Open/Close Day

Probably the most common support question we're asked is on how to open and close days. Surprisingly this isn't just a question we get from our new customers. Often it comes from customers that have been using the program for awhile but find that they're having trouble balancing the drawer at the end of the day. We've worked out an outstanding system to ensure that you balance each day. There are a few extra steps involved but those extra steps will save a lot of time spent searching for mistakes and avoid those late nights spent sifting through receipts looking for that one problem sale.

At the beginning of each day you should go to Verify Monies and go to the Cash section. You can then either use the Cash Helper to count your money or manually count the money and enter the total on the bottom line. This step is critical because we need to make sure what's physically in the drawer matches to the Computed Total shown on the screen. If for some reason the two numbers don't match - a possibility if extra money was brought from the bank and put into the drawer without recording that transaction in the program - we'll want to record those changes in the Pay In/Out section. After you've finished with the Cash we'd recommend double-checking all the other sections (Checks, Credit Cards, etc) to ensure that they're all empty. We want to make absolutely sure that we're starting fresh in the morning with a clean slate and that our actual and computed cash matches as the hardest problems to track down when balancing at the end of the day come from not starting with the right amount in the drawer.

Once that's done we can start our normal operation running sales through as they come in. Periodically throughout the day you'll want to go back to Verify Monies to handle the non-cash sales. You'll go into each non-cash section (Checks, Credit Cards, etc) and the program will show you a list of all transactions in that area.

For example, if you click Checks you'll get a list of all the checks you've brought in so far that day. Pull your checks out of your cash drawer and match them up to the ones on the screen. As you match each one up, click it on the list on the left and it will move it to the Verified list on the right. Then take that check and put it into a finished pile. When you finish or if you run out of time paper clip the checks in your finished pile so that you know you don't need to do those again and click Continue on the screen. When you come back in later it will pick up right where you left off with all the verified checks on the right and any new checks on the left.

At the end of the day you'll go back to Verify Monies one last time. Do the Checks, Credit Cards, etc one last time to take care of any last minute sales. Then you'll repeat your step on the cash section from the beginning of the day to make sure your cash still balances. If there are any mistakes you'll want to use the Detailed Daily Sheet under Reports -> List Daily Sheets to track those down. Once you're completely done with any corrections and Verify Monies you'll go to the Close Day screen to finish your day.

This process does three things for you. First, you catch any mistakes during the day rather than having to look for them at the end of the day. Second, you're actually spreading the close day process out over the entire day into your free time rather than trying to fit it all in at the end of the day when you'd rather be locking up and heading home. It's simply a better use of time because you're making use of down time to speed up your close day. Finally, using the Verify Monies cuts down on Close Day mistakes because the information from the Verify Monies screen automatically transfers over to the Close Day screen. That eliminates any errors adding up checks and credit cards or mis-keyed numbers.

As always, for any questions on making these steps work for you give our techs a call and we'd be happy to help you.

Why Cloud?

Ever since we released the Cloud version of our software we’ve been looking for ways to explain why and when Cloud Software makes sense. We’ve gone so far as to start working through our customer list calling every one of our customers to look at their business and see whether Cloud makes sense for them. Hopefully this post will help answer some of the general questions that determine whether Cloud is right for your business.

Cloud opens up a whole host of devices that our installed program won’t run on directly. You can still use a PC and in addition you can now use Macs, iPhones/iPads, and Android devices including the Kindle Fire. This device independence is one of the main reasons to consider Cloud. If you have a variety of devices you’d like to use with the program then Cloud might be the right choice for you.

Our Cloud option is also highly data secure. Rather than having your salon data installed on a PC that could be damaged or stolen your data is stored in a state-of-the-art data center, encrypted, backed up daily, protected from unauthorized access and any possible disasters. It’s safe. You don’t have to worry about backups, running updates, or any data theft issues.

If you have managers and owners that need access from home then Cloud is the perfect choice. They can access the full program from any supported device without interfering with the day-to-day operations of the salon. This is especially important for chain salons where the owner may need to oversee the operations of several different locations. You can even run a booking room that handles all your appointment bookings for the chain from one central location!

All you need to go Cloud is a reliable internet connection and any of the supported devices. Our technicians can quickly and painlessly convert an existing salon to Cloud or set up a new location. Check out our cloud prices or call us for a custom quote.

The Importance of Backups

We try to beat this into the ground as much as possible and this blog's a great spot for another reminder - if you're not doing backups in your Spa/Salon Manager program then you need to start today!

I talk to a lot of people doing technical support every day. I can tell you from experience that most people will eventually face a computer failure that will require some sort of data backup to fully recover. And I can also tell you from experience that pit I get the bottom of my stomach when I realize I'm going to have to tell a customer they've lost everything because there was no backup. If I feel that way giving the bad news I can't even imagine how it feels to receive it.

The good news is that backing up your information in Spa/Salon Manager couldn't be easier! If you're on the Cloud version of our software then we're already doing the backups for you. If you're using our installed software then you have a couple options.

We offer a service for $199 per year where we'll store your backups for you off site. We verify that the backups are running and make sure that you're secure no matter what happens in the salon.

If you'd like to handle the backups yourself all you'll need is a USB flash drive or two - having two gives you a bit of security in case something happens to one of them. Once you have the drives give us a call to set up your backups in the program. All you'll need to do is go to the Backup button at the end of the day every day and hit Daily / Weekly Backup.  It's that simple! I'd recommend taking the flash drive out after you're done with the backup and storing it somewhere safe. If you have a fireproof box on-site that would be ideal.

Introduction

This is an exciting time to be working at IBCS making The Spa/Salon Manager software and part of that excitement is the opportunity to reach out to our customers in ways that simply weren't available or widely used in the spa and salon industry in the past. With so many of our customers active on Facebook, Twitter, Google Plus, and the many other social sites on the web I felt it was important to broaden the scope of what we do here and help to put a face behind the name on the phone.

My name is Bob Hoyng and I've been working with IBCS for over 16 years now. I love the work we do here - the combination of creating great new software products and services while at the same time getting to talk one-on-one with our customers every day. We've got a wonderful new web site now, our newsletter will be updated in the next few days, and not to ruin a great surprise but the next update will be coming very soon as well and will have some amazing features for customizing the look of the program.

I'll be posting here as we have more interesting news to report (or as I get randomly excited about a new feature I'm working on) but in the meantime, we always love hearing from our customers! We've got a variety of technical support or sales phone numbers and you can always contact me directly at bob@spasalon.com. My official SpaSalon twitter account is @bob_spasalon and if you'd like to see my random musings outside the office you can follow me on Google Plus, Twitter, or Facebook.