7 Time-Saving Features of Salon Inventory Management Software

Improvising your inventory tracking with spreadsheets just doesn’t cut it for most salons. Suddenly running out of your best-selling products, only to find out they’re backordered and can’t be refilled right away, means missing out on valuable revenue opportunities. Add unused overstock that expires on the shelf and tracking errors that leave gaps in your back bar, and you’ll find more of inefficient inventory management’s hidden costs.

The right salon inventory management platform can help you eliminate the stress of managing back bar and retail inventory for your salon. In this guide, we’ll highlight how to pick inventory management software and seven non-negotiable features—from tracking real-time stock across multiple locations to barcode-based receiving—that top platforms include for maximum profitability. 

1. Smart Purchase Orders

Basic inventory software for hair and beauty salons simply tells you which items you currently have in stock. When it’s time to resupply, you have to review each product manually and make your own purchase list. If you forget something, you need to start a whole new purchase order, and you might run out of stock while you’re waiting for the shipment.

Look for a salon inventory management app that automatically populates your purchase orders and vendor information, and suggests which products are likely to run out soon. You’ll get what you need in every order and save time while you’re crossing items off your to-do list. 

2. Real-Time Reporting

The ability to get up-to-date reports on your sales with weekly, monthly, and yearly reports is key for any salon inventory app. The best salon inventory management software can also give you reports on your stock in real time, as well as insights that guide your purchase planning (like top-performing products, back bar safety stock, and inventory turnover rates).

Your salon product manager should be able to check your inventory and see up-to-the-minute listings for every item you stock or sell. For example, if a particular product starts to sell unusually fast—like if a hair gel has gone viral on social media—you’ll know about it in time to expedite a reorder. 

3. Barcode Scanning

Salon inventory management systems with barcode scanner integration saves you time in the stockroom and at the front counter. Barcode scanning helps you quickly process shipments: Simply scan the stock to update your in-store counts. And selling supplies to clients only takes seconds with a barcode scanner. Just scan the code and your salon inventory management software will tell you the price and adjust your stock count. 

Low-Stock Alerts

After you’ve scanned your incoming products and created an up-to-date inventory database, salon inventory management software can help you stay on top of what’s on hand. When your inventory falls below a pre-set threshold, low-stock products automatically appear in purchase orders. This feature minimizes time spent cross-checking reports and lowers the chance of something falling through the cracks, so reordering happens long before missing products affect your client experiences.

4. Supplier Integration

Between your client appointments and back bar inventory, you need a lot of different products, from a lot of different vendors, at a lot of different times.

Integrations can help you organize complex purchasing and reordering schedules. Rather than opening a separate email client or contact database every time, you’ll be able to send purchase orders right from your salon inventory app. That means less software to manage, and less time between needing a restock and actually getting one.

5. Multi-Location Tracking

If you’re an operator managing inventory at multiple salons or spas, getting the right product quantities at each location can be a tall order. Items that fly off the shelves in one neighborhood may sit around for months in another. 

Salon inventory management with multi-location tracking capabilities means you can create store-specific reordering schedules, safety stock thresholds, and detailed reports. And with more advanced salon software like Boulevard, you can track stock transfers between stores, saving you the hassle of coordinating reports from more than one shop.

6. Usage Forecasting

Salons naturally go through busy and slow seasons. Contemporary salon inventory management systems build reports that take the industry’s seasonal nature into account. This type of forecasting is especially useful to estimate inventory needs during usage spikes around the holidays and other peak booking periods, like Mother’s Day and wedding season.

Customized reports can track everything from average weekly retail sales to inventory-related commission (and beyond) to help you understand what products sell best and how quickly you run out. Looking at the broad picture can identify trends, and while you’ll need a little bit of data to get started, reports can bolster inventory efficiency and save you money in the long run.

7. POS Compatibility

Suppose a client wants to purchase a bottle of specialty hairspray after an appointment. You ring them up with your POS system, then manually adjust your product count in your inventory management software as the front desk line grows.

When you unify your POS and salon inventory management systems, your product count automatically adjusts following a successful purchase. That means no more manually updating your inventory after ringing up a client. 

Just like barcode scanning and supplier integration, POS compatibility takes the guesswork out of inventory management. Every time you sell something, your software has already adjusted the numbers for you. You’ll get more peace of mind, and your team will have more time to focus on the next client.

How to Choose Best-Fit Salon Inventory Management Software

As you look for the best salon inventory management solution for your beauty and wellness business, use these questions to guide you through the comparison:

• Does it work with my booking system?: Salon software that unifies booking, inventory tracking, and POS features will free up more time than three separate programs that don’t communicate with each other.

• Is it compatible with the software I already use?: If you already use software to manage your workflows, double-check that the inventory tracking system integrates with the rest of your tech stack.

• How easy is it to set up?: Look for inventory management software that offers personalized demos and readily available customer service. That way, you’ll know exactly what you’re getting and the level of support you can expect.

The right inventory management app for your salon lets you spend less time managing your supplies and more time delivering high-touch, luxury experiences for your clients.

How Boulevard Trims Salon Inventory Management Tasks

You can cut hours of manual work and sync your salon inventory across all your locations with Boulevard. The salon software integrates all seven in-demand features with real-time updates, rapid reordering, stock forecasting, and deep sales reports. 

Our premium salon and spa management platform doesn’t just streamline your stock. We unify your inventory demands alongside scheduling and client profiles, so you can manage and optimize your salon at every touch. 

Try a demo of Boulevard’s Salon Software today to see how effortless salon management can be.

FAQ

What’s the Most Important Feature in Salon Inventory Management Software?

Having up-to-the-minute vision into your inventory is the foundation of other time-saving software features. Knowing exactly what’s on your shelves at all times means you can take advantage of automated alerts, forecasting, and accurate usage reporting for more effective inventory management all around. 

How Does Inventory Management Software Reduce Waste in Hair and Beauty Salons?

Inefficient stock management leads to having to throw away expired products. Salon inventory management software helps you identify which products are nearing expiration or stockout, so you can prioritize upselling those products and limit your overall waste production. And with built-in usage forecasting, your salon or spa can prevent over-ordering in the first place.

Can Salon Inventory Software Track Products Across Multiple Locations?

Yes. The best salon inventory management systems include multi-location visibility. That way, you can track stock across different stores and visualize every location’s needs on a centralized dashboard. Some inventory software options even let you set up cross-location transfer tracking to seamlessly move inventory between your stores.

How Does Boulevard Support Salon Inventory Management?

Boulevard is an all-in-one salon management platform that simplifies inventory while centralizing your POS, scheduling, and reporting demands. With our salon software, inventory updates happen automatically as your products are sold or used by stylists for more accurate reordering and reports.