Making a decision on the best medical spa software for you isn’t easy.
Maybe you’re starting a medi aesthetic business from scratch and haven’t used any kind of medical spa software before. Alternatively, perhaps you’re currently using a system but it’s just not doing everything you need. Maybe it’s too clunky, too expensive, or just not right.
So what is the best medical spa software? Well, the short answer is there isn’t a ‘best’ one – there’s only one that’s best for you. You know your business better than anyone. You know your team, where your biggest challenges lie, and what your budget is.
Keeping that front of mind will help you find the right software for you.
6 Best medical spa software to use in 2023
1. Pabau
Pabau is an all-in-one clinic management software specifically designed for medi aesthetic clinics. Based in the UK, it provides everything clinics need to reduce time spent on admin, improve the patient experience, and obtain new customers. Because it’s designed for med spas, it has key features that this client base will find particularly valuable.
Features: Scheduling, online bookings, automated pre-care and aftercare communication, automated recalls, digital client records, deposits and no-show protection, and much more.
Integrations: Stripe, Xero, Mailchimp, Zapier, Heathcode and more – see the full list.
Customer support: There is onboarding support and ongoing support via live chat.
Price: Monthly subscription. Request a demo to see pricing options.
Free trial: No, there is no free trial available.
Number of clients: Over 2000 businesses
Clients include: Dr Leah Cosmetic Skin Clinics, Secret Enhancements, PHI Clinic
| PROS | CONS |
|---|---|
| Pabau is designed to meet the needs of medical spa practitioners. It has features created specifically for this industry, such as EMR, before and after photos, injection plotting, customizable forms, and so on. | There isn’t a free trial available. This is because Pabau believes clients will get more value from the system if they’re supported through the onboarding process. |
| All-in-one solution. You don’t have to join together different tools for email communication, marketing, finances, and so on. Do it all under one roof with Pabau. | It’s a premium product so it’s not the cheapest option on the market. But because it’s an all-in-one software solution you won’t need to budget for anything else. |
| The Pabau app enables practitioners to create a secure and seamless patient journey. Gather waivers, medical questionnaires, and consent forms before every appointment. | You have to pay extra to send SMS reminders. Emails, however, are free. |
| Time-saving automation. Save hours of time by automating pre-care and aftercare emails and sending automated email and SMS reminders as part of the booking process. | |
| It enables clinics to go fully paperless - not just paper-light, like some other providers. | |
| Monthly subscription service, rather than an annual contract. You can cancel at any time. |
2. Phorest
Phorest is an all-in-one solution to enable hair, beauty, or personal services businesses to reach their full potential. Based in Ireland, it will support you with seamless online salon booking, hassle-free reporting, and the industry’s most innovative marketing features.
Features: Scheduling, online bookings, salon branded booking app, automated SMS and email, client loyalty program, online store, online gift vouchers, video consultations.
Integrations: Quickbooks, Xero, Instagram and Facebook, and Vish
Customer support: Log a support ticket or contact your business advisor
Price: Annual subscription. Request a demo to see pricing options.
Free trial: No, there is no free trial available
Number of clients: Over 9000 businesses
Clients include: Sarah Louise Aesthetics, Finishing Touch Clinic
| PROS | CONS |
|---|---|
| It’s simple to use and has an attractive visual design which will make your salon team more likely to want to use it - half the battle! | Phorest is an excellent option for hair salons. Because it’s not designed for med spa providers the terminology, features, and functionality may not always be the best fit if you’re running that type of business. |
| Strong salon scheduling calendar. There’s also a waitlist feature so businesses can fill cancelled appointments easily. | Online booking fees. Every time a client books an appointment online, Phorest will retain a percentage of the costs. |
| You can manage your salon using their fully branded salon management app. Log in from any device to plan and manage your day. | The paperless experience Phorest offers isn’t as strong as other providers. It also doesn’t meet the demand for documentation that medical spa practitioners need. |
| Online store feature, so businesses can easily sell products along with their services. | Phorest doesn’t have some of the integrations that med spa clinics may require, such as integrations with third-party insurance providers and pharmacies. |
| There’s only an annual subscription available rather than a monthly fee so it’s more of an investment for small businesses. | |
3. Zenoti
Zenoti is a cloud software for salons, spas, medspas, and fitness centers. Their all-in-one platform helps elevate guest experiences, streamline operations across multiple locations, and drive results like increased customer loyalty and revenue growth.
