Question 1

How long does it take to set up my shop?

Accepted Answer

Less than 5 minutes. Sign up, pick whether you're a barber or stylist, add your shop name, working hours, and bank details — your booking page is live instantly at handzbeauty.com/your-name.

Question 2

Does HandzBeauty cost anything?

Accepted Answer

Creating your shop and taking unlimited bookings is free. We only earn when you do well — paid plans (coming soon) unlock featured placement, advanced analytics, and AI tools.

Question 3

Do I need a website or social media to use it?

Accepted Answer

No. Your HandzBeauty page IS your website. Share the link on WhatsApp status, Instagram bio, or print it on flyers — customers can book without an app or account.

Question 4

Can I use this if I work from home or without a fixed shop?

Accepted Answer

Yes. Mobile barbers, home-based braiders, and freelance MUAs all use HandzBeauty. Just put your service area in the location field.

Question 5

How do customers book?

Accepted Answer

They open your link, pick a service, choose a time from your live availability, and confirm. You get notified instantly in your dashboard.

Question 6

How do deposits work?

Accepted Answer

For each service you can require no deposit, a percentage (e.g. 30%), or full payment. Customers see your bank details after booking, transfer the deposit, upload the receipt, and you confirm. Slots are held for 30 minutes while they pay.

Question 7

What if a customer doesn't pay the deposit in time?

Accepted Answer

The slot automatically expires after 30 minutes and becomes available for someone else. No manual cleanup needed.

Question 8

Can I block walk-in only days or specific hours?

Accepted Answer

Yes. Adjust your working hours per day in the Availability tab. You can also pause online bookings entirely while keeping your page live.

Question 9

How do I get paid?

Accepted Answer

Customers pay you directly by bank transfer or USSD to the account you saved. HandzBeauty never holds your money — it goes straight to your bank.

Question 10

Why bank transfer instead of cards?

Accepted Answer

Card gateways charge 1.5–2.9% per booking and often delay payouts. Transfer is instant, free, and the way Nigerians already pay. We just make it organized.

Question 11

Can I track my daily cash?

Accepted Answer

Yes. The dashboard shows today's revenue, outstanding deposits, and pending confirmations at a glance — plus a 30-day trend chart in Analytics.

Question 12

How does HandzBeauty handle no-shows?

Accepted Answer

Bookings 24h+ overdue without a check-in are auto-flagged as no-shows, and the deposit (or ₦2,000 default) is added to that customer's outstanding balance. They have to clear it before booking again.

Question 13

Will customers see they owe money?

Accepted Answer

When a customer with debt tries to book, they're prompted to settle the balance first. You can also clear or adjust debt manually from the Customers page.

Question 14

Can I send rebooking reminders?

Accepted Answer

Yes. Open Customers → Retention to see everyone whose last visit was 30+ days ago, and send a one-tap WhatsApp nudge. We rate-limit to once per 14 days so you never spam.

Question 15

How do reviews work?

Accepted Answer

After a confirmed booking, customers can leave a star rating and comment. Reviews from confirmed bookings get a 'Verified Booking' badge.

Question 16

Can fake reviews hurt my shop?

Accepted Answer

We block duplicate reviews from the same phone number within 30 days, and prioritize verified-booking reviews in your average. Suspicious patterns are flagged for moderation.

Question 17

How does the Discover ranking work?

Accepted Answer

We use a transparent weighted score combining your verified status, completed bookings, average rating (Bayesian-adjusted so new shops aren't unfairly buried), and a small boost for shops featured that week.

Question 18

How do I get the verified badge?

Accepted Answer

Reach out at hello@handzbeauty.com once you've completed at least 10 bookings. We verify your shop is real, and the badge stays as long as you keep things in good standing.

Question 19

Can I manage walk-in customers?

Accepted Answer

Yes. The Queue page lets you add walk-ins, see who's next, mark each customer as serving or done, and notify the next person via WhatsApp.

Question 20

Can customers see how long the wait is?

Accepted Answer

Yes. Your public page shows a live 'people ahead' count and estimated wait time, updated in real time as the queue moves.

Question 21

What does the AI do?

Accepted Answer

Generates social-ready captions for your portfolio photos, writes persuasive service descriptions, and (optionally) recommends styles based on a customer's face shape from a selfie.

Question 22

Do I have to use AI?

Accepted Answer

No. Every AI feature is opt-in. You can write your own descriptions and turn off the recommender from Settings.

Question 23

Do I need to download an app to book?

Accepted Answer

No. Just open the shop's link in your browser. No account or app required.

Question 24

Is my phone number safe?

Accepted Answer

Yes. We only share it with the shop you booked, and never sell or use it for marketing.

Question 25

How do I cancel or reschedule?

Accepted Answer

Contact the shop directly via WhatsApp from your booking confirmation page. Most shops will refund or move your deposit if you give 24h notice.

Question 26

Is HandzBeauty only for barbers?

Accepted Answer

No. We're built for the entire beauty industry — barbers, hair stylists, braiders, loctitians, nail techs, lash artists, makeup artists, and spa therapists. Pick 'Stylist' during signup for salon-style theming.

Question 27

Can I list services that take several hours, like braids or weaves?

Accepted Answer

Yes. Each service has its own duration (15 min to 8+ hours), so a 6-hour knotless braid booking automatically blocks the right amount of time on your calendar.

Question 28

Can clients send a reference photo of the style they want?

Accepted Answer

Yes. Customers can leave style notes with their booking, and your portfolio gallery doubles as a visual menu so they pick from your work.

Question 29

Do you support multiple stylists in one salon?

Accepted Answer

Single-chair shops are fully supported today. Multi-stylist salons can run one HandzBeauty page per chair for now — full team scheduling is on the roadmap.

Question 30

Who is behind HandzBeauty?

Accepted Answer

We're a small team based in Lagos, building tools we wish existed when we ran our own shops. Read more on our About page.

Question 31

What's your mission?

Accepted Answer

To give every Nigerian beauty pro a booking experience that feels as premium as the work they do — beautiful sites, smart bookings, money straight to their bank.

Question 32

How do you handle my data?

Accepted Answer

We never sell your data. Customer phone numbers are only ever shared with the shop they booked. Read the full Privacy Policy for details.

Question 33

What are the rules for using HandzBeauty?

Accepted Answer

No fraud, no fake businesses, no harassment. Full Terms of Service and Disclaimers cover it.

Frequently asked questions

Getting started (Barbers & Stylists)

Bookings & deposits

Payments & payouts

No-shows, debt, and rebooking

Reviews, ranking, and discovery

Walk-ins & queue

AI features

For customers

For salons, braiders, nail techs & MUAs

About, mission & policies