Running a massage business can be a lot of work. From booking appointments to tracking client information, there are a lot of things to keep track of. That's why it's important to use the right software apps to help you manage your business. In this blog post, we will discuss 5 essential software apps that every massage therapist should use!
1. Massage Booking Software
This type of software allows you to manage your appointments remotely, making it easy to book and keep track of appointments from anywhere. There are a variety of scheduling software options available, so it's important to find one that fits your needs.
Some things to consider when choosing a scheduling software include:
- The number of therapists you want to make bookable
- Do you want to accept payments or deposits online
- The source of your appointments; website, social, directories or perhaps a receptionist?
- The type of appointments you offer (remote or on site / studio center)
- Integrations like website, accounting suites, tracking systems and more
- Will it integrate with the calendars of your business and staff?
2. Massage Reviews Software
It's important to get feedback from your clients in order to improve your services. This feedback can come in the form of massage reviews, which are a great way to let other potential clients know what to expect from your business.
Customer feedback is also valuable when it comes to making decisions about your business. For example, if a lot of your clients are asking for a specific type of massage, you may want to consider adding that service to your menu. By listening to your clients and using their feedback, you can continue to grow and improve your massage business!
Consider the following when selecting massage review software:
- Can you hide reviews / make them private?
- Can you respond to reviews?
- Can you embed reviews on your website or social?
- Does your review system integrate with your booking system?
- Can you automate how massage reviews are collected and sent out?
3. Massage Billing Software
Billing is an essential part of your business. Not only do you need to track payments, but you also need to ensure that you are issuing accurate invoices and collecting payments properly for accounting and legal purposes. This can be a complex process, so it's important to use the right software to help you manage it all.
When selecting massage billing software, consider the following:
- Can you issue invoices for different services (e.g. Swedish massage, deep tissue massage, etc.)
- Can you issue invoices for different lengths of time (e.g. 30 minutes, 1 hour, etc.)
- Are there different billing rates for different services or time slots
- Can you automatically calculate taxes
- Can you accept online payments (e.g. credit cards, PayPal)
- Can you issue refunds (partial or full)
- Does your billing software integrate with your booking system and accounting software?
- If you are going to be reimbursed from Medicare or health insurance companies, can you log medicare billing codes like CPT codes for massage?
4. Massage Client Tracking / CRM Software
It's important to keep track of your clients' information. Not only does this help you provide better service, but it also helps provide service cotinuity and automate customer interactions. That's why it's essential to use massage client software, which is a type of CRM (Customer Relationship Management) software specifically designed for massage businesses.
When selecting massage client software, consider the following:
- Can you store detailed information about each of your clients
- Can you view client history (e.g. past appointments, payments, etc.)
- Can you send out automated email or text reminders before appointments
- Can you collect payments online
- Does the software integrate with your booking system and accounting software?
- Can you track appointments back to services and staff?
- Can you generate reports?
- Can you record massage SOAP notes?
5. Massage Accounting Software
Accounting software for massage clinics, along side the massage booking system tends to be used a source of truth for the business. It is also the conduit between you, your accountant and the government. If you have tax obligation, payroll requirements, lodgements and refunds, you need a good easy to use accounting software.
When selecting good massage clinic accounting software consider:
- Can you track payments and expenses
- Can you generate reports (e.g. income statement, balance sheet, etc.)
- Does the software integrate with your booking system, massage CRM and other software?
- Does it automate payroll?
- Does your accountant like it?
- Does it automatically generate financial reports like balance sheets and P&Ls.
Conclusion
Cogsworth is a great massage therapy clinic software package that takes care of 4 of the 5 requirements and integrates nicely with accounting software (whether you use QuickBooks, Xero, MYOB or something of your choosing.
Cogsworth is a popular choice as it has an excellent booking experience for your patients, is easy to use and configure, has a tremendous customer support team and is extremely feature rich whilst being affordable.
