Why We Started Zivly
Zivly started with a simple, frustrating observation: Canadian salon owners - running real businesses, hiring real people, paying real Canadian taxes - were stuck paying foreign software companies to run their day-to-day. And those companies didn't really care about Canada.
We watched it play out, again and again. A popular global booking platform launched as "free for solo professionals" - and small Canadian operators jumped in. Then, almost overnight, the free plan disappeared. Suddenly the same owners were stuck paying monthly subscriptions, processing fees, and hidden marketplace charges they never signed up for.
Another widely-used POS system was charging clients tip prompts and convenience fees on top of every transaction - money the salon never saw, and the customer didn't realize was discretionary. A US-based platform priced everything in USD with prices that quietly increased 35–40% the second they hit a Canadian credit card.
Across the board, the same playbook: bait with a low price, lock in customers with painful migrations, then layer on add-ons, marketplace fees, processing markups, and surprise increases. Small Canadian salons - already operating on tight margins in a tough economy - were footing the bill for software companies that had never set foot in Toronto, Mississauga, or Halifax.
So We Built One. The Right Way.
Zivly is built in Toronto, for Canada. Our domain is .ca on purpose. Our pricing is in CAD on purpose. Our support is Canadian, our team is Canadian, and our focus is on one country - ours.
We built Zivly because we believe the small business owners who keep our communities running - the barber on the corner, the salon you've been going to for ten years, the spa that opened during the pandemic and is still hanging on - deserve software that's on their side. Not against them.
What We Promise
- Honest pricing in CAD. What you see is what you pay. No surprise increases. No "your card was declined in USD" emails.
- No hidden fees. No marketplace commissions on bookings you generate. No upcharges on customers without your knowledge. The price is the price.
- Built for Canadian businesses. Tax handling, terminology, payment processors, support hours - all designed for how Canadian salons actually operate.
- No bait-and-switch. If something is free, it stays free. If a feature is included, it stays included. We grow when you grow - not by quietly squeezing you.
For Canada. Period.
The Canadian beauty industry is full of incredible operators - people who built loyal client bases without venture capital, marketing teams, or international scale. They deserve a software partner who's on their side, who answers when they call, and who isn't trying to flip them to the next pricing tier.
We're not trying to be the biggest salon software in the world. We're trying to be the best one for Canada.
Thanks for reading. If you run a salon, spa, or barbershop here, we hope to earn your trust.
- The Zivly Team 🍁