A Mero alternative for salons, barbershops and clinics

When choosing a MERO alternative, separate two needs: being discovered through a public marketplace and managing bookings from your own channels. TimeNow suits salons and studios looking for direct booking, Romanian support and membership tracking, with a monthly subscription based on team size.

What Mero actually is

MERO combines a public marketplace with business profiles and reviews, and software with calendars, client records and notifications. Evaluate both functions separately: public discovery and day-to-day scheduling need different tests.

If you want to replace scheduling but keep marketplace visibility, confirm what remains available under the vendor’s account terms. Do not assume a public profile stays active after cancelling a subscription.

When a dedicated booking system makes sense

A dedicated system keeps booking, data and communication under your business name. TimeNow adds fixed RON pricing, account-free booking and automatic membership tracking.

• Clients see only your business, with no competing salons beside the schedule.
• Your cost stays predictable, however many new clients book.
• Memberships and packages are tracked automatically, including validity and remaining sessions.
• Visibility built through Google and social media stays yours, even if you later change booking systems.

What to check before leaving a marketplace

The same characteristics turn against you the moment your book is already full:

• Marketplace discovery. Count clients who actually discovered you there separately from existing clients who simply used the booking page.
• Team cost. Compare the subscription for every active calendar, not just the entry price; MERO states that appointment numbers are unlimited.
• You do not control the presentation. Page format, list order and what appears beside you are the platform decisions.
• Membership rules. Test remaining sessions, expiry dates and cancellations with your own package structure before choosing.
• Data and communication. Request an export demonstration and check which records you can take with you, including history and communication preferences.

What your alternatives are

A well-maintained Google Business Profile can support discovery alongside direct booking. Reviews associated with that profile are separate from the scheduling software, so replacing a calendar does not itself move or remove them.

Why choose TimeNow

TimeNow is a private system: a booking page under your brand, a widget for your own site, a client app in your colours, Romanian interface and support, a fixed price in RON from 99 RON a month. Clients book without an account. Memberships and packages count down their own sessions — the part marketplaces do worst.

TimeNow helps you build a direct client relationship. Every booking lands in your own calendar, without competitors on the same screen and without a platform mediating communication.

Can you run a marketplace and your own system?

Yes, under one rule, or it breaks: only one calendar takes bookings. If two platforms write into the same time slot without seeing each other, you will get two people at the same hour — and one double booking costs more than any monthly subscription.

1. Keep your own system as the single source of truth for the schedule.
2. Use the marketplace strictly as a shop window, exposing a limited set of slots.
3. Check daily for the first two weeks that nothing has overlapped.
4. If the platform will not let you cap the availability it exposes, pick one. It is not worth the risk.

How to move without losing clients

1. Ask for the client export before anything else, and check that it includes phone numbers.
2. Rebuild the service menu with real durations.
3. Send one message, with one link to the new booking page. Do not explain the migration; give the link.
4. Check what happens to the public profile after the subscription ends and update booking links you control.
5. Build your Google Business Profile in parallel, so visibility does not depend on a platform.