Software stack for a 5-chair salon
A plain starting point for a salon with five chairs and five people taking bookings: one booking and checkout app, one bookkeeping app, and a free way to keep social posts going. Every tool is from our listings and every connection is one we have verified; we have not tested this stack in a real salon, so it is not a recommendation of one brand over another.
The pieces
Booking and checkout (pick one)
Online booking, reminders, client records and payments in one place. All three name salons as an audience on their own sites. They charge in different ways: Square per location, Fresha per bookable team member, Vagaro per bookable calendar.
| Tool | Best for (vendor's words) | Price (from vendor) | Checked |
|---|---|---|---|
| Square Appointments | Salons, barbers, service pros already on Square | Square Free $0/mo + processing fees (2.6% + 15¢ in person) | 2026-11-01 |
| Fresha | Salons and spas | Independent $19.95/mo; Team $14.95/team member/mo | 2026-10-29 |
| Vagaro | Salons, spas, fitness | $30/mo for 1 calendar ($23.99 intro for first 6 months) | 2026-11-02 |
Bookkeeping
Your books. Vagaro lists a QuickBooks integration on its pricing page. Square connects to QuickBooks Online through Zapier. We have not confirmed a QuickBooks connection for Fresha, so plan on entering its sales another way.
| Tool | Best for (vendor's words) | Price (from vendor) | Checked |
|---|---|---|---|
| QuickBooks Online · true monthly cost | All small businesses | Free $0/mo (limited); Simple Start $38/mo list (promo shown $19/mo for 3 months) | 2026-10-29 |
Social posting
Schedule posts, including to your Google Business Profile. Buffer has a $0 plan and names salons as an audience.
| Tool | Best for (vendor's words) | Price (from vendor) | Checked |
|---|---|---|---|
| Buffer | Restaurants, salons, any owner posting to social | Free $0; Essentials $5/mo per channel billed yearly | 2026-10-31 |
How the pieces connect
Only connections confirmed on a vendor page, the Zapier app directory or one of our setup guides. Anything we have not confirmed is left off.
| From | To | How it connects | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| Vagaro | QuickBooks Online | Vagaro lists "QuickBooks & Xero integrations" on its pricing page. | Vagaro listing and integrations |
| Square Appointments | QuickBooks Online | Through Zapier (the Square + QuickBooks Online page in the Zapier app directory). Specific zaps have not been tested. | QuickBooks Online listing and integrations |
| Fresha | Google Calendar | Linked calendars: two-way sync with Google Calendar, per Fresha's help center. | Fresha listing and integrations |
| Vagaro | Google Calendar | Two-way Google Calendar sync per employee, per Vagaro's support article. | Vagaro listing and integrations |
| Square Appointments | Google Calendar | Google Calendar sync, listed on Square's pricing page (our listing notes it is on paid plans). | Square Appointments listing and integrations |
| Buffer | Google Business Profile | Native publishing to Google Business Profile. | Buffer listing and integrations |
Monthly software math for 5 bookable stylists (math shown)
List prices on monthly billing, from the vendor pages on the dates shown. Taxes, card processing and text-message overages are extra.
- Square route: Square Appointments Free $0 (Square's pricing page lists unlimited staff calendars and says there is no employee limit; Plus is $49 and Premium $149 per location per month) + QuickBooks Online Simple Start $38 list + Buffer Free $0 = $38/mo, plus Square's processing (2.6% + 15¢ per in-person card payment on Free).
- Fresha route: Fresha Team $14.95 per team member x 5 = $74.75 + QuickBooks Online Simple Start $38 list + Buffer Free $0 = $112.75/mo.
- Vagaro route: Vagaro $30 for the first calendar (our listing; Vagaro shows a $23.99 intro price for the first 6 months) + 4 more calendar licenses at $10 each (Vagaro's pricing FAQ) = $70, + QuickBooks Online Simple Start $38 list + Buffer Free $0 = $108/mo.
Unknowns we won't guess: Fresha's and Vagaro's card processing rates (not on the pricing pages we checked), whether Square's Google Calendar sync needs a paid plan for your setup, how many QuickBooks Online users Simple Start allows (QuickBooks' pricing page didn't load for us on 2026-11-02, so check it before you buy; the $38 list price is from our 2026-10-29 listing), and whether you need more than 100 free texts per team member a month on Fresha. Sources: Square Appointments pricing, Fresha pricing and Vagaro pricing, checked 2026-11-02.
More AI tools for salons & spas · How to get more Google reviews · True monthly cost pages · All stacks
Built from our listings and setup guides, checked 2026-11-02. We have not tested this stack inside a real business. Spot something out of date? Tell us.
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