For nail salons and lash studios

How to create a nail salon walk-ins waitlist

Saturday walk-ins write their name on a clipboard, then stand near the desk asking how long. When the last tech leaves at 6:00 PM there are still five names on the sheet, and someone has to deliver the news. Salon software does walk-ins, from $30 a month, with SMS you may not need.

The walk-in sheet is a clipboard and a lot of hovering. 6 steps, about five minutes, or one click with the recipe below.

Step by step

Set up the Walk-ins yourself

These are the exact values the recipe applies. Change any of them to match your line.

  1. Create the waitlist

    Sign in, click New waitlist, and name it "Walk-ins". It starts as a draft, so nothing is public until you publish.

  2. Set capacity to 15 per day

    In Settings, set the capacity to 15 per day and the reset to daily at 9:00 AM. The count starts over at every reset; nothing is deleted.

  3. Set the opening hours

    Under Hours, set signups to open Mon to Sat, 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM. Outside those hours the form shows a closed screen with the next opening time, in the joiner's time zone.

  4. Add the form fields

    Email is built in. On the Form tab, add Name (required), Phone (required), Service (required). Labels and help text render as plain text.

  5. Show the counter

    In Settings, turn on the counter so the form shows how many spots are left. People join faster when they can see the number.

  6. Publish and share

    Click Publish. The Share tab has the hosted link, a QR code, and the script tag or iframe for your site. The submit button reads "Take a number".

Or do it in one click

Use the recipe

The "Walk-ins" recipe creates the waitlist with every step above already done. Sign in, click once, and it is live as a draft you can publish.

Create this waitlistSee the recipe page

Recipe

Walk-ins

  • 15 per day
  • Mon to Sat 9 AM–5 PM
  • 4 fields
  • 15 walk-ins per day. The count resets at 9:00 AM.
  • The list opens at 9:00 AM and closes at 5:00 PM, Monday through Saturday.
  • After 5:00 PM the form says when tomorrow's list opens.
  • Asks for name, phone, and service.
  • Clients see their number for today on the success screen.

After you publish

How the list runs

Cap the day

Fifteen walk-ins, reset at 9:00 AM. Set it to what the chairs can finish before close.

Hours that match the door

Open 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM, six days. After five the form says come back tomorrow.

Service

A dropdown. A pedicure takes a chair for longer, and you see the mix on the list.

Numbered clients

"You're #7 today." They leave the couch and come back when it is close.

Call the next one

Send "your turn" from the Entries tab and they get an email. Mark them served when they sit down.

The QR at the door

Print it from the Share tab and tape it to the desk. Same code every day.

FAQ

Questions people here ask

Does it text clients when it's their turn?

No SMS. Clients get an email with their number and a status link, and "your turn" from the Entries tab arrives by email too.

Can clients pick a technician?

Add a dropdown with the techs' names, or a slot field with a cap per tech so a booked-out tech greys out.

What if someone leaves and doesn't come back?

Delete the entry or mark it served. Numbers are never reused, so the next client keeps their number.

Can I run appointments on the same list?

Keep appointments where they are. This is the walk-in line. If you want time slots with caps, add a slot field or use the mini sessions recipe as a base.

Related

Keep reading

Five minutes by hand, or one click.

Free for 100 signups a month. Unlimited waitlists. Every setting above stays editable.

Create this waitlist