No matter the size of the facility or the stock levels of products, a lot goes into managing a spa.
Spa management software is paramount to maintaining an order fulfillment system for your customers and a proficient supply line of products for your employees to use for treatments effectively.
An inefficient spa will run out of key products, misplace items and potentially double-book rooms and/or clients, which will result in a loss of money and a damaged reputation.
Moving stock around or switching customers around unnecessarily to accommodate these errors adds to service time which can then lead to dissatisfied clients, harming the business as a whole.
There are many things you can and should do to manage your spa more effectively. Before management concerns, you should have a lot of the equipment needed to run a spa.
Assuming you have the basics covered, to further optimize your spa operations so you can save time, money, and your reputation in the eyes of your customers, a spa management software system can do wonders for a customer service business. This article will explore what you can gain from investing in such modern and state-of-the-art equipment and pinpoint exactly what it should be doing to make your day-to-day work life easier;
The Technology of a Spa Management Software
Besides your basic storage and acquisition equipment, there are technologies you can use to improve the efficiency of your spa. First and foremost, get a Spa Management System, or SMS.
An SMS is a software that is used to optimize the day-to-day operation of a spa and lighten the load on staff and management.
They can send client lists to your therapists, who can receive them via handheld devices, and they can even map the stock room and calculate the most efficient traveling routes to pick and replenish the relevant products.
Along with one of these, every efficient spa should have something in place to prevent inventory errors.
In retail spas where secondary revenue relies on selling products alongside regular services, RFID readers are popular for ensuring that every transaction is accurate throughout the whole sales and delivery process.
Before that, barcodes were used with barcode readers which serve the same purpose. Cutting down on man-made errors is a surefire way to run your spa more efficiently and, fortunately for you, the technology is available to do just that.
What To Expect From Your Spa Management Software
Let’s not delay any further, it is time to delve into the nitty-gritty of what your new SMS can bring to the party;
- Training and Customer Service
- Secure Data
- Reporting and Business Intelligence
- Control Of Revenue
- Customer Retention and Marketing
- Inventory Control
- Payroll Information and Shift Allocation
- Appointment System for Online Booking
Training And Customer Service
Your new software should come with a training mode so that all users can make mistakes without costing the company any money.
This error-protected version will allow all staff to be adequately trained whilst experiencing what a live system can do when in motion.
Your provider will be able to give you access to training modules, best practices, and advice on troubleshooting so that you can all learn together as a team and also crucially on your own as an individual too.
You should also receive some onsite training after the implementation process as a basic requirement from your provider.
Your spa management software should take your levels of customer service to the next level and provide a contact number if the system crashes and business can not be conducted because of the error or fault at hand.
Secure Data
Your SMS will not only be able to securely host all staff employee information but crucially, the private data of your clients if they have shared key information with you.
Any software provider you choose should be able to guarantee GDPR and HIPAA compliance so that your customer data is safe at all times.
Once you have this reassurance, conveying the message to staff will be more authentic and reliable.
Your customers and staff alike both want to know that their health, personal, and payment information are secure when trusting your spa with this key data.
Reporting And Business Intelligence
As arguably the single most important aspect of a prosperous spa initiative, the extensive reporting of all your KPIs on a daily, hourly, or 10-minute schedule when required.
Tracking revenue, retail sales, and all the other fundamental business aspects of the day-to-day spa operation should put you ahead of the game. This is only the case if you have the right system.
Attempting to do any of this manually is extremely time-consuming and encourages human error due to the complexity and scale of the operation involved.
This is exactly what you invest in the software for, to do it all for you. A top-class SMS will provide real-time dashboards and central reporting on operational efficiency and sales performance at the click of a button.
You won’t have to search high and low to track customer buying trends or have to hunt down demographics for all of your locations because the technology is there.
In addition, you can monitor your team and see exactly how they are performing on specific tasks and also configure financial reports for budget meetings and performance reviews as well as the critical end-of-day final reports.
Control Of Revenue
With every purchase accurately recorded, and the right line coded correctly to match your stock and financial performance spreadsheets, your new SMS should always provide an accurate reflection of what has been sold and what is doing well.
By being able to pinpoint sales patterns and identify which products and services need more support in terms of marketing and awareness, you can capitalize on campaigns and draw extra primary and secondary revenue from your spa.
This gives you great power and concrete evidence when meeting suppliers and especially sales reps that are keen to push their products on you for their commissions.
You can produce a simple report telling you exactly why they are exaggerating the truth to get the sale, or whether they have underestimated a separate product that is doing well in your facility.
Knowledge is power and your SMS gives you a significant advantage by arming you with facts about your revenue streams.
Customer Retention And Marketing
Your software should be capable of handling all your customer satisfaction surveys, so you can see what you did right and what exactly put a smile on the face of your satisfied customers.
On the flip side, this is a great opportunity to reflect on what they did not appreciate and correct it by the time they next visit.
Your loyalty program, promotions, memberships, and gift card sales should be managed by your software as they are things no modern business manager should be expected to do manually.
You can concentrate on improving the guest experience, such as the opportunity to personalize your memberships and reward programs instead.
Inventory Control
Your software should complete all auditing and adjustments in real-time. Also, where needed and across multiple locations if necessary, It should track your purchasing and receiving and product sales too.
You can switch on notifications so that it alerts you when you are running low on a product or automatically reorder it for you if you choose to configure the system in this manner.
Payroll Information And Shift Allocation
Accurately paying staff for the exact hours they have worked and/or are contracted to can be a sensitive subject.
Your SMS should be capable of calculating different pay rates for set job roles or services and adding or subtracting them from set wages or overtime earned, for example.
The comprehensive system needs to be able to factor in annual leave, sick days, and training courses on top of the usual shift patterns and also include provisions for last-minute alterations and shift swapping between both contracted and casual staff members.
If you operate on a weekly shift basis or if it alters every fortnight/monthly for example, your system should allow you to create set templates which can be repeated or copied over on your SMS calendar to reflect what has been agreed upon in terms of work schedules for a set period.
It should also allow you the flexibility to make modifications to these or to add and delete short-term rotas for different opening hours over the Christmas period or in the summer, for example.
Appointment System For Online Booking
This is crucial for you and particularly the therapists. The robust booking system you require should be able to separate each staff member and break down what services they are qualified for and available to perform on each shift.
This eliminates any confusion for the person making the booking and totally eradicates the possibility of a double booking, which is a common error in spas with manual booking systems.
It can be configured to send reminder notifications to clients so that they do not miss an appointment and also provide individual daily itineraries and schedules for the therapists, so they can plan their day accordingly.
This is perfect for the manager as they can clearly see who is available and when to coordinate breaks and things like 1-2-1’s or performance reviews on shift etc.