Features: Online booking and appointments, billing and payments, business intelligence, business management, marketing and sales, and mobile solutions.
Integrations: Shopify, Worldpay, Xero, Quickbooks, Zapier, and much more. You can view the full list of Zenoti integrations on their website.
Customer support: 24/7 support. Get in touch via email, live chat, or over the phone.
Price: Request a demo to see pricing options.
Free trial: No, there isn’t a free trial available
Number of clients: Over 25,000 businesses
Clients include: Toni & Guy, Hand & Stone Massage and Facial Spa, Massage Heights
| PROS | CONS |
|---|---|
| All-in-one solution. You don’t have to join together different tools for email communication, marketing, finances, and so on. Do it all under one roof with Zenoti. | It’s a premium product at a higher price point, so it’s not the cheapest option on the market. |
| Online booking feature that makes it easy for clients to book anytime, anywhere. It can all be done using their app and rebooking can be done with a couple of taps. | Some customer reviews suggest that it can take multiple clicks to do something in Zenoti, which isn’t ideal in a fast-paced clinic environment. |
| Tools to help motivate your team and boost the revenue potential of each appointment, such as automated recommendations for upsells and product add-ons. | |
| Strong customer support. They offer 24/7 support with regional phone numbers for clients to call. They also have a response time of less than two minutes. | |
4. Fresha
Fresha is the only subscription-free appointment booking software for beauty and wellness. Everyone gets unlimited bookings, locations, team members and notifications. Boost your sales and attract new clients by accepting online bookings directly through Google search, your Facebook and Instagram pages, and your website.
Features: Appointment scheduling, payment processing, point of sale, marketing promotions, product inventory and online store, reporting and inventory management.
Integrations: Limited. No Xero, Square, MailChimp or Zapier integrations currently.
Customer support: Get in touch with them online by submitting a form
Price: Free with optional paid features and additional fees
Free trial: Yes, a free trial is available
Number of clients: Over 80,000 businesses
| PROS | CONS |
|---|---|
| There are no monthly fees. This makes it a good option for healthcare and wellness providers who are on a tight budget. | Additional fees. Fresha users are charged a 20% new client fee for any new customers that book an appointment using Fresha. So if a new client books a package that’s worth £500, Fresha will take a £100 fee. |
| It has the ability to take deposits so that you can protect your business against no-shows and last-minute cancellations. | Fresha is built primarily for hair salons and it’s an excellent choice if you’re running this type of business. But some of the features needed for med spas are missing - for example, no option to include before and after photos. |
| Has a client app so that customers can research local businesses and book appointments quickly and easily. | It doesn’t meet the demand for documentation that medical spa practitioners need, so you can’t go fully paperless. |
| Has an online store feature so that you can sell products online. | Limited integrations, which may be tricky if you’re already using certain platforms and want to continue. |
| Their reporting feature isn’t as comprehensive as others. For example, there are 43 prebuilt reports in Fresha compared to Pabau’s 150. | |
5. Cliniko
Cliniko is a complete practice management software. Manage schedules, treatment notes, invoices, payments, and lots more. It works great for solo practitioners, large teams, and anything in between. Loved by physiotherapists, podiatrists, talk therapists, chiropractors, massage therapists, Cliniko is easy to use and secure.
Features: Booking and scheduling, health records, finance management, reporting and tracking, and business management tools such as communication with staff.
Integrations: It integrates with a number of industry-specific apps, such as BookPhysio.com, Doctors.com.au. Healthshare, Medipass, etc. It also integrates with Xero and Apiant which means you can connect tools such as Hubspot, Salesforce, and MailChimp.
