A booking tool owns more than a calendar. It touches service length, staff time, rooms or chairs, reminders, deposits, payment, and the return visit.

• Two calendars accepting the same time.
• Staff, rooms, or chairs treated as unlimited.
• Deposits and cancellation rules added outside the booking path.
• Client details trapped in a system nobody can export.

• Write the most complicated real booking.
• Build it in each trial, including deposit and reminder.
• Run a cancellation, reschedule, checkout, and staff change.
• Compare the plan and payment terms you actually need.

Both take online bookings, deposits, and card payments. The differences hide in a few settings. Check each one against how your salon books today.

• Deposits on bookings your staff enter. Square says deposits are collected when a client books online. It does not currently take a deposit when you book for the client. GlossGenius says you can collect a deposit when you book by hand. It can text or email the client a payment link. The exception is a same-day appointment: GlossGenius says it can’t take a deposit on one you book by hand. If most bookings come by phone, text, or DM, start here.
• Deposits on every plan. Square’s help lists deposits on its Free, Plus, and Premium plans. In Square Dashboard, the setting is under Appointments > Settings > Payments & cancellations. GlossGenius lists deposits as available on all subscription plans. You shouldn’t need an upgrade just to take a deposit.
• Chairs, rooms, and stations. Square’s resource booking reserves a room, station, or chair with the service, so it can’t be double booked. Its help lists the feature for Square Premium subscribers. GlossGenius lists Room and Resource Management in its plan comparison, but not on its Standard plan.
• Team size. GlossGenius plans differ in how many team members you can add. Check the plan comparison against your real headcount.
• Cancellations after a deposit. Square says clients who paid a deposit can’t cancel on their own; the salon cancels for them. GlossGenius has clients acknowledge a non-refundable deposit policy when they book. You can still issue a refund in the app.

A new booking tool costs more than its plan. Some things don’t make the trip.

• Saved cards and photos stay behind. GlossGenius’s data transfer team says it can’t import client credit card details, client photos, past appointments and orders, gift cards, or deposit requirements on services. Expect regulars to re-enter a card. Keep your own list of open gift card balances.
• Your client list can come along. The same team says it can import client contact information and notes, services, products, upcoming appointments, packages, and reviews.
• Get your own copy first. Before you cancel anything, have the account owner export the client list from the current tool. Open the file and make sure names, phone numbers, and notes came through. If notes are missing, ask that tool’s support team for them before you cancel.
• Add up a normal month, not the plan page. Add the subscription, card processing at the desk and online, deposits charged by card, and any card reader you’d replace. GlossGenius notes that deposits paid by card are subject to its payment processing fee. See how to cut monthly software costs.

Stay put if clients can book without calling, deposits land, and staff trust the calendar. A messy service menu or skipped settings is a cleanup job, not a reason to move. Fix the menu, turn on the deposit rule you already have, and book a test appointment on your phone. Switch when the tool can’t do something you need every week, like a deposit on phone bookings or a chair that keeps getting double booked.

We help connect the website, booking, payments, and follow-up so the client sees one calm path. If the current link works and staff trust it, keep it.

Get a plain-English second opinion

Product features and rules can change. Use the linked source as the current word.

• Square Appointments plans and features — Official scheduling, staff, deposit, and communication features.
• GlossGenius plans and features — Official plan comparison.
• Square Support: Set up and accept deposits with Square Appointments — Which plans get deposits, where the setting lives, online-only collection, and client cancellation after a deposit. Checked October 19, 2026.
• Square Support: Create, edit, and assign resources for appointments — Resource booking for rooms, stations, equipment, or chairs; article is written for Premium subscribers. Checked October 19, 2026.
• GlossGenius Help: How to Collect Deposits — Deposits on all plans, deposits on manual bookings with a payment link, non-refundable policy acknowledgment, processing fee note. Checked October 19, 2026.
• GlossGenius Help: How to Request a Data Transfer — What the GlossGenius Data Transfer team can and cannot import. Checked October 19, 2026.