On this page
- Before you start
- Step 1: Open your set-up link
- Step 2: Your salon and your look
- Step 3: Drinks, extras, things to buy, little extras
- Step 4: Details: how requests reach you, Wi-Fi and booking
- Step 5: Front desk PIN and go live
- Step 6: Set up the front desk screen
- Step 7: Print your QR codes
- Day to day
- If something isn't working
- Help
Before you start
Beckon gives your guests a QR code at the chair. They scan it, pick a drink or a small extra, and it reaches your front desk: a pop-up on the front desk screen, a text or WhatsApp to your mobile, or both. Set-up is a guided walk-through, and nothing is visible to guests until you press Go live.
Have these ready:
- The set-up email from Beckon. The link in it works once and for 7 days.
- A computer with Google Chrome. Set-up works on a phone too, and every step offers to email you a link so you can finish on a computer. The front desk screen itself needs Chrome on a computer.
- Your website address, if you have one. Beckon reads your name, logo, colours, booking link, mobile and hours from it.
- Your logo as a file (PNG, JPG, WebP or SVG, under 300 KB) if you'd rather upload it. A light or white version looks best.
- Your guest Wi-Fi name and password.
- Your online booking link.
- A mobile number for the front desk (an NZ 02 number, or an Australian 04 number). Guests text this when the desk is closed.
- Your opening hours.
Your salon gets its own address, like yoursalon.beckonsalon.com. Three pages live there:
| Page | Address | Who uses it |
|---|---|---|
| Guest page | yoursalon.beckonsalon.com | Guests, from the QR code |
| Front desk screen | yoursalon.beckonsalon.com/desk | Your front desk, all day |
| Admin | yoursalon.beckonsalon.com/admin | You, to set up and make changes |
Step 1: Open your set-up link
- Open the email from Beckon and click the set-up link. A computer is easiest, but a phone works.
- Your admin opens on the first step, with a phone-sized preview of your guest page beside it. Everything you change shows there as you go. On a phone, press Preview to see it and Close preview to come back. The preview is only a preview: nothing is sent from it.
- Press Next to move on. Each step saves as you leave it, so you can close the tab and come back later.
Setting up on your phone? Every step ends with "Email me a link to finish on a computer". Press it and we email you a link that signs you straight in on the computer. It works once, within 24 hours. Everything you've done on the phone is there waiting.
If the set-up link has expired or already been used, go to yoursalon.beckonsalon.com/admin, type the email address on your account, and we'll email you a fresh sign-in link. It works once and expires in 15 minutes.
Step 2: Your salon and your look
Your salon. Paste your website address into the box at the top. Beckon reads the site and shows what it found: your name, a few logo candidates, your colours, your booking link, your mobile and your opening hours.
- Your salon name is filled in straight away. Edit it in the box below if you'd like it different. Your welcome line follows the name, so it reads right whatever you call yourselves.
- Tap the logo you want. It's saved and shows on the preview at once. No website, or no logo on it? Press Upload a logo and pick a file.
- Press Use it next to the booking link, mobile and hours you want to keep.
- Write your welcome line, the first thing guests read. Keep it short and warm.
- Check your opening hours at the bottom of the step. Requests go to the front desk screen between these times. Switch off the days you're closed. In Australia, pick your time zone first.
Your look. Pick one of the four cards:
| Look | Best for |
|---|---|
| Cream + gold | Warm, classic salons. A cream page and a black welcome. |
| Black + white | Crisp, modern salons. White page, black ink, a touch of gold. |
| Soft linen | Light and airy, with sage green. No black anywhere. |
| Your brand | Your own colours, worked out from your website and logo. Appears once you've pulled your site or picked a logo. |
Then pick an accent colour, or keep the look's own. Headings and buttons use it; Beckon darkens or lightens it where it needs to so text stays readable. With Your brand on, you also get Page colour and Welcome colour pickers. All of this saves as you go and the preview updates each time.
Step 3: Drinks, extras, things to buy, little extras
These four steps are your menu. Everything starts filled in with what most salons offer, so it's mostly switching things off and renaming. Drag the handle at the left of a row to change the order.
- Drinks. Flat white, long black, tea and so on, each with a switch. Rename what you call things, switch off what you don't do, add your own with + Add a drink. "In the message" is how it reads in the guest's request, for example "a flat white". Tick Offer extras on drinks that take milk or sugar. Under each of those drinks is one line, "Extras for Flat white: all 6 · Choose". Press Choose to untick the extras that drink doesn't take, so nobody is offered an extra shot in a chai latte.