Customer support: Live chat and email support
Price: Between £29 a month and £259 a month, depending on the number of practitioners
Free trial: Yes, a free 30-day trial is available
Number of clients: 20,000 clinics
| PROS | CONS |
|---|---|
| A strong all-rounder in terms of practice management software. Cliniko has a number of features to support medical health professionals and helps with everything from online booking to finance management. | Their reporting feature isn’t as comprehensive as other providers and you can’t create custom reports in Cliniko. But if you just need the basics for your reports, it’s bang on. |
| A streamlined user experience. Its intuitive design makes it easy to use for clinic staff to keep their business running smoothly. | Any SMS messages you want to send cost an additional 5p each. Emails are free. |
| Cliniko is GDPR, HIPAA, and PIPEDA (Canada’s privacy requirements) compliant. | Doesn't send automatic reminders for clients that haven't been to your clinic in a while. |
| Monthly subscription service, rather than an annual contract. You can cancel at any time. | The referral source of any new clients isn't automatically pulled into the system and has to be manually added instead. |
| Makes it easy to save patient data. It enables you to securely store letters, images and any other types of files. You can also add diagrams or charts when writing notes for patients - ideal for physiotherapists! | |
6. Treatwell
Treatwell Pro is an all-in-one salon software system, built for hair and beauty salon professionals. Manage appointments using the digital diary, stay on top of business admin with slick reporting, and communicate with clients using in-built, automated marketing tools. Access your business from any device and be open for bookings 24/7. Treatwell Pro can give you an intelligent cash register system and warehouse stock management for your salon.
Features: Appointment organisation, management of treatment rooms, online booking, reports and analytics, stock management, checkout system
Integrations: Treatwell Connect, Salonized, UALA, Treatwell Pro
Customer support: You can contact customer support by email, phone or chat, Mon-Sat from 9am-7:30pm. For onboarding, there’s 1-1 training on the two higher payment tiers.
Price: Starting price of £199 a year
Free trial: No, there’s no free trial
Number of clients: 50,000 salon and clinic owners
Clients include: Wella Professionals, HD Brows, KB Pro, Nouveau Lashes
| PROS | CONS |
|---|---|
| Makes online booking simple. Clients can book appointments through social media, your business website, and via Google. They also create a dedicated salon page for your business on the Treatwell app and website. | Additional fees. You’re charged a 35% commission for new marketplace bookings on Treatwell. You’re also charged a 2% processing fee for any repeat or widget bookings when clients pre-pay online. |
| The technical notes and client history feature means that you can add detailed information such as color formulas and favourite products, and enhance the client experience. | It’s an excellent choice for hair and beauty salons. However, some of the features you may need as a med spa practitioner (consultation forms, pre-care and aftercare forms) aren’t available in Treatwell. |
| You can send unlimited SMS and email appointment confirmations and reminders. | There’s only an annual subscription available rather than a monthly fee. The most affordable option is for a chair renter at £199. The most expensive option is £899 annually. |
| Employee reporting functionality - you can see which of your team are selling the most product and services and contributing the most to your overall revenue. | |
Why is it important to have medical spa software?
The medi aesthetic industry is growing exponentially. In fact, the medical spa industry is predicted to be worth 63.79 billion USD by 2032, up from 16.31 billion USD in 2022.
It’s a growing market, and it’s therefore imperative that clinics stand out from the crowd. Creating a great client experience doesn’t start and end when they walk through the door. It’s everything – from how you communicate, to how you create a great patient journey, to how you make customers feel valued. Med spa software can help with all three.
Additionally, medical spa software will also make your life easier. Do you ever feel like you’re constantly on the phone, replying to emails, or rearranging appointments? A great medical spa software will save you time and make your operation run much more smoothly.
5 questions to ask to find the best medical spa software
Ask yourself these five questions to help you identify what you need from your software…
1. What features do I need?
If you’re researching the best medical spa software then you probably have a clear idea of what features you need from a solution. Perhaps you want to manage everything from one system. Maybe you want to enable online bookings so that clients can book appointments 24/7.
Make sure you know the features that are dealbreakers – and the nice-to-haves.
2. Is it the right fit for my business?
You want your medical spa software to be the best fit for you, right? You want it to be designed with your specific needs in mind. That’s why it’s key to know who the software is built for.
Is it built for medical spa practitioners and owners or was it built for a slightly different kind of business – maybe a hair salon or beautician? Knowing the answer to these questions will help you decide if the software has the features you need to run your business effectively.
