Switching
From Acuity Scheduling to goldenhour.
Acuity (now branded "Squarespace Scheduling") is a generic-appointment platform at $20–$61/mo. It handles haircuts, dentists, coaches, photographers: all on the same engine. If you want vertical-specific tooling for the beauty world (intake-by-service, photo consent + watermark, DHA tracking, bridal locks), the dedicated surface on goldenhour will feel like a different category.
Why artists make the switch
What you'll get here.
Beauty-specific surface, not generic scheduling
Intake forms with medical/contraindication flags per service, photo consent + watermark + face-blur, spray-tan rinse-window automations, DHA exposure tracking, bridal-package locks, in-home setup checklist. Acuity is appointment-shaped.
Mobile-first wedges Acuity lacks
Travel zones with per-zone fees, GPS check-in, masked-number SMS chat, drive-buffer minutes that pad availability. Acuity supports mobile artists but with much lighter tooling than a dedicated mobile-first PMS.
AI features included (opt-in)
Growth analyst Q&A, intake-form TL;DR, voice-note transcription, auto-tag suggestions, smart per-client rebook cadence. Acuity has integrations but no native AI surface.
Custom domain (book.yourbrand.com) included
Acuity's hosted URL is <you>.as.me: usable but not premium. We provision CNAME-based custom domains with TLS at no extra charge.
Where they win today
What you'd give up.
Honest list. If any of these are deal-breakers, stay on Acuity Scheduling: we'd rather you be on the right tool for you than churn from us in 30 days.
Zapier + native integrations breadth
Acuity has years of native integrations (Mailchimp, ConvertKit, QuickBooks, ActiveCampaign, etc.). If you rely on Zapier connectivity beyond what we ship natively, you'd lose the deepest integration catalog on a switch.
Squarespace site integration
If your marketing site is on Squarespace, Acuity slots in seamlessly because they're now owned by Squarespace. We have an auto-resizing iframe embed (drop a script tag on your Squarespace page) that works almost as well, but the deeper Squarespace ecosystem is a Squarespace-property lock-in.
How to export from Acuity Scheduling
Pull your data out.
- Sign into Acuity's web dashboard at app.squarespacescheduling.com.
- Left nav → Clients → top-right "Export Clients" → CSV. Email arrives in a minute.
- Left nav → Reports → "Appointment List" → set last 12 months → "Export" → CSV.
- Settings → Appointment Types. There's no clean CSV export; screenshot each type's config. We recreate as services.
- Settings → Intake Form Questions → each form has a "View / Edit" link → screenshot the question list. We recreate.
- Email all files to support@goldenhourhq.com with subject "Acuity migration": same-day ingest in most cases, with a 30-min setup call.
Stuck on any step? Email support@goldenhourhq.com. We've done Acuity Schedulingexports before: happy to screen-share through the part that's blocking you.
What we import
Clean ingest.
- Client list: name, phone, email, birthday, notes
- Appointment history: date, service, status, price
- Service catalog (recreated from screenshots)
- Intake form questions (recreated from screenshots)
- Booking notes
- Cancellation + no-show history (powers no-show-risk classifier)
What needs reconfiguring
Five-minute jobs.
Stuff that can't come over via CSV: usually because each platform structures it differently. We walk through each on the setup call (or via email).
- Stripe Connect: Acuity supports Stripe natively, so if you're already on Stripe via Acuity, the oauth handoff is clean. We import your Stripe account id and you stay on the same processor; cards-on-file customers re-tokenize on first booking through goldenhour.
- Booking page slug: claim a handle on goldenhourhq.com or point a custom domain CNAME at us.
- Acuity URL (<you>.as.me): update Instagram bio, Google My Business, anywhere you'd previously linked. Keep the Acuity URL live for 30 days during the transition to redirect existing bookmarks.
- Zapier flows: if you have Zaps connecting Acuity to other tools, they'll break on the switch. We don't have a Zapier integration today; check whether the destination tool has a native goldenhour integration first, or use webhooks.
- Squarespace embed: if your Squarespace site embeds Acuity's calendar, swap the snippet for our auto-resize iframe (see /app/share for the new code block).
The money side
What you'll save.
- Subscription: Acuity $20–$61/mo depending on tier → goldenhour $19.99/mo (founding) or $39.99/mo (standard). At Acuity's higher tiers the savings are real; at the lowest tier you're paying for capability + a beauty-specific surface.
- No platform commission either way.
- Stripe processing: both pass through standard Stripe rates (2.9% + 30¢ online).
- Add-on packs avoided: Acuity SMS reminders ($5/mo + per-message), advanced custom-CSS on the booking page (higher tier only), team scheduling (higher tier).
See full pricing detail at /pricing.
Ready to start?
Sign up takes a minute. Send the export and we'll handle the import within a business day. Most artists are running their first live booking on goldenhour within 1–2 days.