- Extras. Oat, trim, decaf, sugar and so on, each with a switch. Extras in the same either/or group can't be picked together, so a guest chooses oat or trim. Which drinks offer each extra is set under Drinks.
- Snacks and drinks to buy. Off to start. Switch it on if you sell things from the chair, then add items with a price and any flavours. The front desk sees the total and a line asking to add it to the bill.
- Little extras. Phone charger, blanket, music down, a quiet visit, rebook, pay from the chair, "something else". Switch off anything that isn't you.
Switching an item off hides it without losing it. Deleting removes it for good.
Step 4: Details: how requests reach you, Wi-Fi and booking
How requests reach you. Pick one of three cards. You can change it any time.
| Choice | What happens |
|---|---|
| Front desk screen and phone (recommended) | Requests pop up on the front desk screen with a chime. When the desk is closed, guests text or WhatsApp your mobile instead. |
| Front desk screen only | Requests pop up on a computer or tablet at the front desk. No mobile needed. Outside your hours, guests are asked to see the team. |
| Text or WhatsApp only | Guests send a ready-written text or WhatsApp to your front desk mobile. No front desk screen. |
Then the details:
- Guest Wi-Fi. Network name and password. Guests see them on their phone and the network name prints on the back of your cards. Leave both blank to hide the Wi-Fi section.
- Online booking link. Shows on the guest page and the cards. If the website pull found it, it's already here.
- Front desk mobile. An NZ mobile (02), or an Australian mobile (04). With "Front desk screen and phone", guests text it when the desk is closed. With "Text or WhatsApp only", every request arrives here. Beckon needs this before you can go live, unless you chose screen only.
- Offer WhatsApp as well as text. On to start. Guests choose; WhatsApp suits visitors from overseas on Wi-Fi.
Step 5: Front desk PIN and go live
- Front desk. Choose a PIN of 4 to 6 digits and press Save PIN. Your team types it once on the front desk computer to open the desk screen. Change it here any time. On your phone right now? Press "Email me the front desk link" and open the email on the desk computer. (If you chose "Text or WhatsApp only" there's no screen to set up, and this step says so.)
- Press Last check. Beckon lists what it needs: how requests reach you, a front desk mobile, a PIN, plus the optional Guest Wi-Fi and Logo. Anything missing has a button, Add it or Set it, that takes you straight to the right box.
- Press Go live. Your guest page is now live at yoursalon.beckonsalon.com. Until you press it, nobody can see it. Not ready? Finish later keeps everything saved.
Once you're live the page shows your QR code: scan it with another phone, send a request and watch it arrive. You also have three buttons: Open my guest page, Download QR cards and Go to my editor. You can change anything after going live; changes show to guests as soon as you save.
Step 6: Set up the front desk screen
Do this on the front desk computer, in Google Chrome. It's the screen that chimes and pops up when a guest sends a request, so it needs to stay open all day. Skip this step if you chose "Text or WhatsApp only".
- Open yoursalon.beckonsalon.com/desk and type your PIN. The computer stays signed in for 30 days.
- Work through the six checks on screen, numbered 1 to 6. Each ticks itself off or has an "I've done this" button, and the list comes back until everything is ticked. Set-up check in the top bar opens it again any time.
| Check | What to do |
|---|---|
| Install Beckon as an app | Chrome offers an install button in the address bar. Press it. Beckon opens in its own window, like any app. |
| Turn on alerts | Chrome asks once to allow notifications. Choose Allow. |
| Test the chime and pop-up | Press Test now. You should hear three notes and see a pop-up in the corner of the screen. |
| Windows: Do not disturb off | Settings > System > Notifications. Turn Do not disturb off and switch off its automatic rules, or pop-ups stay hidden. On a Mac it's System Settings > Notifications, and check Focus is off. |
| Chrome: keep this site awake | In Chrome's address bar type chrome://settings/performance, find Memory Saver, and add your desk address under "Always keep these sites active". Otherwise Chrome puts the tab to sleep and requests go quiet. |
| Send a test request from a phone | Scan the QR code shown on screen with your phone, pick a drink, send. It should pop up within 30 seconds. Press Done on it afterwards. |
- Pin the Beckon window to the taskbar so it's one click to reopen after a restart.
When a request arrives you see the guest's first name, what they asked for and when. Press On it when someone's on the way, Done when it's delivered, or Can't do if you can't. The guest's phone shows each step.
