Release Notes

MioSalon follows an agile development process. We are continuously enhancing MioSalon software with new features and enhancing existing features. We listen to our clients, understand their requirements, study the trends and come up with a product roadmap.

This “Release Notes” section talks about the new features and enhancements done every month. This is not an exhaustive list. But I will give an idea of high-level enhancements done on MioSalon every month.

November 2024

• The ability to set discount limits for regular clients, ensuring margins are protected while rewarding loyal membership/package clients with full discounts. Regular transactions have a maximum discount cap (e.g., 30%), while membership clients can still redeem their full eligible discounts, even beyond the limit. 

• Easily track cancellations by viewing who canceled, the reason, and all relevant details in one place. This helps you understand cancellation patterns, reduce no-shows, and improve client relationships and scheduling strategies.

August 2024

• Track product volume more accurately with units like "1000 ml" to minimize errors and waste. This update streamlines internal product usage, saving you time and reducing costs while offering valuable insights into usage trends. For new products, directly enter consumed volume (e.g., "100 ml" from 1000 ml). For existing products, use decimals to indicate consumption (e.g., "0.1 Qty" for 100 ml from 1000 ml).

June 2024

• Engage with your customers by sending updates, promotions, and conversational messages through WhatsApp Marketing using your own business name and mobile number. Customize templates with embedded multimedia files and actionable buttons for a personalized touch.

• Revamped the user interface to offer a more modern and intuitive experience. Additionally, a new section has been introduced to set up a predefined list of reasons for invoice/receipt deletion.

• With the flexibility of network-level and location-level WhatsApp integration, brand owners gain centralized control over messaging and promotions across all branches, while individual branch owners have the freedom to tailor WhatsApp communication to meet specific local needs.

May 2024

• Enhanced the user interface for the SMS campaign by simplifying navigation and providing easy access. This streamlines the process of creating and managing an SMS campaign.

• Revamped the new appointment page with a more intuitive layout, easier access and organized customer information.

April 2024

• Flexibility to make resource allocation mandatory for appointments, reducing delays and confusion in scheduling for smoother operations and better client service.

• Gather client locations according to your preferences, enter client locations directly or choose from a pre-defined list of fixed locations.

• Create personalized experiences, automatically send service reminders, and alert clients when their prepaid balance is nearing expiration to maximize client satisfaction.

• Granting admins the power to accept or reject login requests by managers, staff, or front-desk employees from new devices prevents unauthorized or suspicious logins.

• Introduced business trends to track important metrics including sales, bill counts, average bill value, staff sales performance, sales by items, and mode of payment through visually compelling graphs, empowering you to make informed decisions and effectively drive business growth.

March 2024

• Clients can create a unique identity for business on WhatsApp with a custom sender ID. Send automated appointment updates, invoices and OTP’s on WhatsApp messages with enhanced convenience and accessibility.

• Enhanced color code of appointment status to differentiate new online booking, new in-app booking, arrived, started, no show, completed, and online payment to easily identify the status of each appointment at a glance.

• Managers will receive real-time notifications when appointments are cancelled or when a client double confirms an appointment to unlock transparency.

• The accumulated reward points are converted to the respective currency based on the business country. So clients can easily redeem their points for discounts or rewards, tailored to their local currency.

• Enhance the appointment booking page to display the prices of the services offered to make informed decisions when scheduling appointments.

• Implement restrictions on editing customer ID to maintain data uniqueness and prevent unauthorized modifications.

• Introduce a new tag system for staff and m anager emails, specifically for resources and booking notes.

February 2024

Introducing Lead Management, aimed at streamlining lead collection, organization, and conversion. Effortlessly convert visitors into prospects with tailored information, detailed follow ups and effective showcasing to boost conversion rates. Managers can focus on impactful activities while achieving optimal lead conversions. 

January 2024

• Introduced new greeting notification templates for Birthdays and anniversaries. Clients can now send personalized greetings using their unique sender ID. We've updated the promotional sender ID for Indian accounts to comply with TRAI norms.

