Persona VS GlossGenius

Finding the right operating system for conducting your work is essential as a business owner. After all, it’s always best to work smarter, not harder. So whether you feel overwhelmed when scheduling client meetings or tracking your earnings and expenses, or you’d like to have more time to focus on your services, proper software is the way to go. But deciding on one app can a daunting. There are many elements you need to consider. For example, if the app’s services provided are directly proportionate to the monthly or annual fee you’d have to pay to use the app. Or if there is a different app out there that’s more suitable to your business needs and wants. 

On that note, let’s take a look at Persona and GlossGenius, two operating systems for entrepreneurs.

Persona vs GlossGenius – Features	Gloss Genius	Persona
Payment collection and reminders	✅	✅
Scheduling and booking	✅	✅
Client Management	✅	✅
Real Business Account	❌	✅
Full FDIC Insurence	❌	✅
100% free forever	❌	✅
Expenses Management	❌	✅
Business Visa Card	❌	✅
App not required for the client to book	❌	✅
Automatic tax calculation and savings	❌	✅
No-fee business checking account	❌	✅
Built specifically for self-employed pros	❌	✅

What they offer

Persona is an operating system for fitness, beauty, and wellness professionals. Scoring 5.0 on the AppStore and 4.8 on GooglePlay, Persona offers a variety of services designed to help entrepreneurs focus on providing the best services to their clients without the added concern of having to manage the business side things regularly. Persona prides itself on being an intuitive business & financial management platform and having a 60-second application process. On its official website, Persona describes its services as “only what you need to grow your business. No fluff.”

The app can be easily downloaded on both IoS and Android and offers the following services:

• Payment Collection: you can sell services, collect payments from clients, send them reminders, and track package usage all from within the platform
• Client Scheduling: clients can book pre-approved timeslots by themselves, without having to go through you
• Your Own Online Store: Persona designs a personalized store for each of its users; you can share the link with your clients, and they can purchase any of your services without having to go through you and without having to download anything
• Taxes: the platform does your taxes for you, thus providing you with full transparency into your future tax liability. And when the time comes, Persona automatically generates your Schedule C, so you have one less thing to worry about
• Expense Management: you can track your deductible expenses through the platform, thus saving hundreds of dollars in the process
• Credit Card: after signing up, you will receive your Persona card within days; you can use your card to buy industry related products and services at discounts 
• Real Business Account: Persona provides you with every feature of your traditional bank account through its financial partners — Goldman Sachs & Stripe Payments Company
• FDIC Insurance Eligible: when using Persona, all your money is fully FDIC insured

GlossGenius is an app designed to attract clients and grow your business by providing an all-in-one tool for booking, receiving payments, and marketing your work. Scoring 4.6 on GooglePlay and 4.8 on the AppStore, GlossGenius prides itself on being an app that helps “entrepreneurs with clients, appointments, notes, formulas, services, retail or more.” Furthermore, on its official website, GlossGenius mentions that it takes less than five minutes to see and feel a difference after using its services.

The app can be downloaded on both IoS and Android, and offers its users:

• Custom Booking Website: you can set it up in 5 minutes, customize it based on your needs and wants, and share it with clients
• Track Your Earnings: with smart analytics, you can track your earnings through the app
• Appointment Reminders: the app takes care of reminders for appointments at no extra cost

Pricing

When comparing Persona and GlossGenius, one significant difference worth mentioning is pricing. For starters, Persona is 100% free, always. This means no monthly fees, overdraft fees, or minimum balance requirements. Whether you’ve recently started your business or have been a business owner for a while now, it’s safe to say that these past few years have been hard on all of us, especially when it comes to the financial side of things. Persona offers its users a wide variety of services at no charge, therefore taking a load off the shoulders of entrepreneurs like yourself. Your client scheduling, payment collection, online store, and expense management are all taken care of at no expense. Furthermore, the app generates your Schedule C, does your taxes, and helps you save money. By offering free services, Persona allows you to invest your money into other aspects of running your business.

GlossGenius, on the other hand, charges its users a $24 monthly fee with basic add-ons for up to eight people. Within this charge are included a 2.6% payment processing fee, a 49% one-time card reader fee, and the following services at no extra cost: card-on file fee, hidden payment fee, new client referral fee, copying over prior books, custom design website, automated client reminders, text, and e-mail marketing, and custom permission for employees. 

On its official website, GlossGenius compares its prices with those of other similar apps, like Vagaro and Booksy, making it a point to highlight that its services cost significantly lower than those of other apps. For example, Vagaro’s monthly fee with basic add-ones for one person is $55, and for eight people it’s $115. 

One nice thing worth mentioning about GlossGenius’ subscription is that it allows you to start a free trial. If you decide the app is not the right choice for you at any point before your trial ends, you can simply cancel your account. 

Similarities & Differences

By now, it’s clear that the two platforms have some things in common. For example, both offer a personalized online store that you can share with your clients, help you with tracking expenses, and send reminders to clients. However, there’s no denying that the differences are more significant than the similarities. For starters, Persona offers more services at no cost, whereas GlossGenius charges a monthly subscription. In addition, Persona includes all of the services that the latter provides, and then some. 

One similarity worth mentioning is that both platforms pride themselves on a quick application process, which can be extremely useful for any business entrepreneur. After all, everyone is tired of dealing with bureaucracy and jumping through hoops. Fortunately, there is hope for business owners like yourself. Persona and GlossGenius make it easy to sign up and use their services. The latter prides itself on the speed at which users can see results, saying that it takes five minutes for a difference to be noticeable. Similarly, Persona makes it a point to mention on its official website that the application process is quick and painless, as it only takes 60 seconds.

Despite the similarities, it’s apparent that out of the two platforms, Persona is the only one that goes the extra mile by also doing your taxes, providing you with the features and benefits of a real bank account, and ensuring that your money is FDIC insured. The platform allows you to tag every deductible expense directly from your transactions list, thus shrinking your tax bill by 15%. 

As far as the pricing is concerned, there’s no denying that GlossGenius’ prices are lower than those of other similar apps. For example, the GlossGenius charges $24 for a monthly subscription, whereas Vagaro charges $115. However, when comparing them to Persona’s, these charges are an added expense that must be considered. At the end of the day, for similar (if not better) results, free will always be better than $24/month.

And while both platforms help you track your earnings, Persona saves you money by keeping track of your deductible. This means that you’ll be able to automatically save a percentage of any incoming funds to make sure you never come up short. Yet, there is one more difference worth mentioning between the two.

While GlossGenius also allows you to track your earnings with smart analytics, Persona provides you with a personal card right after signing up. You can use the card to buy industry-related products at great discounts, and receive up to 10% cashback for your favorite brands.

Conclusion

As a fitness, beauty, or wellness entrepreneur, you probably feel exhausted. Unfortunately, work burnout is real, and we all need help at times. Thankfully, technology has afforded us tools like mobile apps designed specifically to ease the business side of things for business owners like yourself. Yet, there are many to choose from, and deciding may not always be as simple as it sounds. So, before deciding on the right software for your business, it’s essential to understand your needs, target clientele, and budget. Are you able and willing to pay for a monthly subscription? Are you satisfied with the services provided by the platform? What about the reviews you’ve read – are they satisfactory?

These questions are essential when deciding what software to use for running your business. After all, you’ll be trusting that platform with the business side of things. The choice you make can greatly influence your performance as an entrepreneur. This is why Persona prides itself on providing you with complete transparency and the safety and security of the app’s financial partners, Goldman Sachs & Stripe Payments Company, while also providing you with the benefits of being part of the online economic revolution.