How to make a salon booking app for iOS
What a salon booking app needs
- A list of services with duration and price, and stylists who offer them
- Per-stylist availability that prevents double booking
- A slot picker that respects working hours and breaks
- An optional deposit at booking to reduce no-shows
- Confirmation, reminder, reschedule, and cancellation
- A shared backend (Supabase) so the front desk and clients see the same calendar
The MVP slice is one location, a handful of services, and confirmed bookings with reminders. Multiple stylists, deposits, and loyalty perks come next.
Core screens and data
A salon booking app needs a services menu, a stylist picker, an availability view, a booking screen with a deposit, an appointments list, and a front desk day view. Here is what each screen does and the data behind it.
| Screen | What it does | What it stores |
|---|---|---|
| Services menu | Browses services by category | Service name, category, duration, price |
| Stylist picker | Chooses a stylist for a service | Stylist name, services offered, working hours |
| Availability view | Shows open slots for stylist and service | Per-stylist schedule, breaks, existing appointments |
| Booking and deposit | Confirms a slot and takes a deposit | Selected slot, client contact, deposit amount, Stripe reference |
| My appointments | Views, reschedules, or cancels | Appointment id, status, created time |
| Front desk day view | Shows the salon its daily schedule | Per-stylist appointments for the day |
| Reminders | Sends a reminder before the visit | Reminder time, notification token, sent status |
Starter prompt
This is the plain-English prompt you paste into AppFlight to build the first version. AppFlight reads it, plans the screens, and generates native Swift you can run in the live simulator and then refine in plain language.
Build a salon booking app for a hair studio. Clients browse services grouped by category with a duration and price, pick a stylist who offers that service, and see the open time slots that respect the stylist's working hours and breaks. Booking a slot collects the client's contact and takes a card deposit through Stripe to cut down on no-shows, since a haircut is a real-world service. After booking, the client gets a confirmation and a reminder, and can reschedule or cancel. Store services, stylists, schedules, and appointments in Supabase so the front desk and clients see the same calendar and no slot is double booked. License the app to salon owners as a monthly subscription behind a RevenueCat paywall using in-app purchase, kept separate from the client deposit flow on Stripe.
How to build it with AppFlight
Describe it, for example: "A salon app where a client picks a service and a stylist, sees open times this week, books with a card deposit, and gets a reminder. The salon sees the day's appointments." AppFlight plans the screens, generates native SwiftUI, and runs it in a live simulator. Use the Supabase connector for the calendar and accounts, and the Stripe connector for the deposit. You iterate by asking for changes in plain language.
Monetization for a salon booking app
A client paying for a haircut or leaving a deposit is paying for a real-world service, so Apple allows Stripe rather than in-app purchase. If you license the app to salon owners as a monthly subscription, that is a digital software upgrade and goes through in-app purchase with RevenueCat. Keep the two flows separate: client service payments on Stripe, salon software subscriptions on in-app purchase.
Shipping it to the App Store
When it works in the simulator, AppFlight signs the build, uploads to TestFlight so the salon can test real bookings, then submits to the App Store with metadata and screenshots. If Apple rejects the build, AppFlight reads the reason, fixes it, and resubmits. Apple reviews every app, so a submission is not the same as an approval, but the pipeline runs without you opening Xcode.
FAQ
Can a salon app charge a deposit?
Yes. A deposit for a real-world service like a haircut can run through Stripe, which Apple allows because the service happens in person. AppFlight has a one-click Stripe connector.
Do I need a backend?
Yes, so the front desk and clients see the same calendar and slots cannot be double booked. AppFlight connects Supabase for the database and accounts.
How do I make money from a salon app?
You can license it to salons as a monthly subscription, which is a digital upgrade and uses in-app purchase. The salon own service payments go through Stripe.