Square Appointments is a strong tool with a genuinely useful free plan: an online booking site, a calendar and automated reminders, joined up with Square's card readers and payments. It shines in a salon or studio where clients book and pay at the chair. Freelance makeup work runs differently: an enquiry, a quote for the whole party, a deposit, a trial, then the balance - often months apart.
| Square Appointments | Booked & Busy | |
|---|---|---|
| Built for | Salons, studios and appointment businesses taking card payments, solo or with staff | Freelance makeup and hair artists - bridal, events, shoots, lessons |
| How work arrives | Clients book a service from your online booking site | Enquiries from your email, your enquiry link and your DMs land in one inbox, and the date, venue and party size are read for you |
| Quoting | Estimates and invoices through Square Invoices | Branded quotes built from your own price list, per booking and per party, which the client accepts on a link |
| Getting paid | Square card processing: 1.75% in person on Free, 1.6% on paid plans; 1.4% + 25p online for UK cards | Your bank details on the quote and invoice, so clients can pay you directly. Optional card payments through your own Stripe account, with no fee from us |
| No-shows | Cancellation policies and fees with a card on file on Plus and Premium | Deposits and balances tracked per job, and your contract terms signed by the client on their link |
| The wedding morning | A service appointment on the calendar | A schedule that works back from the ready-by time, so you know who is in the chair and when |
| Price | Free plan for a single location; Plus £29/mo and Premium £69/mo per location, plus processing fees | Free plan: 1 client and 1 live job, no card · Pro £15/mo, or £132/yr (£11/mo) |
Square Appointments pricing, card rates and plan features taken from squareup.com/gb/en/appointments/pricing as of October 2026. Prices and rates may change, so check their site before deciding.
Start free, no card. Bring one real booking in and see your pipeline working in two minutes.