We’ve only just switched to Ink Book after a very brief (and awful) stint with Vagaro, and before that Square, for almost a decade. We are a small, custom tattoo studio, in business for 28 years.
We were drawn to Ink Book because there are nearly no other platforms that are specific to the tattoo industry (which is weird, because we are legion).
Parts of the the platform are great, the calendars are easy to use, for the most part. They could be improved by adding the ability to see, at a glance, a brief description of the piece, but other than that, they look great. It would be great, also, if artists and clients could send photos through SMS texting.
The glaring absence of any way to take deposits, either over the phone, or in house is really a huge point of contention. We’ve been told by the techs, that a “workaround” is to purchase a gift card, and then have the client redeem it at checkout. What this doesn’t do, is apply that deposit to the artist for whom it’s being made. Which obviously, in turn, affects the daily/monthly reports. Also, a tattoo platform should have the ability to take deposits, as a matter of course. It’s a no brainer.
I’ve been told a deposit feature is coming, at which point I will gladly amend my review. It’s my greatest wish to be able to take deposits on behalf of specific artists, those deposits would then be credited to the client’s name, so that when it’s time to check out, the deposit automatically comes off the total price of the session.
The other problem we’ve had is with the credit card processor that Ink Book uses. After the ease of use and slick hardware of Square, Card Connect has been a complete nightmare. Their hardware is flimsy and archaic (it’s embarrassing for our clients to see this junk), and requires a lot of attention, when all we want to do is dip or swipe a card. When the hardware does work, then there’s a chance that InkBook’s software won’t communicate with it. I’ve literally spent hours of my time on the phone trying to work out the glitches, so we can just take an f-ing credit card.
I suppose there’s some contractual thing that binds InkBook to CardConnect, which is really a shame, when there are plenty of competent card processors out there to choose from, whose tech current and whose hardware is from this decade.
I am going to stick with InkBook, because it does genuinely seem like they want to be better for the industry. After 28 years of having no real options, geared to tattoo studios, it is nice to finally have something built for us. I mean, there are countless studios, across the country and abroad, it’s absurd that it’s taken this long.
Again, I will edit my review, as changes are made...but I, for one, appreciate feedback as both a consumer and a business owner.