Merlua - 2026 Pricing, Features, Reviews & Alternatives

Merlua is a cloud-based appointment booking and business management software designed specifically for beauty salons, aesthetics clinics and professional beauty service providers. The platform provides a centralized system for managing client appointments, staff schedules, service offerings and payment processing. It streamlines operational workflows and reduces administrative overhead. The system includes a management dashboard for business owners and dedicated mobile applications for staff members and clients to create an integrated ecosystem for appointment management.

The online booking functionality allows clients to schedule appointments without requiring account creation or login credentials. The service and staff management module enables configuration of multiple service offerings, assignment of staff members to specific services and establishment of automated assignment rules based on availability and expertise. The calendar and availability system incorporates conflict prevention logic to eliminate double bookings while allowing administrators to define working hours, break periods and staff-specific schedules. Deposit and payment processing is provided through Stripe integration, enabling collection of advance payments or full service fees at the time of booking. An automated notification system sends email and SMS reminders to clients prior to scheduled appointments, which reduces no-shows through proactive communication. Each business receives a customizable booking page hosted on Merlua infrastructure that can be branded with salon-specific visual elements and shared via direct link or embedded into existing websites. The dashboard delivers real-time analytics on booking metrics, including completed appointments, confirmed reservations, pending requests and cancellations, to support performance monitoring. Additional management features include package creation for bundled services, promotional campaign tools and customer database management with booking history tracking.

Integration capabilities are provided through a WordPress plugin that embeds the booking interface directly into WordPress websites without custom development. The platform API architecture supports embedding functionality across various web platforms. Stripe is supported as the payment processing provider to handle transaction processing, deposit collection and revenue tracking. The software includes separate mobile applications for staff members and clients. The staff application provides schedule management, earnings tracking and client information access. The client application enables appointment booking, reminder receipt and loyalty point management. The platform operates on a software as a service model with a thirty day trial period that does not require credit card information for initial access, allowing beauty businesses to evaluate the full feature set before committing to a paid subscription.