What is the best booking software for a hair extension specialist?
The best booking software for a UK hair extension specialist books a consultation and colour match before the fitting, gives each fitting its real length, takes a deposit that covers the hair you order and brings clients back for maintenance. Covered Beauty, which we make, does that for £9 a month if you work alone, or £19 for up to five, with no commission, and keeps each client’s form and colour match on their record. If you want a marketplace to find you new clients, look at Fresha, Booksy or Treatwell.
We make Covered Beauty, so we’ve also set out the other options and who they suit, each linked to its own page with the day we checked it. Nothing here is legal advice.
What does a hair extension specialist need from booking software?
- A consultation before the fitting. You need to see the hair, match the colour and work out how much to order. The national occupational standard for attaching hair extensions has you agree the texture, colour match to the mid-lengths and ends, length and width first.
- Appointments as long as the work. A tape fitting, a full head of micro rings and a removal each need their own length.
- A deposit that covers the hair. Hair ordered in one client’s shade and length is hard to use for anyone else.
- Tests on record. The same standard has you test elasticity and porosity, do a pull test and record the outcome. Tape, glue and bonds may need a patch test too, depending on the maker and your insurer.
- The client’s hair on file. Shade, length, method, amount and batch, so a refit months later matches.
- Maintenance on time. The British Association of Dermatologists’ 2019 leaflet on traction alopecia, hair loss from constant pulling, lists attaching weaves or hair extensions among its causes, so regular move-ups and scalp checks matter.
- Photos with permission. Before and after pictures sell extensions, and the standard expects you to know why they’re taken with consent and stored in line with the law and your insurer.
The standard isn’t law, but qualifications are built on standards like it. The questions to ask are in what to put in a hair extension consultation form.
How does Covered Beauty work for hair extension specialists?
Pick Hair extensions when you sign up and you start with a ready-made menu: an extensions consultation and colour match, tape, micro ring, nano ring and weft fittings, a tape refit, micro ring maintenance, removal, and a wash and blow dry.
Consultations first, then the fitting
Make the consultation its own treatment with no deposit. Give each fitting its real length, up to ten hours, and a gap after it of up to two hours. After the consultation, send the client that fitting’s link from Direct links per treatment, under Share booking page, so they book what you agreed and pay its deposit. Nothing stops a client booking a fitting first, so say in each fitting’s description that a consultation comes first, or mark fittings Staff only and book them in yourself, though then no deposit is taken online.
Deposits for hair you order in
Set each fitting’s deposit as a fixed amount or a percentage, up to the full price. Clients pay by card when they book, straight into your own Stripe account with no commission, and their card is saved for your no-show fee.
Every deposit follows one cancellation window for your whole business, of anything up to 720 hours. Clients agree it’s non-refundable if they cancel inside it or miss the appointment. Nothing is refunded automatically, and there’s no separate rule for ordered hair, so say in your terms what happens once you’ve ordered it. The CMA’s guide to writing a fair contract for customers says what you keep must take into account what your business will actually lose. Our free cancellation policy writer puts your rules into plain words.
Colour matches and the hair you used
Each appointment has a What was used section. Add the hair with its batch number, the amount and unit, such as grams or strands, and a note for the shade and length. Every entry shows under Products used on the client’s record and goes in your data export, so a refit matches.
Maintenance, move-ups and refits
Make a regular’s appointment recurring, every 1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 8 or 12 weeks. Each visit is created 14 days before it’s due. On the Salon plan, smart rebooking emails clients who are due back, using each client’s own gap between visits, or your Rebook every setting if they’ve only had it once, and nobody is nudged more than once in 30 days. Clients can add up to three more treatments to the same visit, such as a removal before a refit, and pay one deposit. Reminder emails go three days, one day and two hours before.
Forms, photos and aftercare
The ready-made hair extensions form asks nine yes or no questions, from scalp conditions and hair loss to adhesive allergies and a patch test for tape, glue or keratin bonds. Add it, link it to your consultation and fittings, and it goes out with the confirmation, with a reminder 48 hours before if it isn’t done. The patch test question is asked fresh at every visit, and a client back within 6 months confirms nothing has changed. Prefer paper? Print the free blank hair extensions form (PDF) or see every free consultation form template.
Covered Beauty doesn’t keep before and after photos on the client record, and the form has no photo tick, so add one if you take them. Your booking page can show up to 12 photos of your work. Switch on the aftercare email and clients get your aftercare two hours after their visit, by default.
