Founded by salon industry veterans who understood firsthand the limitations of existing tools, Boulevard Professional stands out in any salon software comparison. In fact, its Precision Scheduling system has received perfect 10.0 ratings for appointment functionality on G2. Additionally, with 73% of salon owners reporting increased digital tool adoption since 2020, solutions like Boulevard POS are meeting critical industry needs. However, with pricing starting at $158/month, is this premium platform worth the investment for your business?
Throughout this honest review, I’ll share my real-world experience with Boulevard’s features, examine how it stacks against competitors, and help you determine if Boulevard’s impressive but premium offering aligns with your salon’s specific requirements.
What Is Boulevard and Who Is It For?
Born in 2016, Boulevard stands as a premium client experience platform specifically designed for appointment-based self-care businesses. The platform currently supports over 40,000 self-care professionals across thousands of businesses nationwide. Unlike generic scheduling tools, Boulevard was built from the ground up to address the unique complexities of personal care businesses.
Target Audience: Salons, Spas, and Med Spas
Boulevard caters primarily to established beauty and wellness businesses, including hair salons, barbershops, spas, med spas, massage therapy centers, and nail salons. Notably, the platform works best for businesses that have moved beyond survival mode to focus on growth and optimization. Specifically, it serves:
- High-end salons and spas that prioritize premium client experiences
- Med spas requiring HIPAA compliance and detailed documentation
- Multi-location operations needing centralized management
- Businesses employing at least five service providers
According to industry experts, Boulevard is generally not recommended for solopreneurs or smaller operations with limited staff, as its robust feature set may exceed their needs.
Core Use Cases: Scheduling, POS, Marketing
Boulevard’s functionality centers around three core pillars that address daily operational challenges. The platform’s Precision Scheduling technology provides clients with a modern self-booking experience while optimizing staff calendars to minimize gaps between appointments. Moreover, its all-in-one POS system is specifically designed for beauty and wellness brands rather than generic storefronts, handling integrated payments, digital tipping, and multi-merchant transactions.
Marketing capabilities include automated email campaigns, two-way texting, SMS notifications, and loyalty programs that drive client retention. For med spas particularly, Boulevard’s marketing tools can automatically schedule long-term treatment plans while sending appointment reminders to keep client visits top of mind.
Boulevard Professional vs Other Tools
Boulevard Professional, the platform’s companion mobile app for service providers, enables staff to review client profiles, manage schedules, and deliver enhanced experiences on the go. What separates Boulevard from competitors is its balance of operational efficiency with client experience priorities.
While other salon software might excel in specific areas, Boulevard offers a more comprehensive approach with custom reporting, advanced business intelligence, world-class customer support with minutes-response times, and sophisticated loyalty programs. Consequently, its higher price point reflects this premium positioning in the market.
Key Features Breakdown: From Booking to Marketing
After testing Boulevard for six months, I’ve discovered its standout features that streamline salon operations. The platform excels through thoughtful design and industry-specific capabilities that truly enhance daily workflows.
Precision Scheduling: Smart Booking Logic
Boulevard’s Precision Scheduling technology fundamentally changes how appointments are arranged. During my testing, I noticed this system actively suggests optimal booking times to maximize revenue and prevent unusable gaps in staff calendars. The technology evaluates appointment placement using both primary factors (service duration and cost) and secondary considerations like staff transitions and resource changes. Furthermore, the system limits wait times between service transitions to no more than 15 minutes, enhancing client satisfaction. The scheduling interface uses color-coding that makes spotting conflicts remarkably simple.
Client Profiles: HIPAA-Compliant & Customizable
Client profiles in Boulevard go far beyond basic contact information. The system stores detailed preferences, treatment histories, and even automatically pulls data from intake forms using the Connected Fields feature. For med spas, the HIPAA-compliant profiles include robust security features like automatic logout settings, permission groups, and SSL encryption. During my testing, I found these detailed profiles essential for creating personalized experiences that build client loyalty.
POS and Retail: Boulevard Duo and Shopify Integration
The integrated POS system handles both service payments and retail seamlessly. I especially appreciated the Shopify integration that synchronizes product catalogs and inventory quantities between platforms. When a sale occurs in either system, quantities automatically update bidirectionally. The platform also makes intelligent product suggestions based on clients’ service history, which I found effectively boosted retail sales.
Marketing Suite: Email, SMS, and Campaign Automation
Boulevard’s marketing tools include targeted email and SMS campaigns with robust audience segmentation. The automated campaigns run continuously in the background, sending timely messages to clients most likely to book. Essentially, these “set and forget” campaigns cost nothing to send—you only pay $2.00 per completed appointment resulting from them. I found the campaign dashboard particularly useful for tracking performance metrics.
Forms, Charts, and Memberships
The platform includes HIPAA-compliant digital forms and charts that eliminate paper clutter. The drag-and-drop builder makes creating customized forms simple, whether for client intake or treatment documentation. Meanwhile, the membership feature drives recurring revenue through auto-renewing memberships that clients can purchase online or during checkout.
Boulevard Pricing Plans and Add-Ons Explained
Boulevard’s tiered pricing structure reflects its position in the premium salon software market. Having analyzed the costs firsthand, I’m sharing the exact investment required.