• Added a new consolidated report feature to enhance the reporting section in MioSalon. This consolidated report provides clients with a comprehensive overview, improving their understanding of their salon's performance.

  
  

December 2023

• Enhanced flexibility between network level and location level gift voucher management provides brand owners with centralized control over gift voucher management across all branches. Meanwhile, branch owners enjoy independent management for tailored gift vouchers, offering the flexibility to meet their specific needs.

November  2023

• An updated look for the Appointment Calendar, featuring a new and improved UI enhancement. Our goal is to make the scheduling experience more straightforward and offer seamless access to staff or resource views.

• Clients will receive automated reminders on WhatsApp for scheduled appointments. Reduce no-shows, enhance communication, and provide a more convenient experience for both clients and your business with MioSalon.

October 2023

•  The user interface for feedback forms has been redesigned for a more user-friendly experience, making it easier for your clients to provide feedback and valuable insights.

• Enhanced dashboard insights offer a more comprehensive understanding of total bill value, payments collected, dues collected, and staff tip value. This empowers you to make informed business decisions and simplifies financial management for better control.

September 2023

• Flexibility in creating custom sender ID to send promotional SMS to clients at both the network and location levels.

• Implemented a strategy to validate client mobile numbers by confirming the mobile number with a minimum of four digits in MioSalon and Welns.

• Optimized notification user interface for easy handling of enabling and disabling notifications for clients, staff, managers and owners to send timely updates via WhatsApp, SMS, and Email.

August 2023

• Easily remind clients via SMS, WhatsApp, or Email before their prepaid wallet expires, with the option for fixed or custom reminder intervals.

• MioSalon now integrates with PayFast for hassle-free payments in South Africa, ensuring a secure and smooth payment experience.

• Brand owners gain centralized control over memberships across branches, while branch owners enjoy tailored, independent management to meet specific needs.

• MioSalon now delivers timely payment notifications for one-time and subscription accounts, ensuring uninterrupted service. Maintain sufficient balance and stay informed about expiry.

July 2023

• Customers who purchase one-time packs will now enjoy a seamless payment experience, as the next billing details, along with that expiry date, will be automatically shown in the plan and billing section.

• Prepaid carryforward and tax redemption are now available at the store level, offering greater flexibility in managing your business. Previously accessible only at the network level, this enhancement puts franchise owners in control and streamlines operations.

•  Premium Plan users can enjoy an improved service reminder feature with enhanced functionality, user-friendly UI/UX, and delivery report generation for better client communication.

• Protect customer contact details and enhance data security by hiding them from unauthorized access. 

• To enhance your sign-up experience, we've added sample data in the Source, Resource, Customer, and Appointment pages.

• Discover release notes conveniently within the notification icon to stay up-to-date with the latest releases effortlessly.

June 2023

• Enhanced payment experience for client subscriptions in India.  Now, customers will be able to choose monthly subscriptions and automatic payments through credit cards, get invoices immediately after making payments, etc.

• Enhanced flexibility for brand owners and salon owners in managing the cost and recharging methods for SMS and WhatsApp messages Now, they can buy these messages either at the network level (centralized management) or the outlet level (independent management for salon outlets).

May 2023

• Enhanced options to print invoices to a thermal printer on MacOS.  Now, customers will be able to print these invoices/bills easily from their iPads.

• Enhancements to appointment booking introduced user states. So, when the user moves from the Appointments page to some other pages, the user's earlier state on the Appointments page will be maintained when the user comes back to the Appointment page. It will be easy for the user to maintain their filters, etc.

• Enhanced UI/UX design for our customer support-related knowledge base is available at https://support.miosalon.com. It will be easy for the salon managers and front desk teams to explore a reader-friendly content layout and an attractive design that facilitates easy navigation and understanding of the information. 

April 2023

• Introduced a new feature, Client Login: Ability for the clients (customers of Salon/Spas) to login to the portal and see their history of bookings/billings with the salon.  Please click here to learn more.

