Phorest

I have this software for last 7 years and think it is the best in the market

Comments: I think this software is great. Contact to client is easy, online bookings, easy in use etc.

Pros:

This system is easy to use, i like that there are regular updates to make its better and better. Very good support, too.

Cons:

I would like if the working with the database on the pages would be easier. For example- if you work on clients database if you go from page 1 to work on page 2 to delete or archive some client the system automatically brings you back to page one. It is quite annoying if you are working on page 5 and you would like to work with more than one client on this page. You constantly have to scroll the system from page one. (I am not sure I explained this correctly :))

Pros & Cons

Comments: It has been very good overall. Recently there have been some glitches at one of our locations and response to correct it has been slow.

Pros:

Appointment scheduling, sales reports, and time keeping

Cons:

Unable to open multiple screens at a time. Can only view one screen of information.

Phorest Review

Comments: Great experience. Very happy with Phorest

Pros:

Easy to use, consistent support, consistent updates to accommodate users

Cons:

Marketing templates is little bit limited

Bait and Switch

Comments: Needless to say, we are looking at other systems and will be cancelling as soon as possible.

Pros:

Roster works well. Appointments scheduling

Cons:

Too many reports that are too complex and not user-friendly. It looks like they have no idea of what is needed for back-office reporting in a salon. Payroll download to CSV with useless information, data not in any logical order, and it reads top to bottom instead of left to right which is how most systems work. There are differences between the desktop and web applications as far as functionality, so I find myself toggling between the 2 to get the information I need. And most importantly, there was not honest full disclosure from sales on what was included AND that we would be locked into a 1-year contract that will be automatically renewed unless you give no less than 2 months notification in writing to cancel. Most systems do not have a contract. Be careful of the SMS texts and what is included versus extra. Things that are included in most other systems are extra with Phorest. On multiple occasions we had to reach out to get a function added that we should have had from the beginning. Each time I try to get do something and I use the help function, go to our system and we don't have the functionality that their instructions give.

Ill never look elsewhere

Comments: I absolutely love it. It checks all of my boxes, and then some. They're constantly improving, taking into consideration customer feedback, and generally speaking - they actually seem like genuine humans.

Pros:

I love that everything is customizable. Need a report? They got you. Integration for an online store? Done. How can I save time, and promote our great reviews on facebook? Ummm Phorest can do that for you.

Cons:

I wish it would double as a payroll system

Technology with quality

Comments: I’ve referred every stylist I know to use the system. The reviews on Google alone have been a wonderful perk.

Pros:

Technology and willingness to always update

Cons:

The cost/charge per text. And the text line not being able to go to just one employee.

Ok System with horrible customer service and no follow up

Comments: I’ve had a ton of ups and downs from day one. Beware what the sales team promises because it’s not likely true. And good luck if you want to streamline marketing and your online store. The store will not sync with any social media or selling platforms, so it’s essentially useless. Marketing is decades behind anything else out there.

Pros:

POS system is good. Easy product setup.

Cons:

The worst customer care I have dealt with in a very long time. The online store is very sub-par. Marketing looks horrible. System and app do not work well together. Way to expensive for the service you receive.

Unprofessional Company with hidden charges and poor data management

Comments: I have had this software for over 5 years and they are only interested in how they can make more money out of their clients. They charge inflated prices for simple things and hide the charges so you aren't aware of them. They introduce new features which sound great but in reality don't work and then charge you a higher subscription for their software for the new features when don't work. For example they introduced a feature called client reconnect which is supposed to text clients when they are overdue their appointment but it just doesn't work, yet they charge an extra £40/month for it. Also if you have multiple sites, none of their reports or stock inventory work across multiple locations so you have to go into each location to run reports or get stock information which is very time consuming. It also doesn't link into any other software or marketing software so you have to do work arounds and manual exports if you want to use your client data in facebook or email marketing. The email and text marketing within Phorest is expensive and poor quality compared to industry specific software so another downside to Phorest. There are many much superior softwares available that are cheaper, easier to run and integrate easier into other business softwares. Having stuck with Phorest for over 5 years now I wish I had made a move to better software years ago.

Pros:

The appointment diary is simple and visual but basic. There is an online reputation manager which helps you manage your online reviews but now I have seen what other systems can do I think it is basic and its only available when you are on their most expensive package.

Cons:

The company has hidden charges which they deduct at source so you can't see them or audit them. They consistently over charge and apply higher charges to bills than your original contract and insist on payment by direct debit so its not easy to detect them. They manipulate your data without knowledge or consent, for example they opted many of my clients out of being able to receive marketing information without my knowledge, I only discovered by accident and it turned out to have been an issue in their software which they denied to begin with but then had to admit it was their fault. I have no idea if they corrected the fault just with my account or whether other customers who have been affected but are still in the dark. A few years ago they made a major to how their online booking system worked, but didn't inform any of their clients so all our online bookings on our website went down and again it took a few weeks for them to admit the mistake was theirs, but it still cost me thousands with my website developer to re-design my website to overcome their change which is incredibly poor change management and poor knowledge of their customers and how they use the software.

