Ala Ciobanu
Editor, Abeautella
Ala Ciobanu writes the Abeautella guides: honest comparisons of salon software, and practical answers about pricing, no-shows and clients who stop coming back.
She works with the salons and independent specialists who use Abeautella, which is where the examples in these guides come from.
Guides by Ala Ciobanu
How to Ask for Reviews Without It Being Awkward
Nearly every salon knows it should ask for reviews and nearly none do it consistently, because it feels like asking a favour from someone who has just paid you. The fix is timing, and a reframe: she already wants to say something nice.
The 5 Best Booking Apps for Independent Beauty Specialists
When you work alone there is no reception, no cover, and no budget line for software. A missed hour is the whole hour's income. These five are compared on the two things that actually decide it: whether the free plan expires, and what happens while your hands are busy.
How to Ask for a Deposit Without Losing Clients
Most salons treat this as one decision: deposits, yes or no. It is four decisions, and getting them right is the difference between protecting your day and driving people to the salon down the road.
Square Appointments for a Salon: Where It Works and Where It Stops
Square is the only platform in this category that is free without an asterisk. The calendar works, the reminders work, and for a lot of salons that is enough. This is where it stops being enough, and why it stops exactly there.
Your Booking Link: Where to Put It and What It Must Do
A booking link is the shortest path between someone deciding they want an appointment and actually having one. Most salons have one, in one place, pointing at a page that asks for an account. Here is the whole job, done properly, in an afternoon.
Paying Twice for the Same Client: Subscription Plus Commission
Every comparison presents these as alternatives: pay a flat fee, or pay a percentage. On more platforms than you would expect, you pay both, on the same appointment, in the same month. Here is how to tell whether you are one of them.
How to Cut No-Shows at Your Salon: 9 Methods That Work
Most people who miss an appointment did not decide to. They forgot, or they were embarrassed to cancel late. Almost everything that reduces no-shows works on one of those two, and none of it requires being strict with your clients.
Fresha vs Booksy in 2026: Which One for a Small Salon
These two sell the same calendar and charge for it in opposite ways. Fresha is nearly free until it sends you a client. Booksy costs from day one and then leaves you alone. The right answer depends on one question about your own business.
Best Salon Software in 2026: What Each One Really Costs
Most comparisons rank features. This one ranks what leaves your account. Two of these platforms take a cut of every new client you book, and that cut is bigger than any subscription on this page.
