Choosing tanning salon software in the UK
Choose software around your salon’s day.
Take your busiest hour, a customer’s minute balance and your end-of-day totals to the demo. See how each system handles the work.
Written by SunbedHQ, a tanning salon software provider. Reviewed . This is our buying checklist; the two alternatives below are described from their official websites, not independently tested or ranked.
Start with the essentials
A checklist for the working day.
Mark each requirement as essential, useful or unnecessary before comparing offers. Ask to see each essential task completed.
- 01 / Beds, buffers and blocked time
- Check availability per physical bed, your lay-down and vertical options, changing and cleaning time, cool-down and out-of-service beds. Ask: “Can you show a busy hour with a bed unavailable and space kept for walk-ins?”
- 02 / Walk-ins, cash and the desk
- Add a walk-in, take cash, record an external card payment and find an unpaid booking. Ask: “Can reception distinguish money received from payment still due?”
- 03 / Customer booking
- Try the journey on a phone: bed choice, duration, time, sign-in, required first-visit checks, confirmation and cancellation. Ask: “What does a customer see when their chosen time is no longer available?”
- 04 / Minutes and expiry
- Follow a package sale, a reservation, a session start and a cancellation. Check expiry against the session date and ask who can correct a balance. Ask: “Can you explain every movement behind this customer’s available minutes?”
- 05 / Payments and refunds
- Separate desk payment records from online processing. Confirm account setup, settlement, refund handling and what happens to an abandoned checkout. Ask: “Which payment routes are ready for my salon, and what does each cost?”
- 06 / Reports and exports
- Reconcile a day’s cash, external card payments, online payments and refunds. Inspect an export, including dates and minute movements. Ask: “Can I explain these totals and retain the records I need if I leave?”
Look beyond the calendar
What must work at your desk?
List your bed controllers, card terminal, till, receipt printer and stock process by make and model. If automatic bed control, retail EPOS, stock ordering or staff scheduling is essential, make that a shortlist requirement and request a demonstration of the exact setup.
SunbedHQ focuses on bed scheduling and reception, customer booking and salon minute balances. Staff start the session in SunbedHQ and operate the physical bed on its controller separately. Reception needs internet access; include connectivity in your setup plan.
Ask every supplier about support hours, contact channels, training, access to your records during an outage and the work needed before opening day. Get the included service and any extra help confirmed in writing.
Two alternatives to investigate
Match the offering to your requirements.
A broader salon platform may cover tanning workflows too. Check the actual package, UK service, equipment compatibility and costs with the supplier.
Salon Tracker
Its official features page describes a client calendar, stock control, staff accounts, EPOS hardware packages and online prepayment for tanning minutes. Its online tools also describe multi-site reporting and stock tools. Include it when retail or several sites shape your requirements.
Ask which hardware and online services are included for your salon. Read our SunbedHQ and Salon Tracker comparison →
Fresha
Its official tanning studio page describes stand-up and lay-down bed scheduling, timed packages, walk-ins, online booking, retail inventory, POS and team tools. Include it when tanning sits alongside other treatments or retail workflows.
Ask to see your exact minute, expiry and bed-allocation rules demonstrated, and confirm the services and payment costs that apply to your business.
Compare the whole commitment
Build one total-cost checklist.
Before deciding
Leave the demo with a plan.
Keep a short record of what you saw working, what needs configuration and what the supplier still needs to confirm. Review that list with the people who run reception.
Before switching, obtain an export from your existing supplier. Check customer fields, opening minutes and expiry dates; agree how upcoming bookings, payment history and documents will be handled. Set a final balance-check time so changes do not fall between systems.
SunbedHQ’s current import adds eligible new customers and opening minutes from a reviewed CSV. Use the switching guide to prepare the file and reconcile the result →
Make your shortlist practical
Your routine. Your demo questions.
Bring the tasks, equipment and records your salon depends on.