clients got confused with having the “variations”. 

ALSO, Can you please offer a text to confirm WITH CARD option? Kind of aligned with the prepaid bookings, I want to be able to set the appt to block the space off and then send call-ahead bookings a link to confirm and out in their credit card info just like when people book online. Sometimes people call as a walk in and I manually “create” an appt space because maybe the site won’t let them book a spot because it’s 5 minutes over my booking window. I want to be able to still ensure payment protection. 

[Roughnecks]

Can’t wait! As a barbershop owner I’m more concerned about timing but the option for both is awesome. I’d love to be included in the beta

[LadyJBeauty]

That’s actually a super awesome point! If love to be able to set unique pricing AND timing for my providers. 

[QueenAngie]

Thanks for asking for my input on this!
I agree that the rate/price and times/duration of services should be independently customizable, since you're rolling out this feature anyway might as well do it, especially because new stylists/estheticians/new staff/etc might have longer services times & lower prices so it's just best to have it independent off the rip.

Secondly, I would like to be able to change and update the price before or after just in case. Last minute things happen but most times we plan ahead so, for planning ahead purposes yes i'd like to see an automatic change then while guest/client checkout out, 

our reception or whomever cashs out needs to report that change to guest or when guests are about to pay, see/recognize the change when they ask, business can say, yes there's a difference in price for so-so technician,  if they want to see the difference between chris and maya, we can reflect that on the customer facing keypad so they can visually see the difference and then able to charge... 
conversely if the change was made and the guest did not notice/recognize until they get home, if the business would like to extend a courtesy for not reporting that  change at time of service, then they could offer a refund.

These are all great features to just add all together. Thanks square!

[Winkpretty]

This feature will be very useful for us, as we have tiered pricing for our stylists & have to have each individual service entered in currently with each stylist. This will make online booking alot easier for guests. 

[EBSorlando]

Hello! I’ve been waiting for this feature for years. We’d love to be included in testing it.