3. How does it integrate with my existing tools?
Integrations are really important. You need any new software you bring in to work well with the existing software you’re using. If you currently use software for private healthcare insurance payments, for example, you want to know that it’ll hook up to your medical spa software.
4. How much does it cost?
There are a few things to keep in mind when considering the price of medical spa software.
Does the software do everything you need? Is it an all-in-one system or will you still need to budget for other software for tasks such as accounting or sending marketing emails?
Also, how does the pricing model work? Are you able to pay monthly or do you have to sign up for an annual subscription? Is there a free trial option available to road-test the system?
5. How many people will be using it?
Make sure you know exactly how many people will be using the system.
Many software providers charge based on the number of users who will be using the product. If you’re a team of one, for example, it’ll be cheaper for you than a team of five or six.
What are the common features of medical spa software?
There are some features that pretty much every med spa clinic will want to get from their medical spa software. These are the bread and butter of most medical spa software.
Appointment scheduling
A calendar system makes managing appointments easy. Schedule, change and automate bookings from the calendar so you can see what your day looks like, at a glance.
Online booking
Enabling customers to book their own appointments online without having to go through your front-of-house team will save time, boost efficiency, and enhance the client experience.
Payments system
Enabling your clients to pay quickly and easily is a must for any medical spa software. Make it a quick, easy, and seamless experience where clients can pay in person or online.
Staff management
A system that enables you to organize your team’s schedule is crucial. Plan daily, weekly, and monthly staff rotas, while also adding in annual leave and training.
Reporting functionality
Without a reporting tool, it’s impossible to know how your business is performing. A good reporting feature will enable medical spa operators to have a clear overview.
Loyalty programmes
Creating a loyal client base is really important. One of the ways you can do that is through special loyalty programs such as discounts, offers, and birthday messages.
How much does medical spa software cost?
Now let’s get to the important part of the conversation – how much it costs.
There are a few factors that come into play when it comes to the price of medical spa software. You can pay anything from $0 per month to upwards of $300 a month.
The cost of clinic management software also typically depends on:
The features you have access to
Some software will enable you to use all the features for a flat fee. Others will have a tiered solution where you can access baseline features but need to upgrade to get more.
How many users
As we touched on earlier, the number of users will often decide the price you’ll pay.
Annual vs monthly payment
With some providers, you can pay a monthly subscription fee. For others, you’ll need to pay an annual fee. If flexibility is important to you, a monthly payment might be preferable.
Tips to find the best medical spa software
1. Do your own research
Get stuck into research – beyond Google. If you’ve done a training course or attended a conference, what software was recommended? What do clinics you follow on LinkedIn or Instagram say? Do you have any industry contacts or networks you could ask?
2. See it in action
You can only get so much from a website. If you want to see what software can really do for you then you need a live demo. The sales rep will be able to walk you through how the software works and show you if can it can meet your specific needs – with no obligations.
3. Listen to your team
You can have the best medical spa software in the world… but it’s no good to anyone if your team don’t actually use it. If you’re going to have a team of users, you need to have their buy-in, so it needs to be simple to use. User-friendly and intuitive beats complex, every time!
4. Check what support is offered
Transitioning from pen and paper to medical spa software can be a real learning curve. But it’s also tricky if you’re migrating all your data from one software to another. Do your research on how much support you’ll during the onboarding process and day-to-day after that.
5. Trust your gut
You may not be an expert on medical spa software, but you know your business better than anyone else. You know what you need and what you don’t, so don’t be swayed by persuasive salespeople or external opinions. You’re the one that’ll be using it each day.
Check out user reviews online
Another handy resource when researching med spa software is customer reviews.
Want to hear from practitioners and clinic owners who are successfully using clinic management software? There are a number of review sites with hundreds of user reviews on them!
The great thing about these is they’re straight from the horse’s mouth. You’ll see the good, the bad, and the ugly – which will help you get a more rounded view of the software. You’ll be able to start understanding where the product adds value… and where its shortcomings may lie.
These are the main online reviews sites:
- Capterra
- G2
- GetApp
- Source Forge
- Trust Radius
