I stumbled upon this program almost by accident as they are not very well known in South Africa but I'm so glad I did! Pros: Extremely complete software, it does everything from stock management to commissions to automatic marketing (this last one is amazing; I get clients calling up to book appointments all the time without me having lifted a finger to contact them!). Tech support is very good and development is rapid. New versions are brought out several times a year. Cons: Tech support is closed on French holidays (they're based there) so very occasionally we get stuck with a question for 24 hours. Also, some reports take up to 5 minutes to generate.

Pros: Centralised management, detailed reports, tips function, loyalty programme, stock management the list goes on and on. Excellent tech support (thank you Richard!), I am able to remotely connect (this is built into the software) to salon and sort out any issues. Overall the software is very user friendly and just works. Cons: Tech support is closed on French holidays and reports can run a bit slow to load.

Merlin is the best possible solution for managing and organizing the entire business of our beauty salon. It has full range of settings, options and constant online support. Thank you all from Ikosoft!