Booking app
for facialists and skin clinics.

What is the best booking app for a facialist or skin clinic?

The best booking app for a UK facialist or skin clinic gives each facial, peel, dermaplane and LED session its real length, gets the skin and health questions signed before the appointment, takes a deposit on the longer treatments and keeps the form with the client’s record. Covered Beauty, which we make, does all of that from £9 a month if you work alone, or £19.99 for a team of up to five, with no commission. If you want a marketplace to bring you new clients, Fresha and Booksy are built for that. If you need before and after photos or prescribing in the client record, a clinic system may suit you better.

We make Covered Beauty, so we’ve also set out the alternatives and who they suit. Every figure about another provider links to its own page, with the day we checked it.

What do facialists and skin clinics need from a booking app?

• The right time for every treatment. A facial, a peel, dermaplaning and an LED session don’t take the same time or cost the same. Give each its own length and price, and clients only see times that fit.
• Skin and health questions answered first. Roaccutane and retinoids, allergies, cold sores and skin conditions change what you can do. Having the answers before the client arrives means you can adapt the treatment, or say no, before they’re on the bed.
• A record that stays with the client. The signed form, your notes and the products you used at each visit, on the same client record.
• Deposits on the longer treatments. A long skin appointment left empty is time you can’t get back. A deposit taken at booking means the people who book turn up, or you’re not out of pocket.
• Clients back for the next treatment. Clients who come monthly, or for a run of treatments, need their next visit booked before they drift off.

How does Covered Beauty work for facialists and skin clinics?

Bookings and deposits

Set up your treatments with the times and prices you really use. Put your booking link in your Instagram bio and on your website, and let clients book while you’re treating. Clients choose a treatment and can add up to three more to the same visit. They pick one time and pay one deposit. You set the deposit for each treatment: a fixed amount, a percentage of the price, or none. It goes straight into your own Stripe account, and Covered Beauty takes no commission on any booking.

Add a gap after each treatment, up to two hours. Set a cancellation window too. Clients who pay a deposit online save their card, so if someone doesn’t turn up you can charge your no-show fee, in line with your terms.

Forms and records

Start from the ready-made facials and skincare, LED light therapy or dermaplaning forms and make them your own. Link a form to your treatments and it goes out with the confirmation, with a reminder 48 hours before if it isn’t done. Clients sign on their phone, and the signed form stays on their record, ready to print or save as a PDF. A question about a patch test, or a skin test or allergy alert test, is asked fresh every visit and never carried over from last time. You can also email a private link without a booking. It works for 14 days and only for that client.

Each appointment has a What was used section: record the product, batch number and expiry. They show on the client record and in your data export, so you can trace a recalled batch.

Reminders, rebooking and vouchers

Clients get a confirmation, then reminder emails three days before, the day before and two hours before. Text reminders come from the texts included each month (50 texts a month on Solo, 150 on Pro and 300 on the Team plan), with more available if you need them. For regulars, make an appointment recurring, every 1, 2, 3, 4, 6, 8 or 12 weeks, and each visit is created 14 days before it’s due. Smart rebooking spots who’s due back, and on Pro and the Team plan it emails them a nudge for you every morning. You can also sell gift vouchers, and let clients join a waitlist when a day is full.

What to ask before a facial, peel or LED session, and the free blank forms, are in What to put in a facial consultation form.

What does it cost?

Solo is £9 a month, Pro £14 and the Team plan £19.99 for up to five people. Pro adds 150 texts a month instead of 50, rebooking emails sent for you every morning, win-back campaigns, your own web address and your logo at the top of your booking page instead of ours. There is no booking commission on any plan, deposits go into your own Stripe account and Stripe’s card fees apply, and consent forms are on every plan. You get 7 days free to try it, with no card needed to start. See the plans.

When isn’t Covered Beauty the right fit for facialists and skin clinics?

