About · Founder
Aakriti Tanwar
Writes about running the business around the craft — pricing, retention, no-shows and client admin.
Writes about running the business around the craft — pricing, retention, no-shows and client admin.
Aakriti is a co-founder of Aasure, where she leads go-to-market, customer onboarding and brand. Her work starts with conversations — with salon owners, personal trainers, therapists and tutors about how their week actually runs, and what the admin around the craft really costs them.
Those conversations are what most of her writing here comes from. The posts on no-show policies, pricing, retention and client admin are the questions owners ask most often, answered the way she would answer them in person: specifically, with the numbers, and without pretending the awkward parts are easy.
Posts by Aakriti
Square Appointments Alternative: 6 Options
Square is a payments company with a good free diary attached. So before you switch, work out whether you are leaving the booking tool or the card reader. Every price here links to the vendor's own page.
5 November 2026 · 11 min readBooksy Alternative: Seven Options Compared
Booksy is a fairer deal than its reputation. So before you move, here is what it really costs, seven alternatives with their published prices, and what switching involves.
5 November 2026 · 12 min readTreatwell Alternative: Seven Options Compared
Treatwell's own fees, worked through in pounds, then seven alternatives compared on what they charge. Every price links to its source, and we say where each beats us.
4 November 2026 · 11 min readNo-Show Tracker: What to Log and How to Read It
The eight columns worth logging, the four numbers to read after one month, and what each pattern tells you to change.
4 November 2026 · 8 min readSelf-employed hairdresser: how to go it alone
Chair rental, mobile and home salons all start the same way. You need the right status, an HMRC registration and loyal clients.
24 October 2026 · 7 min readFresha Reviews: What Business Owners Say
A sourced summary of what owners say about Fresha in public, plus how reviews on Fresha work for you and your clients.
24 October 2026 · 6 min readHow to Delete a Fresha Account and Leave Safely
Six steps from Fresha's own help centre, in the order that keeps your client list, your bookings and your money safe.
24 October 2026 · 6 min readFresha Pricing: What Salons Actually Pay
The subscription is the smallest line on a Fresha bill. Here is every fee, what triggers it, and two real monthly bills worked through to the penny.
24 October 2026 · 13 min readCancellation Policy Templates by Trade
Notice periods and wording for seven trades, a template to copy for each, and free PDF and plain-text downloads.
24 October 2026 · 7 min readTutor Cancellation Policy: 7 Examples
Seven wordings you can paste today, built on the notice windows real tutoring platforms use and the legal limit on late fees.
17 October 2026 · 5 min readHairdresser Price Increase: 6 Steps
Six steps for raising your prices without a rush of lost clients: the demand check, the sums, the size, the notice and the pushback.
17 October 2026 · 6 min readRebooking Scripts for Hairdressers: 9 Lines to Copy
Nine lines to say in the chair, at the till and by email, so more clients leave with their next appointment booked.
16 October 2026 · 6 min readPersonal Trainer Onboarding Checklist: 8 Steps
Eight steps from yes to the first two weeks: the welcome, the terms, the health screen, the baseline and the check-ins.
16 October 2026 · 6 min readSalon Waitlist: Set One Up in 6 Steps
Six steps to offer every cancelled slot to a client who wanted it, with a message to copy and a fair way to pick who goes first.
15 October 2026 · 6 min readBest Practice Management Software for Therapists
Seven tools, compared on the four things a therapist actually asks about: notes, video, where client data lives, and the monthly bill. We say plainly where the clinical specialists beat us.
15 October 2026 · 13 min readThe Independent Salon Owner's Guide to Bookings and Pay
Free channels fill most of the diary, deposits protect it, and a few tax dates keep you out of trouble. Here is the whole picture on one page.
8 October 2026 · 9 min readFresha Alternatives: 14 Platforms Compared
Fourteen Fresha alternatives, checked one by one. What each one costs, what sets it apart, and who it suits. Every price links to the page it came from.
5 October 2026 · 27 min readHow to Switch Booking Software Without Losing Clients
The risk is not your data. It is the fortnight where clients are unsure which link to use. Here is a three-week plan that removes it.
20 September 2026 · 9 min readBest Salon Software: 9 Platforms Compared
Nine platforms, compared on what they actually charge an independent salon. Every price links to the page it came from, and we say plainly where each one beats us.
7 September 2026 · 12 min read15 Personal Trainer Podcasts Every Coach Should Be Hearing
Fifteen shows that make a coach better at the business, the science and the staying power — grouped so you can jump straight to the one you need this week.
19 August 2026 · 7 min read7 Small Business Admin Jobs Owners Would Give Up Tomorrow
We surveyed 217 UK service business owners about the admin they hate most — these are the seven jobs they would hand over tomorrow, with the numbers behind each.
13 August 2026 · 6 min readThe Complete Checklist for Setting Up a Private Therapy Practice
Going into private practice is exciting and a little overwhelming. This is the complete, plain-English checklist of everything a therapist needs to set up — from registration to getting paid.
10 July 2026 · 7 min readHow to Structure Your Wedding Photography Packages
If couples keep asking for your cheapest option, the problem usually isn't your price — it's your package structure. Here's how to design packages that sell value, not a day rate.
1 July 2026 · 7 min readSalon Management Software: 7 Tools, Cut to One
Most solo salon owners are quietly paying for seven separate tools to run one business. Here's the full list, the hidden monthly cost, and how to cut it down to a single platform.
24 June 2026 · 6 min readHow to Move Your Tutoring Business From WhatsApp to a Tutor Booking System
Most tutors run their whole business inside a dozen WhatsApp threads — and lose hours to it. Here's how to move to a proper system without losing the personal touch parents love.
16 June 2026 · 6 min readHow to Write a Personal Trainer Cancellation Policy That Protects Your Income
Last-minute cancellations quietly eat your income. Here's how to write, share and enforce a personal trainer cancellation policy — without making yourself the bad guy.
13 June 2026 · 6 min readPT Client Retention: 5 Warning Signs a Client Will Cancel
Clients almost never quit out of nowhere. They send signals first — and the five most common ones are easy to spot once you know the shape of them.
27 May 2026 · 7 min readGDPR Private Practice: What Therapists Get Wrong
Many solo therapists have a few quiet GDPR gaps in their practice — and they don't know it. Here's a plain-English guide to what the law actually expects.
20 May 2026 · 8 min readHow to Write a No-Show Policy That Clients Actually Respect
Stop losing money to last-minute cancellations — here's the step-by-step process for creating, communicating, and enforcing a no-show policy that protects your income without awkward conversations.
13 May 2026 · 8 min readWhat Is Your Real Hourly Rate as a Personal Trainer?
You think you charge £60 an hour. But once you count every unpaid minute you spend on admin, invoicing, and chasing clients — the real number might shock you.
6 May 2026 · 8 min readBooking Commission Fees: The Hidden Cost of Marketplace Apps
Marketplace booking platforms feel free. The commission, the client data they hold, and the brand that sits between you and your customer — all add up. Here's the real cost, in numbers.
29 April 2026 · 9 min readEnquiry Management: A Follow-Up System That Converts
Most photographers lose more bookings to silence than to "no". Here's how to build a follow-up system that quietly turns leads into paying clients — without you having to remember anything.
22 April 2026 · 9 min readStudio Management Software for the Solo Operator
Most salon and studio software was built for multi-location chains and adopted by solo owners because nothing else existed. Here's what's wrong with that fit, and what software for solo and small-team service businesses should actually look like.
31 March 2026 · 6 min read