OpenChair and Shortcuts, compared carefully.
Based on Shortcuts' public Fusion, Aire, and ShortcutsPay pages reviewed on 19 June 2026, Shortcuts is a broad salon platform with Fusion, Aire, ShortcutsPay, online booking, marketing, reporting, multi-site controls, AI Reporting, support, and onboarding. OpenChair focuses on published capped AU/NZ/GB pricing, direct branded booking, and operator-reviewed salon workflows.
Our Take
Shortcuts' public materials reviewed on 19 June 2026 position Fusion as a complete salon platform with Base, Climb, and Summit packages, custom pricing, 24/7 support, online booking, Reserve with Google, automated email/SMS marketing, walk-in management, visual treatment notes, resource management, benchmarking, ShortcutsPay, and multi-site controls. Shortcuts Aire publishes starter pricing for solo operators and small teams: $0, $29/month ex GST, and $39/month ex GST, with Pro extra team members at $29/month ex GST. Shortcuts also lists AI Reporting in Fusion plan materials and lists AI Receptionist as an additional-cost Fusion add-on. OpenChair is positioned differently: published capped AU/NZ/GB pricing and operator-reviewed salon workflows across Assistant actions, Smart Replies, Booking Replies, Smart Nudges, Reconnect, Style Match, Processing Gaps, and waitlist opportunities.
Feature Comparison
Fit Notes for Shortcuts
A practical summary of where Shortcuts is well represented publicly, and where OpenChair is positioned differently.
- Fusion pricing is custom rather than self-serve, making total cost harder to compare upfront
- AI Receptionist, SMS bundles, Marketing Plus, integrations, integrated payments, and branded guest app are listed as additional-cost items
- OpenChair presents Assistant actions, Smart Replies, Booking Replies, Smart Nudges, Style Match, Processing Gaps, Reconnect, and waitlist opportunities as named operator-reviewed workflow surfaces
- Shortcuts Fusion is broader for multi-site, reporting, treatment records, resources, and support-led rollout; OpenChair is more focused on daily salon workflow
- Large installed base and strong brand familiarity across AU, NZ, UK, North America, and beyond
- Fusion publishes multi-site controls, reporting, resources, treatment records, online booking, and marketing
- ShortcutsPay is an integrated payments product powered by Stripe
- Aire provides a published low-cost path for solo operators and small teams
- AI Reporting is listed in Fusion plan materials, and AI Receptionist is listed as an add-on
Making the Switch from Shortcuts
Switching software feels daunting — but it doesn't have to be. Here's exactly how the transition works.
Audit your Shortcuts product and add-ons
Identify whether you are on Aire, Fusion Base, Climb, Summit, ShortcutsPay, Marketing Plus, SMS bundles, AI Receptionist, branded app, Xero, Shopify, Power BI, or multi-site tooling before planning a move.
Export and send your core data
Export clients, services, staff, future appointments, products, notes, resources, forms, visual treatment records, marketing segments, gift cards, series packs, and reporting data where available, then email the available export to support@openchairpro.com.
Import and configure OpenChair
We'll import available data into OpenChair, then configure services, staff, deposits, forms, resources, Inbox, Smart Replies, Reconnect, Smart Nudges, Style Match, Processing Gaps, and waitlist rules around how the team actually works.
Train staff on the simpler flow
Shortcuts teams may rely on deep menus, reports, POS workflows, and support-led processes. Walk the team through the OpenChair calendar, client flow, Inbox, forms, gap actions, and booking replies before go-live.