The margin isn't lost time
In a diary with no margins every delay is permanent: there's no point in the day where it could be absorbed. With a few minutes between appointments, a delay burns off and the four o'clock client comes in at four.
Those minutes aren't idle. They go on clearing the station, mixing, saying goodbye without rushing and welcoming whoever is next. If they aren't in the diary they get taken anyway, out of the following appointment, which therefore starts late.
The right margin depends on the service. After a colour you need more time than after a blow-dry, because there's cleaning and reorganising to do. That's why one value for the whole salon works less well than a general value with exceptions where they're needed.
What a little breathing room changes
The chart is qualitative and shows how much the margin bears on each part of the day.
How much margin for which service
The table shows where more breathing room is needed and why.
| Service | Margin | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Cut or blow-dry | Minimal | Station to clear, little else |
| Colour or retouch | Medium | Cleaning, mixing, reorganising |
| Bleach or long process | Wide | More steps and more material |
| First visit with consultation | Medium | Dedicated time before starting |
How to set it
Measure the typical delay
How late you close in a normal week.
Divide by the appointments
That gives the missing margin for each.
Configure general and exceptions
More room on technical services.
Measure again after two weeks
And correct, without overdoing it.
How to tune it
- Start from a general value and add exceptions on technical services.
- Measure average delay before and after.
- Don't pad it for safety: it costs capacity.
The simplest way to tune margins is to look at how late the salon closes in a typical week. If it's twenty minutes across eight appointments, the missing margin is about two or three minutes each: add them and measure again.
The opposite mistake costs just as much. Wide margins everywhere take away one or two appointments a day, which adds up over a month: the margin goes where the work demands it, not everywhere out of caution.
General margins with per-service exceptions
In Saloria you set default free time before and after, with the option to override it on individual services. If a visit includes several, the widest margin applies at the start and end, with no breaks in between. Availability published online already accounts for these times.
Frequently asked questions
How many minutes between clients?
As many as it takes to clear and welcome: few after a blow-dry, more after a colour. They come out of the average end-of-day delay.
Does the margin lose appointments?
If it's wide everywhere, yes. It goes where the work demands it, not as general caution.
Is it needed before the appointment too?
Yes: setting up the station and mixing takes time, and if it isn't in the diary it comes out of the appointment itself.