• Ability to turn off MioSalon summary notification for managers and owners of the salon on a daily basis towards the end of the day (number of bills, bill amount, etc.).  Some customers wanted to turn off this notification.  This ability is introduced in the software now. However, only the support team can make this change at this moment.

March 2023

• Salon/ spa profile updation including the ability to update the business name.

• Introduced an alert for low SMS availability in the package.  Customers can buy additional SMS based on this notification.

• Enhanced SMS capability for customers in Australia, South Africa, Maldives, Central African Republic, Ghana, and Nigeria.

• General update on user experience and user interface across the software.  Menu items (color and navigation) are updated for a pleasing look and feel of the software.

• Introduced the ability to collect cancellation reasons whenever customers cancel their appointments.

• Introduced two options for terms and conditions: "Show as Read Only" and "Enforce Customer Acceptance." With these options, clients know your salon's terms and conditions.

February 2023 

• Introduced WhatsApp notifications from MioSalon.  Launched this for customers in India.  Now, salons and spas in India can send notifications through WhatsApp to their clients.  They will also be able to purchase WhatsApp messages online from MioSalon. 

• Enhanced customer session hook with welns.io (Salon Marketplace) and introduced a new listing page in the appointment.

• Introduced a new feature in MioSalon focused on client security.  You can now use campaigns that require one-time verification for enhanced security purposes. 

January 2023

• 3rd party SMS gateway integration is enabled for Premium & Standard and Lite & Lite Plus; it will be shown with pro-Icon to upgrade.

• Added MioSalon feature menu in header and footer on sms-template, email-template

• Introduced a new update to MioSalon's Cash Registry feature. when you delete any information related to the cash registry, it will be automatically reflected in the report session.

• Enhanced a complete design overhaul to the customer and business pages on welns.io 

December 2022

• Added a collection of stunning campaign templates specifically designed for New Year and Christmas. Now, our clients can effortlessly send festive greetings to their customers.

• Enriched and simplified our website with more comprehensive information about our features, pricing, and other important details.

• Made notable UX enhancements on the Feedback page in MioSalon.  The redesigned interface makes it easier for your customers to provide feedback, suggestions, and report issues.

• Made several user experience (UX) improvements throughout the platform aiming to simplify the workflow, boost productivity, and provide a smoother overall experience.

• Started working on subscription automation to make the payment experience better for our customers.  The intent is to make the payment process more secure, simpler for our customers, and automated.

November 2022

• Made significant user experience (UX) enhancements to ensure a seamless and efficient booking experience for both customers and clients.

  • UX enhancements across appointment booking.

  • Instant booking (no line at the store) and guest booking (no account required).

  • Map View: By clicking on Map View, you will be redirected to Google Maps, displaying the recent location information from your MioSalon account.

  • To optimize the booking process, we have implemented a condition that allows only one appointment per service to be reserved at a time. 

• Enhancements to the ability to choose/change the plan during the trial period. Earlier, trial users were not able to choose a specific plan and they could not see what different features are available in other plans.  They required manual support from our team. With this enhancement, users can change the plan as per their needs during the trial period.

• Introducing a basic SMS package for trial users to try out the SMS feature.

• Enhanced booking notes in the appointments section.

• German users accessing MioSalon will have the German language as the default language. Language can be changed based on the user’s preferences.

• Launched an easy way for our customers to get support from MioSalon: Context-sensitive help (when you click on a help button, the system will directly show the relevant help page), create support tickets, reach out to the support team member through WhatsApp, InApp Chat, etc.

• Enhancements on tax settings.

• Removed the Covid-19 related menu item from the left-hand menu. 

October 2022

•  https://www.welns.io the beta marketplace of https://www.miosalon.com/. Enjoy a seamless experience with SmartMenu integration and automatic service updates. For example, if you add a new service in MioSalon, it will automatically be updated on Welns.

•  MioSalon's blog is now enriched with best practices for salon management. Discover valuable insights at https://blog.miosalon.com/ and optimize your salon's operations. 

• Made minor enhancements across our entire product, ensuring a smoother and more polished user experience.