What doesn’t Covered Beauty do for hair extension specialists?
- It isn’t built for mobile work. It doesn’t take the address you’re going to or plan travel.
- It doesn’t store before and after photos in the client record.
- It doesn’t make a client book a consultation before a fitting, or hold a deposit back once hair is ordered.
- Forms are signed with a typed name, and the ready-made forms are a starting point to check with your insurer.
- It’s for teams of up to five.
- It isn’t a marketplace, so you bring your own clients.
What are the other options for hair extension specialists?
Fresha
Fresha’s Independent plan is £14.95 a month for one person, excluding VAT, with a 7-day trial, and its features include consultation forms and patch tests. Its salon page mentions storing colour formulas and taking a deposit at booking. Its marketplace takes a one-time 20% commission, minimum £4, excluding VAT, on brand-new clients it brings you, and nothing on returning ones. Covered Beauty vs Fresha.
Source: Fresha UK pricing and Fresha salon software, checked 24 October 2026.
Booksy
Booksy is £40 a month plus £5 for each extra user, with VAT added, and includes custom forms and no-show protection, with its payment fees applying. Marketplace bookings are free, and its optional Boost takes 30% once of a Boost client’s first visit, minimum £5, plus VAT. Covered Beauty vs Booksy.
Source: Booksy UK pricing, checked 24 October 2026.
Timely
Timely bills weekly, and its pricing page works out your price from your bookings. Every plan has unlimited team members and a 14-day trial with no card needed. Its hair salon page lists before and after photos in client profiles, deposits and digital consultations. Covered Beauty vs Timely.
Source: Timely pricing and Timely hair salon software, checked 24 October 2026.
Treatwell
Treatwell’s two plans, Freelancer and Advanced, have no monthly price on its pricing page, so ask. It takes 35% commission on the first booking from a new marketplace client, depending on location, and 0% on repeat and direct bookings. Online prepayments carry a 2.5% fee, and all its commissions and fees are subject to VAT. Covered Beauty vs Treatwell.
Source: Treatwell UK pricing, checked 24 October 2026.
Square Appointments
Square’s Free plan is £0 for one location, takes prepayments and sends clients a contract to fill in when they book. Charging a no-show or late cancellation fee needs Plus, £29 a month per location. Covered Beauty vs Square Appointments.
Source: Square Appointments UK pricing, checked 24 October 2026.
Which should you choose?
- Clients find you on Instagram or come back for maintenance? A direct booking system with deposits and no commission, such as Covered Beauty.
- Need a stream of new clients? Fresha, Booksy or Treatwell, if a new client is worth more to you than the fee.
- Want photos in each client’s profile? Look at Timely.
Moving from Fresha, Booksy, Treatwell or Timely? Each guide shows how your clients come across.
Questions from hair extension specialists
What is the best booking software for hair extension specialists in the UK?
The best booking software for a UK hair extension specialist books a consultation and colour match before the fitting, gives each fitting its real length, takes a deposit that covers the hair you order and brings clients back for maintenance. Covered Beauty, which we make, does that for £9 a month if you work alone, or £19 for up to five, with no commission, and keeps each client’s form and colour match on their record. If you want a marketplace to find you new clients, look at Fresha, Booksy or Treatwell.
How do I take a deposit for hair I order in?
Set a fixed or percentage deposit on the fitting, up to its full price. The client pays by card when they book, into your own Stripe account, with no commission. The deposit follows your cancellation window, so say in your terms what happens once their hair is ordered.
Can I book clients in for maintenance every few weeks?
Yes. Make their appointment recurring, every 1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 8 or 12 weeks, and each visit is created 14 days before it’s due. On the Salon plan, smart rebooking also emails clients who are due back.
Does Covered Beauty store before and after photos?
Not on the client record. Your booking page can show up to 12 photos of your work, with your clients’ permission. Timely’s hair salon page lists before and after photos in client profiles (checked 24 October 2026).
Sources
Each page below was read on 24 October 2026, like the providers’ pages above.
What else should you read?
What to put in a hair extension consultation form
Scalp, hair loss, adhesive allergies and chemical treatments: what to ask before tape, bond, weft and micro ring extensions.
Read the guide ↗Best salon booking software in the UK (2026)
Twelve booking systems compared on price, commission, deposits and consent forms, and who each one suits.
Read the guide ↗