Member Article

Anz Challenger Brand Takes Uk Market Head-On; Giving Salon Booking Software A Makeover

Hair and Beauty industry disruptor brand, Timely, is ramping up its UK operations as it celebrates five years of success since first launching in the country. After investing £5 million into the business, Timely is on a mission to roll-out its award-winning ANZ services to even more beauty professionals globally. 

Founded in 2011 in New Zealand, Timely has been providing beauty business owners with an all-in-one booking and payments salon software for over a decade. 

Having cemented its reputation as the market leader in both New Zealand and Australia, Timely made the jump to extend its services to the UK in 2019. Since then, the SaaS business has served over 6,700 businesses across the nation, helping over 16,000 users to streamline their operations with its bespoke, easy-to-use booking software.

Timely’s ethos centres around the belief that all beauty business owners deserve beautiful, easy-to-use software that puts their brands front and centre, without the need to rely on competitive marketplaces to drive business growth. Timely’s dedication to supporting beauty businesses achieve this has translated into exponential growth: over nine million bookings have been created in the past year alone, which has generated almost 250% revenue growth over the past three years. 

Commenting on how the software has been welcomed in the UK, Ollie Smith, MD UK&I, Timely: 

"As the leading booking software in ANZ, we’ve always been confident in our product. However, the incredible reception we’ve received since expanding to the UK has exceeded all our expectations. While we knew our platform would resonate, the rapid growth we have seen is something we’re so proud of. It’s great that we can now offer our services in the UK and we are thrilled to see how quickly professionals here have embraced and loved what we do.

“Timely’s product is more than just software – we’re an integral part of our customers’ businesses. We know how time-consuming and headache-inducing admin can be, so our platform lightens the load for hair and beauty professionals, allowing them to channel their creativity and passion into their client experiences, while we take care of the rest.” 

Timely’s success extends far beyond the numbers. Its strong community ties have seen many of its UK employees being hired directly from the industry. Not only does this mean they have a team of industry experts, bringing years of experience, but it also ensures that those designing the solutions have firsthand experience of the needs that drive the demand. From protecting businesses from no shows and lost revenue to handling payments through the all-in-one, error-free Timely Pay terminals, this insight has allowed Timely to fine-tune its product to reflect the end-users.

Blair Kemp, Product & Customer Marketing Lead, Timely explains how this has been instrumental to their growth: 

“Having a team of people who truly understand the industry has been vital for our success. It has meant that we see what salon owners and professionals in the sector need to better serve their clients. It’s this insight and understanding that sets us apart from competitors. We’re not just pulling stats from reports and surveys; we’re working hand-in-hand with professionals to uncover their true pain points and inform our decisions.” 

“The little added extra features that Timely has, which other booking software doesn’t, is something we are really proud of. For example, the SMS and email customisation allows salon owners to create personalised communication with their clients; it feels more authentic, and people really appreciate that. In 2024 alone, Timely customers have sent over 15 million SMS messages and 16 million emails, and we’ve seen huge increases in client engagement and retention as a result of this.”

With 7.6 million clients served to date – and the custom of highly-respected industry leaders like nail technician Chloe Joel, L’Oreal Educator Harriet Stokes and skin specialist Abigail James – Timely remains committed to empowering beauty and wellness professionals across the UK and beyond.

This was posted in Bdaily's Members' News section by Claire Bryson .