Your diary shouldn't need a full-time receptionist
Clients message while you're cutting. People call when your hands are full. Someone cancels and leaves a £20 hole in your day. A regular disappears for eight weeks without anyone noticing. Then, after closing, you're supposed to remember confirmations, reminders, marketing and follow-ups.
Encorra takes those jobs off your hands. Clients book themselves online while you carry on cutting, and Encorra handles the diary, reminders, cancellations, client records and follow-ups in the background — so you spend less time running the booking system and more time behind the chair earning money.
Online booking made specifically for barbers
Plenty of appointment scheduling apps can display a calendar. That doesn't mean they understand a barbershop. Encorra is built around the way real barbers actually work:
- Different services and appointment lengths
- Individual barber schedules
- Walk-ins and online bookings
- Breaks, holidays and sick days
- Regular clients who return every few weeks
- Parents booking for their children
- Last-minute and late cancellations
- No-shows that cost you real money
- Independent barbers working inside one shop
- Busy Saturdays and painfully quiet Tuesdays
Let clients book a haircut online in seconds
Your clients don't want another app or a complicated account — they want to see when you're free and book. Encorra gives your shop its own mobile-friendly booking page:
- 1Choose their service
- 2Select their preferred barber
- 3Pick an available date and time
- 4Enter their details
- 5Confirm their appointment
Share your booking link anywhere your clients already are:
A mobile barber booking app you can use anywhere
You shouldn't need to sit behind a computer to run your diary. Encorra is mobile-first: check your day before leaving home, add a walk-in from the chair, move an appointment, block a break, see who's due next and find an empty space before it costs you money — without turning simple jobs into a maze of menus.
Everything your barbershop needs in one booking app
Online booking calendar
Your booking page shows only genuine availability — based on the barber, service duration, working hours, breaks and existing appointments. No back-and-forth messages, no accidental double bookings.
A calendar for every barber
Each barber gets their own working hours, services, calendar, breaks, Stripe account and login permissions. The owner sees the whole shop; individual barbers can be limited to their own chair.
Drag-and-drop scheduling
Move an appointment without deleting it, adjust its length, reassign it to another barber or block out time. The freed space reopens for another client when there's no conflict.
Automatic confirmations & reminders
Encorra sends booking confirmations and reminders by SMS and email, so clients can prepare, reschedule or cancel — instead of simply not turning up.
No-show protection
Switch card-on-file protection on for selected barbers. Ask new clients to save a card, charge for no-shows or late cancellations, waive a fee when it's fair, and refund in a tap — each barber on their own Stripe account.
Protection from fake bookings
Email verification, disposable-email detection, IP and burst-rate limits, bot protection and suspicious-booking alerts keep your page easy for real clients and hard to abuse.
Fill cancelled appointments automatically
A cancellation at 10pm shouldn't mean you start tomorrow with an empty chair. Encorra's Smart Waitlist offers the open slot to clients who want an earlier appointment. They get a message, open the link and claim the space — no calling around. You could be halfway through a fade while Encorra is already filling the gap.
Bring overdue clients back
Most barbers think they need more clients. Sometimes they just need to bring back the ones they already have. Encorra learns how often each client normally books, then flags who's due, coming due, overdue or quietly slipping away — so you send the right nudge at the right time instead of blasting everyone with the same message.
Make family haircut bookings easier
Parents shouldn't need a different phone number and email for every child. Family Bookings lets one parent manage family members under the same account — book their own cut, one child, several children or a run of back-to-back appointments — with confirmations and reminders going to the parent's phone.
Book time off without reorganising your diary
Choose the dates you need off and Encorra closes them on your booking page, finds the affected appointments, notifies those clients and sends them a link to pick another time. The clients rebook themselves — you get on with packing your case.
Turn Google searches into confirmed appointments
Someone searches for a barber nearby and finds your shop on Google — but if they can't book immediately, they'll often pick someone else. Add your Encorra booking link to your Google Business Profile so people can move from Search or Maps straight into your available appointments, and Encorra can track which bookings arrived through Google.
Manage every client relationship
Each client record can include:
- Contact details
- Appointment history
- Usual / favourite barber
- Services previously booked
- Total spend
- Private client notes
- VIP status
- Predicted return date
- Marketing preferences
- No-show history
Moving from another barber appointment app? Client and appointment data can be imported by CSV.
Marketing that doesn't eat your evening
Encorra's Marketing Agent helps create and run campaigns using information already inside your business — promote open appointments, fill quiet days, win lapsed clients back, spotlight a barber, turn five-star reviews into social posts, write captions and graphics, send SMS and email campaigns, publish approved posts to Facebook and track opens and clicks. You review and approve; Encorra does the heavy lifting.
Know how the shop is performing
Encorra's reporting tracks revenue, completed appointments, new and returning clients, no-shows, popular services, barber performance and 7-, 30- and 90-day trends — so you can see what's working, where money is leaking and where the next opportunity is hiding.