• You need before and after photos or prescribing in the client record. Covered Beauty keeps treatment notes, signed forms, visit history and the products used, but not clinical photos. See Covered Beauty vs Pabau and Covered Beauty vs Consentz for clinic systems.
• You want a marketplace to bring you new clients. Fresha is built for that and charges a one-off fee on some new marketplace clients.
• You have more than five people, or several branches each with their own staff. The Team plan stops at five people.
• You need drawn signatures or photos inside a form. Forms are signed with a typed name, and the ready-made forms are starting points to check with your insurer.

For every option side by side, read the best salon booking software in the UK.

What are the other options for facialists and skin clinics?

These are the systems most often weighed up for this work, with what each one publishes.

Fresha

• What it costs: Independent: £14.95/month, excluding VAT. Team: £9.95 per team member a month, excluding VAT.
• Commission: 20% once on a brand-new client from its marketplace, minimum £4, excluding VAT. None on returning clients or your own booking links.
• Deposits: Upfront payments and no-show fees through its optional payments. Online card payments 1.40% + 25p.
• Consent forms: Consultation forms and patch tests are listed among its features.
• Best for: Salons of any size that want a consumer marketplace to help new clients find them.
• Look elsewhere if: Most of your clients already book with you and you’re paying for every team member.

Covered Beauty vs Fresha.

Source: Fresha UK pricing, checked 12 October 2026.

Booksy

• What it costs: £40/month plus VAT. Extra users £5/month each.
• Commission: None on standard bookings. Optional Boost: 30% once on a Boost client’s first visit, minimum £5, plus VAT.
• Deposits: No-show protection is included. Its card processing fees apply.
• Consent forms: Custom forms and liability waivers are included.
• Best for: Salons and barbers who want a consumer booking app as well as a diary.
• Look elsewhere if: You work alone and want the smallest monthly bill.

Covered Beauty vs Booksy.

Source: Booksy UK pricing, checked 12 October 2026.

Timely

• What it costs: From £4/week. The bill changes with the bookings you take each week.
• Commission: No new-client fees.
• Deposits: Online deposits on every plan. Cancellation fees from its Boost plan.
• Consent forms: Consultation forms sent before an appointment, from its Boost plan.
• Best for: Salons, spas and clinics with a team that want unlimited staff and a full business system.
• Look elsewhere if: You’d rather your bill stayed the same in a busy month.

Covered Beauty vs Timely.

Source: Timely pricing, checked 10 October 2026.

Phorest

• What it costs: Price on request. Its plans are pitched at salons and clinics with 3+ staff.
• Commission: None listed on its pricing page.
• Deposits: Online bookings with deposits on every plan.
• Consent forms: Consultation forms sent before a visit, from its Grow plan.
• Best for: Established salons and clinics with three or more staff who want marketing and retention tools.
• Look elsewhere if: You work alone, or you’d rather not price your software through a demo.

Covered Beauty vs Phorest.

Source: Phorest UK pricing, checked 12 October 2026.

Square Appointments

• What it costs: Free: £0 for one location. Plus: £29/month per location.
• Commission: None listed.
• Deposits: Prepayments on every plan. No-show and cancellation fees need Plus.
• Consent forms: Contracts sent to clients when they book, on every plan. Custom contract fields on Premium.
• Best for: Businesses already taking card payments with Square’s readers or till.
• Look elsewhere if: You want no-show fees without paying for Plus.

Covered Beauty vs Square Appointments.

Source: Square Appointments UK pricing and Square UK waitlist page, checked 12 October 2026.

Which should you choose?

• Your clients find you by recommendation and come back for their next treatment? A direct booking system with forms, deposits and no commission, such as Covered Beauty.
• You need a stream of new clients? Fresha or Booksy, if what a new client is worth to you is more than the fee.
• You have a team of three or more and want marketing tools? Phorest, which prices on request.
• You need clinical photos and prescribing? A clinic system such as Pabau or Consentz.