A nail salon booking system: what to look for

A good nail salon booking system handles regulars, treatment durations, add-ons and no-shows without you having to think about it every day. This is how Lookster does it: clients choose a treatment with the correct duration and tick add-ons such as nail art themselves, regulars are scheduled as recurring appointments every 3 or 4 weeks, reminders go out free by email and push, and the client card stores notes, colours and photos per appointment. You try it free for 3 months, with no credit card and no commission.

Why a nail salon has different needs than a hair salon

A nail salon runs on repetition. Most clients come back every 3 to 4 weeks for an infill or a new set, and that rhythm decides how full your calendar is. A system that only handles one-off appointments costs you time every month in messages back and forth.

Treatment durations also vary widely. Gel polish on natural nails takes 45 minutes; a new set with nail art can take two and a half hours. A booking system has to know those differences, otherwise a client books 45 minutes for a two-hour treatment and the rest of your day runs late.

The third difference is Instagram. New clients find you through photos of your work and want to book straight from that screen. A link in your bio that leads directly to free slots takes the DMs and callbacks out of the process.

Dalia of nail studio Biablicious puts it this way (translated): "Really a great app. Since I started using Lookster I have much more overview of my calendar and spend less time on planning. Ideal for me and for my clients."

What must a nail salon booking system be able to do?

Run through this checklist for every system you consider. The points are ordered by importance for a studio with one or two technicians, and Lookster ticks every one of them.

1. Treatments with their own duration and price. New set, infill, BIAB, gel polish, removal: each treatment gets its own time, so the calendar is accurate.
2. Add-ons the client ticks themselves. Nail art, French, chrome or removal of the old set extend the appointment automatically.
3. Recurring appointments. You schedule a regular once for every 3 or 4 weeks, and can move a single date without breaking the series.
4. Online booking without an account. Clients arriving from Instagram drop off at a mandatory sign-up.
5. Free confirmation and reminder. By email and push notification, with no SMS costs and no action needed from you.
6. Client card with notes and photos. Which colour, which shape, which length, and above all: allergies and sensitive nails.
7. Portfolio on your booking page. Clients choose a nail salon on the work they can see.
8. No-show marking and blacklist. So you know who repeatedly fails to turn up.
9. Verified reviews. Only from clients who actually visited.
10. A second calendar. For when a colleague or trainee joins you, at no extra cost.

On point six: in a May 2026 knowledge note, the Dutch public health institute RIVM pointed to the risk of allergic reactions to (meth)acrylates in nail products after repeated exposure, and noted that an allergy to one (meth)acrylate often brings sensitivity to other acrylates. A note on the client card ("reacts to HEMA, use HEMA-free gel only") is part of the job, not a luxury. In Lookster that note is attached to the client and to the appointment, together with photos of the result.

What kinds of booking systems are there for nail salons?

There are roughly four routes. Lookster combines its own marketplace, a booking link, a client card with photos and free reminders, without commission.

With marketplaces you pay for new clients. Treatwell charges 35% commission (excl. VAT) on the first booking of every new client who comes through the platform (checked 27 October 2026). Fresha mentions a one-time fee for brand new marketplace clients but does not publish the percentage on its pricing page, and after 20 free messages a month each SMS costs €0.15 (checked 27 October 2026). For a new studio looking mainly for new clients, that adds up quickly: one new set of €70 through Treatwell costs you €24.50 in commission.

Subscriptions without a marketplace of their own still send you to a platform for new clients. Salonized starts at €35 per month, offers a 14-day trial and sells SMS credits from €0.11 per message (checked 27 October 2026). Booksy has no Dutch business pricing page; its German rate is €35 per month plus €7 per extra team member, with a 7-day trial (checked 27 October 2026). With Lookster you get 3 months to try everything, and reminders by email and push are always free.

Lookster combines a €19.95 subscription with its own marketplace at zero commission: new clients who find you through the Lookster nail salon pages or the client app cost you nothing extra. The full comparison of all providers is in best salon software, and the prices are in salon software costs.

How do you set up your nail salon in Lookster?

Setup takes an evening. After that you only need to share your booking link.

1. Create your treatments with duration and price. For example: New gel set 120 min, Gel infill 75 min, BIAB 90 min, Gel polish on natural nails 45 min, Removal 30 min. If you want 10 minutes between clients for cleaning and disinfecting, include that in the duration. If a colleague works faster or slower, set a separate duration and price per team member.
2. Add add-ons. Nail art (per nail or per set), French, chrome, removal of the old set. Clients tick them while booking and the appointment gets longer automatically. Several treatments in one booking also works.
3. Set your regulars as recurring appointments. Choose the client, the treatment, the frequency (every 3 or 4 weeks) and the time. If one date shifts because of a holiday, you adjust only that date.
4. Fill your portfolio. Upload photos of your work to your salon page. That page is also findable on Google, so your portfolio works twice.
5. Check your reminders. Lookster sends a confirmation by email and push right after booking, a reminder by email and push notification 24 hours in advance, and a review request after the appointment. You get a push notification for every new or cancelled booking. All of this is included, with no SMS credits to buy.
6. Set a minimum booking notice. For example: bookings up to 12 hours in advance. That way you are not surprised in the morning by a new set at 9:00. If you work evenings, add an evening rate.
7. Put your booking link in your Instagram bio. And in your WhatsApp profile and on your Google Business Profile under "Book". It is an ordinary link, so it works everywhere.

From then on you work from the Lookster Dashboard app on iPhone, iPad, Android or Windows, or in the browser. The calendar syncs live, so what you change on your phone at the nail table is on your laptop immediately.

Do you work from home, in a studio or with a second technician?

For a home studio the system works exactly the same as for a shop. Your address is on your salon page, clients book through your link and reminders go out automatically. If you travel to clients, include travel time in the duration of your treatments so your calendar keeps breathing room.

When a second technician joins, they get their own login, calendar and working hours in Lookster. Clients choose who they want when booking and only see the times that are actually free for that person. Essentials includes 3 team members (you plus 2), so adding a colleague or trainee costs nothing extra. For comparison: Booksy charges €7 per month for every extra team member.

How do you deal with no-shows and late cancellations?

Reminders do most of the work. A client who receives an email and a push notification 24 hours ahead rarely forgets. In Lookster you mark a client who still skips the appointment as a no-show on the client card, so you see it at the next booking. If it keeps happening, you add the client to the blacklist. Your statistics show the number of no-shows per period and per team member, so you know whether your policy works.

A clear cancellation policy in your confirmation email and Instagram bio strengthens that effect. With Lookster Pro, a deposit at booking is added, the strongest brake on no-shows. Pro is already running at a select number of salons and will be available to everyone soon. More tactics are in preventing no-shows.

How much does a nail salon booking system cost?

Lookster is free for the first 3 months, no credit card needed. After that, Essentials costs €19.95 per month excluding VAT (the Dutch "btw"), including 3 team members; each extra team member is €5 per month. You can cancel monthly, there are no setup costs, and you pay 0% commission on all bookings, including new clients from the Lookster marketplace. Unlimited bookings, the client app for your clients and the Dashboard app for you are included.

You take payment with your own card terminal; Lookster handles calendar, bookings and clients. With Lookster Pro the till comes on top, with Tap to Pay, iDEAL QR, payment links, gift cards and stock for your nail products. Pro is already running at a select number of salons and will be available to everyone soon.

Just starting out? Read starting a nail salon in the Netherlands first, and see what Lookster does specifically for nail salons.