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Permalink Reply by Laura Cooksey on January 12, 2011 at 5:58pm

We use Quickbooks for our accounting and have from the very beginning, even when we were very small.  We've had tremendous growth over the past five years and we still use it. It's best to get this set up early on in your ventures as a sole practitioner. As you get busier, you will be glad that you got your infrastructure in place first.  It's imperative for you to know what your expenses are, so you can make wise business decisions AND know if you are indeed making any money!! If you are not making enough money, you just have a very expensive, time-consuming hobby.

 

I also highly recommend getting on-line scheduling.  Again, when you get busier, calling your clients back to make appointments will get increasingly challenging.  It will help your business to grow more quickly if you make it easy and convenient for your clients to come see you.  We use Genbooks - super simple to set up and inexpensive.

 

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Permalink Reply by Gail Wagner on January 14, 2011 at 7:56am

Laura Cooksey said:

We use Quickbooks for our accounting and have from the very beginning, even when we were very small.  We've had tremendous growth over the past five years and we still use it. It's best to get this set up early on in your ventures as a sole practitioner. As you get busier, you will be glad that you got your infrastructure in place first.  It's imperative for you to know what your expenses are, so you can make wise business decisions AND know if you are indeed making any money!! If you are not making enough money, you just have a very expensive, time-consuming hobby.

 

I also highly recommend getting on-line scheduling.  Again, when you get busier, calling your clients back to make appointments will get increasingly challenging.  It will help your business to grow more quickly if you make it easy and convenient for your clients to come see you.  We use Genbooks - super simple to set up and inexpensive.

 

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Permalink Reply by Gail Wagner on January 14, 2011 at 7:57am

Laura:

 

Thank you so much, I maycall upon you when senting everything up.  thanks again.

 

Gail Wagner

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Permalink Reply by Susan Ferguson on January 18, 2011 at 6:40am

Hi Gail,

I too recommend Quickbooks.  I have worked with it for nearly 20 years in a couple different businesses.  My ex is a CPA and at the time helped me refine my chart of accounts for my salon in CO.  I have moved to Florida this past year and am using it again in my little room that I am renting in a salon.  The program is perfect for all business but especially good for small business as it is very user friendly.  Feel free to contact me if you would like.

 

Susan

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Permalink Reply by Natalya Borkowski on January 19, 2011 at 3:25pm

We are using Insight software at our spa, its affordable and easy to use. Check it out www.salon-software.com

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Permalink Reply by Tiffany Jent on January 22, 2011 at 3:40pm

I highly recommend Appointment Plus on-line booking system.  They offer a variety of packages for your specific needs.  It is so easy to use and has helped reduce my phone call volume by 45%.  They can also track your sales, send confirmation e-mails, appointment reminder e-mails, and even run credit cards through them.  This has been a lifesaver for me and my clients LOVE having access to their appointments 24/7.  Quickbooks can be very difficult.  They have to sell additional to help you learn how to use it.  Best of luck to you and your new venture!!

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Permalink Reply by Kyong on January 23, 2011 at 7:32pm

I recently launched my solo beauty studio in Oct 2010. Thus far I have been successful at managing my finances with Quickbooks for Mac. As a point of sale system it allows me to customize/edit my expense accounts and track inventory. (QB also links with my email and online banking account.) I routinely track my profit margin with one of the many pre-made Profit and Loss spreadsheets. If I have a question I utilize the Intuit community forums online.

Esthetics was a second career for me, Liberal Studies and Psychology being my first- NOT business or accounting. I find myself utterly confused with a lot of the accounting lingo but I have managed to wade through QB and it has been a blessing.

Feel free to contact me if you'd like. I know how you are feeling! ;)

 

PS- I also recently made the plunge into ONLINE scheduling. I was very nervous (loss of control, etc), but it has been wonderful! I use Schedulicity. They also offer email appointment confirmations.

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Permalink Reply by Gail Wagner on January 30, 2011 at 10:02am

Thank you to all of you for your input.  I started to look at QuickBooks and was afraid of the price.  So for now, until the money starts to come in a little faster I am using Excel and creating my own spreadsheets as I go along, but I still think I am just going around in circles sometimes. 
Starting a new bussiness is scary, I think I liked it when I was just a practitionaire.

 

thank you all again.

 

As soon as I can I will purchase QuickBook for small bussinesses.

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