More than a generic appointment scheduling app
A generic service booking app is designed for everyone — hairdressers, consultants, dog groomers, tutors, trainers. That sounds helpful until you realise it wasn't built deeply for any of them. Every part of Encorra has been shaped by real problems inside a working UK barbershop.
| Generic scheduling app | Encorra |
|---|---|
| Takes online appointments | Takes and actively helps fill appointments |
| Displays a calendar | Manages individual barber schedules |
| Stores client details | Predicts when clients are due back |
| Records cancellations | Offers cancelled slots to a waitlist |
| Sends basic reminders | Confirmations, reminders and win-back campaigns |
| Designed for many industries | Built specifically around barbershops |
| Leaves marketing to you | Helps create and run your marketing |
| Charges as the team grows | Business plan covers up to 5 barbers |
Built inside a real UK barbershop
My name's Craig Mariner. I opened my first barbershop at 17 and have spent more than 20 years behind the chair. So Encorra wasn't built from a list of features that looked good in a sales deck — it came from the no-shows, the cancellations, the empty spaces, the messages arriving mid-cut, the regulars who quietly disappeared and the marketing I never had time to finish.
I didn't want another calendar. I wanted something to run the parts of the shop I couldn't keep doing myself. So I built Encorra — and today it runs inside my own barbershop too.
Barber booking software for solo barbers and busy shops
For independent barbers
Manage your clients, diary and online bookings from one place — without paying for features designed for a large chain.
For multi-chair shops
Give each barber their own calendar, hours, services and permissions while keeping one clear view of the whole shop.
For barbers switching systems
Import your existing client records by CSV and get set up with your services, staff and online bookings.
For growing businesses
Use analytics, automated marketing, the waitlist and return-date predictions to turn demand you already have into completed appointments.
Choose the right Encorra plan
🔥 Launch offer: £10 off every month for your first 2 months
Starter
Free forever
Perfect for solo barbers who need straightforward online booking.
- Online booking page
- Barber calendar
- Client list
- 1 staff member
No long contract — cancel anytime. Current pricing and launch offers are on the Encorra pricing page. Comparing options? See how Encorra compares.
How to start taking barber bookings online
- 1Create your Encorra accountChoose the plan that fits your shop.
- 2Add your barbers and servicesSet each service's price, duration and available staff.
- 3Set your opening hoursAdd normal working hours, breaks and time off.
- 4Personalise your booking pageAdd your shop details and booking preferences.
- 5Share your booking linkPut it on Google, your website and social profiles.
Frequently asked questions
What is the best barber booking app for UK barbers?
It depends on how you run your shop. Encorra is designed specifically for UK barbers who want online booking, mobile scheduling, client management, reminders, no-show protection, an automated waitlist and marketing in one system.
Can clients book a haircut online with Encorra?
Yes. Clients use your online booking page to choose a service, barber, date and available time from their phone or computer — no app download and no phone call.
Is there a free barber booking app?
Yes. The Starter plan is free forever for solo barbers who need a calendar, client list and online booking page. Paid plans add automation, reminders, analytics, AI marketing and revenue-recovery tools.
How much does Encorra cost?
Starter is free forever. Pro is £29/mo (£19/mo for your first 2 months on the launch offer). Business is £59/mo (£49/mo for your first 2 months) and covers up to 5 barbers with no per-chair fees. No contract — cancel anytime.
Does Encorra work for mobile barbers?
Yes. Encorra is mobile-first, so mobile barbers can accept appointments, organise services, manage clients and control their availability from their phone.
Can I use Encorra for a multi-barber shop?
Yes. The Business plan supports up to 5 barbers under one price. Each barber can have their own calendar, services, hours, permissions and Stripe connection.
Does Encorra send appointment reminders?
Yes. Encorra sends automatic SMS and email confirmations and reminders to help clients remember their bookings and reduce missed appointments.
Can Encorra help prevent no-shows?
Yes. Alongside reminders, Encorra offers card-on-file protection. You choose which barbers require a saved card and apply charges for no-shows or late cancellations under your own policy.
Can Encorra fill cancelled barber appointments?
Yes. The Smart Waitlist can notify waiting clients when an appointment opens up. They open the link and claim the time — no calling around.
Can parents book appointments for their children?
Yes. Family Bookings lets a parent add children or other family members to their account, and the parent receives the confirmations and reminders.
Can I connect Encorra to my Google Business Profile?
Yes. You can add your booking link to your Google listing so people can move from Google Search or Maps to your available appointments, and Encorra can track bookings that arrived through Google.
Can I move my clients from another booking app?
Yes. Existing client information can be imported using a CSV file. What's available depends on what your current system lets you export.
Do clients need to download an app?
No. Clients book through your mobile-friendly online booking page — nothing to install.
Can I cancel my Encorra subscription?
Yes. There's no long-term contract and you can cancel at any time.
Related guides
You do the cut. Let Encorra run the rest.
One recovered regular, one filled cancellation or one prevented no-show could cover Encorra for the whole month. Everything after that is money you might otherwise have missed.
No contract. Cancel anytime.