Essentials, Premier, Prestige, and Enterprise Tiers
The Essentials plan starts at $158/month with an annual commitment ($176 monthly) and supports up to 5 professionals. Premier jumps to $263/month ($293 monthly) with unlimited professionals and additional features. Prestige, at $369/month ($410 monthly), includes the Forms add-on and substantially more marketing messages. Finally, Enterprise offers custom pricing for large operations with multiple locations.
Add-On Costs: Contact Center, QuickBooks, Forms
Several add-ons expand Boulevard’s functionality. QuickBooks integration costs $45/month per location and requires the Premier tier or above. The Forms feature starts at $65/month per location unless included in your Prestige plan.
Credit Card Fees and Offset Feature
Standard payment processing starts at 2.65%, yet Boulevard offers a unique Offset program where clients pay a 3% fee on credit transactions while businesses pay just 1%. This approach can save salons approximately $9,600 annually.
Onboarding and Data Migration Costs
Onboarding fees start at $495 for single-location businesses. Data migration ranges from $295 for basic CSV imports to $895 for complete transfers requiring admin access to your previous software.
User Experience After 6 Months of Testing
My six-month testing journey with Boulevard revealed both strengths and limitations across different interfaces.
Interface and Navigation: Desktop vs Mobile
First and foremost, Boulevard’s desktop interface shines with its specialized salon workflow design. The Front Desk View provides complete operational oversight—showing who’s waiting, being served, and checked out—all simultaneously. Multiple views make training new staff straightforward, although mastering the comprehensive approach requires time. In comparison, the mobile interface adapts reasonably well for schedule adjustments and client communications, yet admittedly lacks the desktop version’s full functionality.
Boulevard App Review: iOS and Android Ratings
Throughout testing, I noticed significant platform disparity. iOS users report middling experiences with occasional glitches. The Android experience, unfortunately, rates poorly with users citing inability to charge clients, random card reader disconnections, and limited functionality. One reviewer noted, “This app doesn’t do much on Android”, highlighting persistent cross-platform inconsistency.
Staff Setup and Permissions
Boulevard’s privilege system controls user capabilities through customizable groups. Staff members receive specific access levels—from basic appointment viewing to full administrative control—based on their assigned role. The platform offers granular permission settings for everything from client data access to marketing capabilities, though enabling services for staff can feel tediously complex.
Client Booking Experience and Feedback
The self-booking overlay provides clients with an intuitive interface that displays service categories and pricing. After booking, clients automatically receive confirmation emails and optional texts. Plus, the post-appointment rating system collects valuable feedback, even prompting happy clients (4-5 stars) to share on social platforms. One business reported a 30% reduction in call volume through these digital interactions.
Conclusion
After six months of testing Boulevard, I can confidently say this platform delivers on its premium promises, though it comes with an equally premium price tag. The comprehensive suite of features—particularly the Precision Scheduling system and robust marketing tools—genuinely streamlines operations for established salon businesses. Despite some Android app limitations, the overall ecosystem effectively addresses the specific needs of appointment-based self-care businesses.
Boulevard certainly isn’t for everyone. Smaller operations with limited staff or tight budgets might find the extensive feature set overwhelming and the starting price of $158/month prohibitive. However, for growing multi-provider salons, spas, and med spas focused on delivering exceptional client experiences, the investment proves worthwhile through time savings and revenue optimization.
The platform particularly shines for businesses ready to scale. Try Boulevard today — schedule a free demo to see how it can transform your business. Their onboarding team handles the technical transition while you focus on client experiences.
Ultimately, Boulevard represents what modern salon software should be—client-focused, operationally efficient, and designed specifically for beauty and wellness professionals. Though the learning curve requires commitment and the pricing demands consideration, businesses that align with Boulevard’s target demographic will likely find the platform pays for itself through improved scheduling efficiency, enhanced client retention, and streamlined daily operations. The question isn’t whether Boulevard offers value—it undoubtedly does—but whether your specific business model and growth stage align with what this premium solution delivers.
Key Takeaways
After six months of hands-on testing, here are the essential insights about Boulevard salon software that will help you make an informed decision for your beauty business:
• Boulevard excels for established multi-provider salons but isn’t cost-effective for solo practitioners or small operations with under 5 staff members.
• Precision Scheduling technology actively optimizes appointment placement to maximize revenue and eliminate unusable gaps in staff calendars.
• Pricing starts at $158/month with additional costs for onboarding ($495+), data migration ($295-$895), and essential add-ons like QuickBooks integration ($45/month).
• The platform delivers strong ROI through automated marketing campaigns that cost nothing to send—you only pay $2 per completed appointment they generate.
• Android app performance significantly lags behind iOS and desktop versions, with users reporting frequent disconnections and limited functionality.
• HIPAA-compliant features and comprehensive client profiles make Boulevard particularly valuable for med spas requiring detailed documentation and security compliance.
Boulevard represents premium salon software at its finest—delivering exceptional value for growing businesses ready to invest in comprehensive client experience management, but potentially overwhelming smaller operations seeking basic scheduling solutions.