It’s 2:40 on a Thursday. The blow dryers are going, someone’s playlist just rolled from Portishead into Lauryn Hill, and a client is standing at the front desk with her coat half on, ready to lock in her next cut before she forgets.
Her stylist is twenty minutes into a balayage at the back station, foils in, hands full, totally in the zone.
The person at reception smiles, pulls up the calendar… and hits a wall. That calendar lives in someone else’s salonMonster account.
So now there’s a little dance. Reception walks back to ask. The stylist tries to remember if Tuesday is open. The client checks her phone and says, “Actually, just text me.” And everyone in the room knows how often that text actually turns into a booking.
We’ve all been in that moment. Rented chairs, independent books, one shared front desk. It’s a beautiful setup until someone has to make the handoff work.
That’s exactly what connected accounts are built for. Stylists using separate salonMonster accounts can share calendar access, and recent improvements make this a really good time to look at how your front desk could use them.
But the interesting question isn’t just can two accounts connect. It’s what the person at reception should actually be able to do.
Start With the Client at Reception
In our little hypothetical, the receptionist needs to book the client’s next appointment while the stylist finishes her service.
Seeing that the stylist has time on Tuesday doesn’t get the job done. Reception needs permission to make the booking.
In a different setup, a colleague might only need to see when you’re working. Handing that person booking access would solve a bigger problem than the one you actually have.
Before you connect anything, write the task down in one sentence: “I want this person to help my clients book their next appointments.”
That sentence gives you something real to check against the access you’re granting.
Calendar Access Comes in Levels
Connected accounts support three kinds of access: viewing the calendar, viewing booking details, and editing, booking or deleting appointments.
Each one shows a different amount. The basic calendar view shows the client’s name, service and appointment timing, without contact details. Viewing booking details also shows client contact information. Booking and editing access extends to the connected stylist’s client list.
Ask our team to walk you through the current permission options before you choose. Seeing a name on a calendar and having access to someone’s client list are two very different responsibilities.
Start with the access the task actually needs. If reception is meant to make bookings, test that workflow together. If a colleague only needs to see your calendar, check that their view matches that.
Agree on Tuesday Before Sharing Tuesday
The app can open the door. The people walking through it still need to agree on how appointments get handled.
For a shared front desk, talk through four questions:
- Which services can reception book without checking with you?
- Who approves an exception to your normal appointment timing?
- Who handles a client’s request to move or cancel?
- Who checks access when the working arrangement changes?
These are working agreements between you, not settings the app enforces for you.
Keep them short enough to live next to the appointment book. “Check with me before booking a first colour appointment” is way more useful at reception than “use your discretion.”
Test One Booking Together
Don’t judge the connection by whether another name shows up on screen. Walk through the actual job you wanted help with.
Check what the other person can see. Try the booking workflow with a suitable test record. Make sure you both understand the access, and ask our team how to change or remove it when you need to.
Ask the salonMonster team for a connected-account walkthrough. Tell us who needs to help, whose calendar they need, and what they should be allowed to do.
Then the next time a client is standing at the front desk with her coat half on, she walks out with her next appointment… and her stylist never has to put down her scissors to make it happen.