Poor customer care

Comments: As of 2019 my experience is horrific. There is nothing I like about this software anymore. I would rather go back to salon iris. I just wish they were cloud base.

Pros:

Client management Client connect Email marketing

Cons:

US customer support is awful! Absolutely terrible. When they were in Ireland it was amazing. I can’t wait to leave as I have tried to communicate with their teams for months but still nothing has gotten better. Software doesn’t have you tube tutorials to help problem solve many features are not easy to find or use. When a client is a no show and you collect the deposit it goes to your billing and not to your bank account. That’s just ridiculous.

Best Ever!

Comments: Best POS for my hairsalon I recommend Phorest to all the business owners I know.

Pros:

I love Phorest it makes my job as an owner and manager so easy! The reports and the online booking system is awesome!

Cons:

I would like a way to go through the client list to monitor 1 time visits from a few years a go to the rest of the regular clients that have maintained visits to archive them for a better idea of traffic.

We Don't love it anymore

Comments: At first it was great but we honestly need more from our software and are currently seeking other options

Pros:

the ease of use, support and ideas for future

Cons:

it's not updating with the the times, features we thought would have progressed by now are still lacking, especially emails and the support is nothing like it was

It's very "blonde" Friendly

Pros:

It is a very straight forward to use and most definitely better/easier than any other system I used over the years. The team are so friendly /helpful.. you can be very tired at the end of a 10-12 hour day and maybe your cash up isn't going to plan. I've called the support team with such silly questions, if I can't figure out something from pure tiredness and I'm always treated with such politeness/and I'm not felt in any way that I have annoyed anyone. I also love all the reports, available to me. Just to be able to see how some staff are doing or product sales or overall takings..

Cons:

I'd love to see more of an easier approach to showing if the client was new or old when they check in, and also if they have had a patch test with us or not, especially for hd brows and waxing. (I'm saying that maybe there is something that's as clear as day but I've just never been shown how to do this)

Bowled over by this system after 23 yrs of pencil & paper bookings. Glad I made the leap to Phorest

Comments: Professionalism and accuracy along with lots of feature just starting to enjoy.

Pros:

The speed I can make bookings and changes. Clear, straight forward screens, easily understandable and visible. Great marketing features which I know will bring big changes to our salon. Great staff reports showing clear results of sales, targets and utilisation - a real help for one-to-ones. Appointment reminders and email marketing are a great feature which I am enjoing learning to use. Can wait for all the positive changes Phorest will bring our salon.

Cons:

One or two niggly things on the screen but all about personal preference. I'd like a time scale on both sides of the page, and the hours to be shown in bold with the quarter past half past and quarter to in normal size. When I make a few selections of treatments for a client and she changes her mind the timings don't automatically bunch together - for example if the client selected an hour treatment followed by a half hour treatment the system would say book 3pm for the first and 4 pm for the second, but if the client then changed her mind with the first treatment and changed it to a half hour treatment the system keeps 3pm for the first appointment but leaves the second appointment at 4pm whereas it should automatically shift it up to 3.30pm. The only other thing we'd like is a page down button on the key board - out laptop isn't touch screen and the mouse is only a pad - it is difficult to slid up and down the page while holding a phone in one hand!

Very good but can be better

Comments: I try to raise these issue with customer service and on user voice too but didn't get any success
1- I request to bring receipt reprint option in front where we book appointments , right now it is in sales window and I don't want to give access to my all employees for sales window ,it is a same thing giving access to my employees for financial report, please either bring it in front at appointment builder page or hide total sale where it says cash and credit total .
2- Please provide us overtime calculation in clock in and clock out report , I use excel sheet to count the over time , I have 40 employees and I have to feed each employee hours manually to excel sheet to calculate the overtime .Please provide us the option to feed after how many hours of day the overtime start and same thing after how many hours of week the overtime start.
3-Please give us the option in financial monthly report to break that report in days , for example if I need to tally a report of one month with my QuickBooks , I need to pull 30 reports , if I need to tally yearly report I need to pull 12 reports , if I have a audit and they wants to see daily reports for 3 months I need to pull about 90 reports.
4- user voice should be given a new look , its just a suggestion , I think you should screen each voice and then you guys should write them down in a right way so each of us can understand ,by doing this it won't have duplicate request and a person like me who is not good in explaining can have a proper voice . Please change the vote system too , I think its should be on priority bases instead of votes , I mostly run out of votes but there are lots of things which I want to see in future so I think for example there are 10 suggestion I should pick the number one priority and then second and so on .and this way I can vote (pick the priority )on each of suggestion and you will know which suggestion clients wants first .

Outstanding

Comments: Phorest was easy to deal with from the word go - down to earth, understanding, and trustworthy. I suffer from learning disabilities and Phorest staff are so patient with me and really help me to understand anything I need. They are right there for me even down to the stupid things like how do I open something. Or where to find something. This was a big step for me and Phorest made it so easy. It's so good I tell everyone about it. I love it and to know I have it makes me proud.

