Timely is a mature, NZ-founded salon-management suite — calendar, POS, stock, staff. What it doesn't have is someone answering your clients at 9pm. Suddenly Sorted is that someone: Sally, an AI front desk on your own website that answers, books, reminds and collects reviews — at one flat price per business, not per staff member.
Fair-play note: Timely is a capable, widely used suite with real strengths. This page is an honest comparison — including where Timely may be the better fit for you.
Timely is a back-office suite. Suddenly Sorted is a front desk. The honest comparison is about which job you need done — and how the bill behaves as you grow.
| What matters | Suddenly SortedFlat-priced, NZ-built | Timely |
|---|---|---|
| Pricing model | Flat per business. Free, $29, $69 or $129/mo NZD (+GST) — the same price whether you're 1 chair or 10. | Priced per staff member — roughly NZ$42/staff/month on the entry plan up to ~$70/staff on the top tier, so a five-chair salon starts near $210/month before SMS.As of 2026; see gettimely.com for current rates. |
| Client-facing AI | Sally, an AI front desk on your website: answers questions, books, reschedules, handles group bookings and waitlists — 24/7, included in plans. | No client-facing AI receptionist at the time of writing; Timely's AI tools assist the owner (e.g. message drafting) rather than answering and booking for clients.As of July 2026; see gettimely.com. |
| Online booking | Conversational. Clients ask in plain English; Sally checks real availability and books it — no form-hunting. | Yes — an established online booking page and widget. |
| Website included | Yes. Sally builds you a bookable one-page website — even on the Free plan. | Booking page; a full website is your own to bring. |
| Reminders & reviews | Included. Friendly reminders that cut no-shows, plus automatic Google-review requests. | Yes — reminders and campaigns are part of the suite. |
| POS, stock, rostering | Not our lane. Deposits via Stripe, yes; tills, retail stock and rosters, no. | Yes — a genuinely deep salon-management suite. |
| NZ roots | Made in NZ, priced in NZD, supported from NZ by the founder. | Founded in Dunedin, NZ; now part of the EverCommerce group. |
| Leaving | Cancel anytime. Flat monthly plans, no lock-in contract, your data stays yours. | Subscription-based, billed per staff; check current terms for export and cancellation details.See gettimely.com. |
Competitor details reflect publicly available information at the time of writing and may change — always check gettimely.com for current pricing and features. We've deliberately avoided quoting exact Timely prices rather than risk misquoting them. You can also run Suddenly Sorted alongside Timely — Sally answers the questions your booking page can't, then drops the booking in.
Per-staff pricing feels fair on day one and grows quietly from there: hire a junior, add a chair, and the software bill climbs with it. Reviewers of per-staff suites often describe exactly this creep. We price the other way: one flat price per business — Free, $29, $69 or $129 a month NZD (+GST) — published on our pricing page, no per-staff multiplier, no surprise line items.
Start on the Free plan with no card, upgrade when it earns it, cancel anytime. And if something ever looks wrong on an invoice, you email hello@suddenly.co.nz and a founder fixes it — not a ticket queue.
Your software bill shouldn't be a tax on hiring.
A booking page waits for clients to figure it out. Sally goes and gets them. She's built on a salon-specific booking brain: services and durations, staff capabilities, processing gaps, group bookings, deposits and waitlists — so when someone types "got anything for a cut and colour Saturday?", she answers like a receptionist and books it correctly, without double-booking a chair.
Then she works the book: friendly reminders that cut no-shows, review requests after the appointment, and a nudge for regulars who are due back. At the time of writing, Timely's AI helps the owner write messages — it doesn't talk to your clients. That client-facing layer is exactly what we do.
Timely deserves its NZ credentials — it started in Dunedin and earned a big local install base. It's now part of a large international group, and a recurring theme in public reviews of bigger suites is how hard it can be to reach a person when billing or support goes sideways.
Suddenly Sorted is still the small, local version of that story: made in NZ, priced in NZD with GST handled properly, and supported by the founder. Email hello@suddenly.co.nz and the person who built the product reads it. For a business your size, being reachable is a feature.
Timely is a capable suite with over a decade of salon focus. If these describe you, it might genuinely be the better pick:
Point of sale, retail stock, rostering, consultation forms, deep reporting — Timely does the whole operations layer. We deliberately stick to the front desk.
Per-staff pricing hurts less when you actually need per-staff management — permissions, rosters, commissions and performance reporting across a large team.
If Timely already runs your day and you're happy, switching your system of record isn't free. (Though Sally can sit in front of it — you don't have to choose.)
Our lane is different: independent NZ salons, barbers and studios who want a front desk that answers and books for them — at one flat price that doesn't grow with headcount. If that's you, come see Sally work.
Try the live demo, or book a free 30-minute walkthrough with a real person. Free plan to start — no card, no commission, cancel anytime.
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