The badge at the top of the screen says what guests get right now: "Taking requests", "Closed: guests are offered a text instead", or "Paused for today". Beside it, Test alert plays the chime, and Clear all marks everything open as done at the end of a rush.
Step 7: Print your QR codes
One design covers every seat. The guest's first name tells your front desk who's asking, so you don't need a code per chair.
- In admin, open the QR cards tab and press Open the print page. Your cards appear in your look, with your logo, Wi-Fi name and booking link already on them.
- Pick a format from the menu at the top:
| Format | Use it for |
|---|---|
| DL card, 99 x 210 mm | Vistaprint's standard flyer size. Front and back. |
| DLE card, 110 x 220 mm, with cut marks | Any print shop, or your own printer and a guillotine. |
| A6 card, 105 x 148 mm, with cut marks | A smaller card for stations and the front desk. |
| Square sticker, 80 x 80 mm | Mirrors and trolleys. One side. |
| Small sticker, 60 x 60 mm | Tight spots. One side. |
- Press Print or save as PDF. In Chrome's print window choose Save as PDF. For Vistaprint, save Front only and Back only as two files.
- Press Where to print for links to Vistaprint, MOO, Sticker Mule and Warehouse Stationery's print centre, with what to ask each for. Any local print shop takes these files too: ask for 300 gsm or heavier, matt, for cards.
Check your Wi-Fi name and booking link under Details + hours first. They print on the back.
Day to day
- Requests pop up on the front desk screen with a chime. Press On it, Done or Can't do. Clear all marks everything open as done at the end of a rush.
- Open requests disappear after 10 hours at most, or as soon as they're marked done. Beckon keeps no record of who asked for what, only anonymous counts.
- Outside opening hours guests see a text or WhatsApp button to your front desk mobile instead.
- Closing early today? Press "Closed early today" in the desk screen's top bar. Guests who scan a card are offered a text instead until midnight, and the badge says "Paused for today". Press "Taking requests again" to end it early. Your usual hours come back tomorrow by themselves.
- Out of a snack or a milk? Out today on the desk screen hides it from guests until tomorrow. For good, switch it off in the admin. It comes back when you switch it on.
- To change anything go to yoursalon.beckonsalon.com/admin, type the email on your account, and click the link we send. Tabs: Salon + look, Drinks + extras, Paid items, Requests, Details + hours, Front desk, QR cards, Insights. Press Save changes and the guest page updates at once.
- Insights, in the admin, shows how guests use Beckon: this week, 4 weeks or 90 days. Requests, today's count, your busiest hour, the average time to On it, requests by day, the five things most asked for, and how many were marked Can't do. Counts only; Beckon never keeps who asked.
- In your first week we email you twice: after the first day with the three tweaks most salons make, and after the first week with your numbers.
- New front desk computer? Open the desk address, type the PIN, and run the six checks again on that machine.
If something isn't working
| What you see | What to do |
|---|---|
| Requests arrive but no pop-up | Windows Do not disturb is on, or Chrome blocked notifications. Rerun the Do not disturb and Turn on alerts checks. |
| Requests go quiet after a while | Chrome put the tab to sleep. Add the desk address under Memory Saver's "Always keep these sites active", and keep Beckon open as the installed app rather than a tab. |
| No chime | The computer is muted, or the browser hasn't been clicked since it opened. Click anywhere on the desk screen, press Test alert. |
| A guest says "the desk is closed" during the day | Your opening hours don't cover now, or someone pressed "Closed early today". Check the badge on the desk screen: "Taking requests again" ends a pause, and Details + hours in the admin fixes the hours. |
| Guest can't send | Guests must type a first name. If the page says they've sent a few already, it's the four-requests-in-ten-minutes limit, meant to stop mischief. |
| An item is missing from the guest page | It's marked Out today on the desk screen, or switched off in the admin. |
| Website pull found nothing | Some sites give nothing away. Upload your logo instead and pick a look by hand. |
| Logo looks wrong on the dark welcome | Upload a light or white version. The black welcome is where it shows. |
| Sign-in link didn't arrive | Check junk mail for hello@beckonsalon.com. The link expires in 15 minutes, so request a fresh one. |
Help
Email hello@beckonsalon.com, or reply to any email Beckon has sent you, and a person answers. Tell us your salon address (yoursalon.beckonsalon.com) and what you were doing when it went wrong. If it's the front desk screen, tell us what the badge at the top says.