Pros:

I like that the software is easy to use, nice and bright, colourful, and it changes all the time. I love how it saves looking at the same screen all the time, and Phorest listens to the client base and changes things when they need to which I think is just amazing.

Cons:

I don't like the fact that there our little bits in each section so you have to really search for some things to find what you want. And I don't like that it doesn't come with a spell check as this would be so helpful.

Bin your pencil and appt book

Comments: This system changed my salon life for the better. Online bookings saves me a receptionist. And the ease to look at two locations is brilliant. Having client notes at my finger tips saves me having to remember everything and I simply can't imagine not having Phorest in my life....fantastic all round salon software

Pros:

Easy to use. Everything at my fingertips

Cons:

On the odd occasion when I can't do what I want

Friendly helpful knowledgeable staff.

Comments: Clarity of the daily business conducted in the shops. Staff usage, sales, cash in store. It's all there to view.

Pros:

Simple to use and very functional. The reports are great and save a lot of time at month end. I love the fact I can now access all the branches through the app. This is a major step forward for any business owner or manager.

Cons:

Cloud based so reliant on internet connection. Internet goes down and we can't process sales. Not good.

Great software with even better customer service

Comments: Customer service reviews were important to me when I decided to go with Phorest and they had not let me down. They are always in contact and the response time is really short. We had the first training call yesterday and my receptionist (who is not very computer savvy) was very happy because of the easiness to use and manage appointments. I have gone further exploring other features and everything is basically done with a few clicks.
The video tutorials are endless and the manuals and ebooks are easy to read.
100% satisfied so far.

Pros:

Easy to use. Very intuitive. Great customer service. Has a report for everything. Full customized services, providers, resources, and inventory. Nice app included with the price (others charge extra). Did I mention the great customer service?

Cons:

Wish they had a more configurable patient form and the option to add scanned forms and pictures. High set up fee but they input the information of your inventory, services, and client database for you before going live. Need to have the software "installed" in a pc/mac but the information is safe stored in the cloud. You can access it anytime from the your app but not from any computer.

Sooo very Happy!!!

Comments: we left Salon Iris because the software was so redundant and complicated. it has many features but had ugly visual and rude customer service. played with Phorest and we have totally hit the jackpot. I feel like our business is on the right track. Reports are simple and easy to understand this software is social savvy and the clients love it. We could brag all day but you wont understand unless you try it out. We were so nervous to leave but it has been the best decision of 2017. Look forward to our journey and we must compliment the amazing and outstanding customer service. I hang up happy any time i call Phorest especially if i speak with Daniel. We have referred all our friends to Phorest.

Pros:

Socially savvy. customer service is A plus and the system is easy to use. Great reports and simple operating functionality.

Cons:

no payroll that makes me sad but we will live

positive experience

Comments: We have full control on how we use the sytem. Customers rarely if at all have any complaints. Any errors are merely human ones

Pros:

The system is efficient, reliable and user friendly. Clear instructions on how to use. Allows us to use frequently.

Cons:

Confined to 160 characters for single text. Should be able to set up various ways to have replies from customer.

Extremely helpful, always great to call back and resolve any problems

Pros:

It's very easy use, and love the confirmation text out to clients. I love that it's easy keep track of your accounts.

Cons:

Like it all, I just need to use it better. It's hard to find the time for training on all the software has to offer

Helpful system that is easy to use.

Comments: A basic ability to manage my clients and have good records for historical that is easily accessible.

Pros:

Simple and easy to use. A good way to monitor what is going on. It is easy to manage appointments. The support team is always on hand to support and advise with any potential issues that may arise.

Cons:

Tricky having the initial training before the software was installed in the Salon. So some of the functionality that exists around permissions and betters ways of using the system was hard to take in at the time.

A must have

Comments: Could not function without this software! It takes all the hard work out of running a business. Phorest is a good company to deal with and they give great customer service

We have only been using Phorest for a few days at this point. So far so good!

Comments: I have been able to move from a software what was not nearly as user friendly. It's like combing advertising with your pos system.

Pros:

The software is very user friendly. Common sense approach, easy to find your way around. I like the layout and the color coding. I love the social media being tied to the software to help boost client interaction. The automatic text reminders are nice.

Cons:

A lot of my information did not transfer over from my old Millinneum system. My product line, my client account balances. I would like to have the option to send single text reminders when the occasion calls for it.

I have only been using the software for a week now and already I am noticing big changes to my salon

Comments: This software has given me control of my salon as I don't work in the salon, I know what is going on and able to keep on top of my business.

Pros:

Easy to use and navigate around, the various colours kinda personalise the calendar but still makes it very user friendly. I did not margin for the ongoing training offered by Phorest at my convenience , I expected to be able to get hold of someone when I want for any issues that I come across and I have not been disappointed thus far. I was a little dubious about the monthly price of the software package but now I am seeing that its good value for my hard earn cash. I hope this continue but so far I have no reason to think otherwise. I am looking forward to a long and prosperous working relationship with Phorest. Phorest you rock.