For salons & barbershops
Salons and barbers: missed calls get booked while you keep cutting.
I build small tools for salons and barbershops: a text back that books the client when you can't pick up, reminder texts with a one-reply confirm, and a waitlist that fills cancelled chairs. It works next to your booking app, and you approve every message.
(641) 530-2599 · chrispoulos@praxisaisolutions.io
Copied from the salon demo. Made-up shop, real workflow. Try it yourself →
The real problem
You can't answer the phone with clippers in your hand.
The phone rings mid-cut. You let it go. The caller wanted a fade today and books somewhere else.
Then a client cancels an hour before and the chair sits empty, even though someone would have taken it if they knew.
Your booking app is usually worth it. The extra spend is in add-ons, top-tier plans, texting platforms that cost hundreds a month, and answering services.
Try it on your phone
What the salon demo shows
It's a made-up shop called Example Salon & Barber. Open it on your phone and tap through it the way your customer would. Nothing in it is live, so poke around.
Book your next appointment
Clients pick a service, a day and an open time on their phone, even at 10 p.m. The reminder texts schedule themselves.
Missed call while cutting
Tyler calls for a fade and nobody can pick up. He gets a text, is offered Marcus's 4:15 opening, replies yes, and he's booked without anyone stopping a cut.
Reminder and confirmation
Reminders go out by text on their own, and one reply confirms or reschedules, so an empty chair gets refilled instead of discovered.
The monthly bills
What salons and barbershops often pay each month
These are tools salons and barbershops often pay a monthly bill for, at published or reported prices. Each price links to where it came from.
| Tool | What it does | Price | My take | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| GlossGeniusGold plan | Booking and payments | $56/momonth to month | Usually worth keepingYour booking app stays. A smaller plan may do if you moved up for reminders. | koalendar.com |
| PodiumCore plan | Texting and review requests | $399/mo | Worth a hard lookIf you mostly use it for review asks and texting, that's the part I can build for you to own. | softwarefinder.com |
| BirdeyeStarter | Review requests | $299/moper location | Worth a hard lookA lot to pay mainly for review asks. | replifast.com |
| RubyLive answering service | Answering calls | $250/mofor 50 minutes | Worth a hard lookA text back can book many of the same callers. | bukkii.ai |
| Smith.aiLive receptionists | Answering calls | $300/mofor 30 calls | Worth a hard lookCompare it with a text back on missed calls. | bukkii.ai |
GlossGenius Gold plus Podium Core comes to $455 a month at those prices, or $5,460 a year.
What usually stays: your booking and payments app. What I build takes over the missed-call replies, reminder texts, waitlist and review asks.
Prices are what each linked page showed when I checked on October 23, 2026. Vendors change prices, and several sources are reviews or comparison sites rather than the vendor's own page, so check your own bill. I don't list my prices here. You get one written price after the free walkthrough.
How it works
How working with me goes
Every shop is different, so I don't guess from the outside. The first look is free, and nothing gets built until you've said yes to one written price.
Free walkthrough
A 20-minute call, or a free 2-minute video built for your shop. You tell me what eats your time. I tell you straight if I can fix it.
One price, in writing
A short write-up and one price before you pay anything. No hourly meter. If I can't build it, no charge.
Built around what you use
Your booking and payments app stays. The new tool works next to it, so nobody learns a new system.
You approve every message
You read and okay the wording before the tool sends anything, and you can change it any time.
You own it
It's yours outright. It keeps working whether or not we ever talk again.
Up and running
Most tools are working in 2 to 4 weeks from your yes. I'm a phone call away if something needs a change.
Remote or in person, same price. I'm based in Mason City, Iowa. If your shop is in North Iowa, I'll come sit at your desk. Anywhere else, we do it over a screen share: you see what I see, and you're talking to me the whole time, not a team you never meet.
Straight answers
Questions salons and barbershops ask
Can it really book someone without me?
It offers the openings you have, and the client picks one. In the demo, Tyler is booked with Marcus in about three minutes, and you get a note on your phone.
Do I have to leave my booking app?
No. Your booking app stays. The tool works next to it.
What about booth renters?
Each stylist or barber can have their own openings and their own wording. We sort out who gets which texts on the walkthrough.
Do you only work with salons and barbershops in Iowa?
No. If you're in North Iowa, I'll come to you. Everywhere else, we work over a screen share, which is how most software gets built anyway. Your zip code doesn't change the price.
What does it cost?
It depends on what your shop needs, so I don't post prices. The walkthrough is free and ends with one price in writing. A one-time tool is a one-time price, and if I can't build it, there's no charge. Texting and hosting have a small monthly bill in your own name, and I'll show you that number up front too.
Let's talk
Tell me what's eating your time.
One free call, or a free 2-minute video of what this would look like in your salon or barbershop. If there's nothing worth building, I'll tell you that too.
You'll be talking to Chris Poulos — 20 years selling to real people face to face, now I make AI work for them. No agency, no handoffs: the person you call is the person who builds it.
Or email chrispoulos@praxisaisolutions.io