Migrating from Booksy in 2026: when it makes sense, when it does not, and how to do it

When NOT to switch from Booksy

Honesty first. There are good reasons to stay with Booksy. **You are actively getting new clients through the Booksy marketplace** Booksy's biggest value proposition is discovery: clients who have never heard of your salon find you through the Booksy app. If you are in an area with limited online visibility and a significant portion of your new bookings comes through the app, leaving means giving up that inbound channel. Check your statistics to see what percentage of new bookings comes from the Booksy marketplace versus your own website or Google. If that figure is above 40%, switching has a real revenue cost. **Your team is comfortable with the interface** Switching platforms costs adjustment time. If you have three or more staff members working in the system every day, a new interface means one to two weeks of getting used to new flows. Factor that in. **You are just starting out and your client list is still small** If you have fewer than 100 clients in the system and no steady stream of returning bookings yet, Booksy's discovery function is more valuable right now than switching to software without a marketplace. Build your own returning client base first. **Everything is running smoothly** No reason to look for a solution if you are satisfied. Salonnare is not a better platform for every salon - it is an alternative that fits better when you have a specific need for full data ownership, multilingual support, or a direct Mollie/Stripe connection.

When switching from Booksy does make sense

There are concrete situations in which a switch pays off. **Your client base is established and the marketplace is secondary** After two or three years of active use, you have hundreds of returning clients who book directly through your own link or Google. At that point the Booksy app is no longer essential for new client acquisition. You are essentially paying for a feature you barely need anymore. **You want to own your client data** With Booksy, client profiles are tied to the Booksy platform. If you leave, the export is limited: name, email address, and basic history come with you, but richer profile data (notes, treatment history, contact preferences) may be incomplete. With Salonnare, all client data is yours - fully exportable at any time. **You want iDEAL or card payments via your own Mollie or Stripe account** Salonnare supports full OAuth integration with your own Stripe or Mollie account: iDEAL, credit card, and other payment methods land directly in your business bank account. **You want a more flexible no-show policy** Booksy offers deposits and cancellation fees. In Salonnare you set a no-show fee per service: a fixed amount or a percentage, with automatic charge after the client fails to show up. **You serve multilingual clients or staff** Salonnare runs in five languages (NL/EN/DE/FR/ES) - from client confirmation emails to the POS interface and the booking page. Booksy supports several languages (including English, Spanish, and French) but not Dutch or German. If you have Dutch- or German-speaking clients or staff who prefer their own language, that makes a concrete difference. **You want to try before you commit** Salonnare Free (€0, 1 staff member, 50 bookings per month) lets you test the system fully without cancelling Booksy first. Import your clients, set up your services, test the checkout - and then decide.

Feature comparison: what you gain and what you give up

A fair comparison of the features that matter most for day-to-day salon use. Both platforms cover the basics: online booking, calendar management, client profiles, POS, and payments. The differences are in depth and ownership. **Where Booksy has the edge** The Booksy marketplace is a genuine asset for salons that do not yet have organic search traffic or a strong social presence. Clients who use the app to find a nearby hairdresser or beauty therapist land on your profile without any marketing effort on your part. **Where Salonnare goes deeper** On data ownership, VAT-native checkout, loyalty programmes, no-show policies, and multilingual support, Salonnare scores higher. The VAT split for different rates is built in natively, saving manual corrections at bookkeeping time. The loyalty programme is fully configurable - points per euro, thresholds, expiry dates. And unlike platforms that take a percentage of every booking, Salonnare charges a fixed monthly fee - so every euro you earn stays in your account. **What you do not lose** Google reviews stay with Google - not with Booksy. When you leave Booksy, all your reviews on your Google Business Profile remain intact. That is the most valuable part of your online reputation and it goes nowhere.

Exporting your client data from Booksy

Before you switch, secure your client data. Booksy provides an export function - here is what you can and cannot take with you. **What you can export** Log in to your Booksy account and navigate to the client overview or reports section. The export function downloads a CSV file containing name, email address, phone number, date of birth (if filled in), and number of visits. In most cases you also get the date of the last visit. **What you cannot fully export** Detailed treatment notes and internal client tags may not be fully exportable. Before you cancel, take a screenshot or create a manual record of any clients with important notes you want to keep. Deposit payments made by clients for future appointments do not transfer. Make sure all outstanding deposits are settled before you make the switch. **Importing into Salonnare** Salonnare's CSV import accepts the standard fields from a Booksy export. Upload the file via Settings > Import clients. Map the columns in a simple step, and all clients are ready in your new system. **What to do with clients who book via Booksy** Clients who found you through the Booksy marketplace typically book via the Booksy app or a Booksy booking link on your profile. After switching, remove that link and replace it with your own booking page (available in Salonnare). Communicate this actively to your regular clients via email or your Instagram bio so they know where to book going forward.

Migration to Salonnare: 7 steps

The migration process itself is manageable if you tackle it in the right order. Budget four to eight hours spread over a working week. **Step 1: create a free account** Go to salonnare.com/en/free and create a free account. Your salon runs immediately on your own subdomain. **Step 2: add services and prices** Enter your treatment menu in Salonnare. This is a good moment to clean up: remove services you no longer offer and verify VAT rates per service. **Step 3: add staff and set up schedules** Add staff members and configure working hours per day. Salonnare links availability directly to your online booking page. **Step 4: import clients via CSV** Upload the export file from Booksy. Map the columns (name, email, phone) and import. After the import, spot-check 10 random clients for completeness. **Step 5: connect payment methods** Go to Settings > Payments and connect your own Mollie or Stripe account via OAuth. iDEAL, credit card, and other payment methods work immediately. **Step 6: configure your no-show policy** Set a deposit amount or no-show fee per service. Clients who book online see the policy immediately for their chosen treatment. **Step 7: go live with your own booking page and replace the Booksy link** Copy the link to your Salonnare booking page and replace the Booksy link on your website, Google Business Profile, and social media. Send a short email to your regular clients: "Our booking system has been updated - please use this link from now on." Keep Booksy active for 30 days for historical lookups, then cancel the subscription via the account settings.

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