Product evaluation guide
Timely publishes per-bookable-staff plans for salon booking, payments, client experience, marketing and stock workflows. This guide puts those published details beside selected OpenChair capabilities and questions to test. Similar category labels do not establish equivalent workflows, availability or cost.
OpenChair prepared this page and is a competing software provider. It is not independent advice. OpenChair is not affiliated with, sponsored by or endorsed by Timely.
Products, prices, taxes, features, eligibility and terms can change and can vary by country, plan and contract. Statements about Timely below are narrow summaries of the linked official provider pages, not independent product testing. Those sources were checked on 17 August 2026and this page is scheduled for review by 17 September 2026.
Timely localises pricing and payment rates. The linked page displayed US pricing during review; use the market selector and compare the same staff count and plan.
Confirm any detail that matters to your decision directly with Timely, and retain the quote, plan table and terms you rely on.
Competitor and product names are used only to identify the provider being considered and may be trademarks of their respective owners.
OpenChair's column is grounded in the shipped capability manifest and public pricing configuration. Every Timely statement links to the official source used for that row. Neither column establishes feature parity.
OpenChair
Published Free and Pro pricing for Australia, New Zealand and the UK, with a Pro cap per venue and optional annual billing.
Timely
Timely publishes Build, Elevate and Innovate subscriptions priced per bookable staff member, with the total changing as the bookable team changes.
Compare fairly
Compare the same country, tax treatment, venue count, bookable team and billing period.
OpenChair
Monthly billing by default, with optional annual billing. Cancellation stops renewal at the end of the paid term; refunds apply only where required by the agreement, order terms or law.
Timely
Timely's pricing FAQ states there are no contracts, plans are paid month by month and customers can switch plans or leave.
Compare fairly
Confirm notice periods, renewals, refunds, minimum terms and post-cancellation access in writing.
OpenChair
No-account-required booking through a venue-branded storefront, embeddable booking surfaces and custom-domain support on Pro.
Timely
All three plans list 24/7 online booking plus social booking buttons and a mini website; Innovate adds a personalised booking confirmation page.
Compare fairly
Test the live mobile journey, required client account, venue branding, embed options and domain ownership.
OpenChair
Resources, processing gaps, split-provider booking, booking approval, recurring series and waitlist gap-matching workflows.
Timely
Timely lists gap minimisation in Build, while waitlists and online service add-ons start with Elevate in the published table.
Compare fairly
Test your actual services, staff rules, rooms, equipment, processing time and cancellation scenarios.
OpenChair
Deposits, no-show cards, online wallet payments, Stripe Terminal and Tap to Pay, with published all-in processing rates by plan.
Timely
All plans list online deposits, cancellation-fee cards, integrated in-salon payments and Tap to Pay; published transaction rates vary by payment channel and market.
Compare fairly
Compare domestic, online, keyed, international and hardware rates plus payout timing, disputes and refunds.
OpenChair
Consultation forms and waivers, review-first AI form drafts, patch tests, consent records, and age or ID workflows where configured.
Timely
Digital consultation forms and client photo/document storage start at Elevate; Innovate adds automatic consultation forms.
Compare fairly
Compare plan gates, signatures, photo storage, service assignment, pre-visit delivery, retention and export controls.
OpenChair
On Pro, email campaigns and, where supported by country, SMS campaigns are available; New Zealand venues are email-only. Pro also includes client audiences, automation, aftercare and reconnect workflows, with Smart Replies limited to supported channels and regions.
Timely
Build includes email marketing through Mailchimp; Elevate adds targeted SMS and automated follow-ups, and Innovate adds rebooking reminders and a dedicated SMS number.
Compare fairly
Compare included messages, overages, consent controls, two-way messaging, attribution and automation approval rules.
OpenChair
Retail and professional-use stock, supplier orders, stocktakes, service-product usage and profitability reporting.
Timely
Stock-level management is listed in Build and the product site also presents integrated salon payments and back-office hardware options.
Compare fairly
Check product caps, multi-location stock, purchase orders, barcode workflows, professional-use consumption and exports.
OpenChair
Roles and permissions, rosters, commissions, timeclock, timesheets, staff levels and multi-venue team controls.
Timely
Build includes team/day management; Elevate adds staff-seniority pricing tiers, and Innovate adds staff targets and performance tracking.
Compare fairly
Test role boundaries, payroll hand-off, renter models, commissions, service permissions and cross-location staff.
How to use this table
Treat each row as a question for both providers, not a winner badge. Open the cited source, confirm the applicable market and plan, and ask for any decision-critical answer in writing before signing.
OpenChair capabilities to test
We are confident about the areas we have built deeply. Review the published product information and test these workflows against your own requirements.
Published regional pricing, per-venue caps and zero booking commission on OpenChair storefront bookings; card-processing fees apply.
Review OpenChair pricingA venue-branded online storefront, with custom-domain support on Pro, keeps the booking journey centred on your business.
Explore online bookingDeposits, bookable resources, processing gaps, waitlist matching and earlier-availability workflows are designed around appointment-based venues.
Explore smart schedulingOn Pro, Smart Replies can Auto-send eligible SMS through dedicated Australian or UK numbers and connected Instagram DMs under operator-set rules. Assistant and booking actions remain review-first. Auto-sends and booking decisions are logged for audit.
Explore OpenChair AssistantMigration depends on the exports and formats available from your current provider. Confirm the scope before committing to a cut-over.
Ask Timely which records can be exported, in which formats, for which date ranges and with what permissions or limitations. Preserve the original exports.
The shipped workflow is a support-managed service-menu import request. Any broader scope must be assessed and confirmed separately in writing before making a migration commitment.
If a scope is agreed, configure services, staff, booking rules, deposits, availability and storefront branding, then validate the supported imported records before accepting live bookings.
If a cut-over is agreed, preserve access to required historical records, update booking links deliberately, and verify the first live bookings, messages and payments.
OpenChair is worth evaluating if you want published regional pricing with per-venue caps, direct branded booking, zero booking commission on OpenChair storefront bookings with card-processing fees applying, salon-native scheduling workflows, and Pro Smart Replies that can Auto-send eligible SMS through dedicated Australian or UK numbers and connected Instagram DMs while booking actions remain review-first. Timely's published model is summarised on this page from the dated official sources linked beside each comparison.
Use the same venue profile, country, tax basis, billing period, team size, locations and service mix. Separate base-plan inclusions from optional add-ons and usage or transaction fees. Compare actual workflows, channels, permissions, automation authority, exports and support rather than relying on similar category labels.
OpenChair checked the linked official sources on 17 August 2026 and scheduled the comparison for review by 17 September 2026. Provider information can change sooner, so confirm decision-critical details directly and keep a copy of the quote or terms you rely on.
OpenChair's currently shipped migration workflow is a support-managed service-menu import request. It does not automatically import or alter data. Do not assume clients, appointments, balances, products, payments or historical records can be imported unless OpenChair confirms a separate scope in writing after assessing the exports Timely makes available.
Explore OpenChair by industry
Test the product against your own requirements and ask us for written clarification wherever you need it.
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