Skip to content

Account setup: Google, Meta, WhatsApp, email

Research from 2026-10-21. Prices and menus change often: check them on each provider's site before you sign up.

A step-by-step guide for opening the salon's online accounts before the salon opens.

Situation

  • Salon name: Alpform & Flow Massage (decided 2026-10-29, see Branding). Domain alpformflow.ch registered.
  • Login email: the therapist has a separate Gmail address for the business. This is fine.
  • Business phone: none yet. The plan for now is to use the therapist's private number (see Phone number).
  • Premises: the contract is signed. The keys come in December 2026.
  • Goal: have everything set up before December, and ideally have first clients booked for the opening.

Order of steps

  1. ~~Decide the salon name.~~ Done 2026-10-29: Alpform & Flow Massage.
  2. Get a second phone number on an eSIM (recommended, see below).
  3. Create the Facebook Page, then the Business Portfolio (add a second admin), then the Instagram professional account linked to the Page.
  4. Install WhatsApp Business on the salon number and link it to the Page and Instagram.
  5. Create the Google Business Profile now, choose "Verify later", and set the opening date.
  6. ~~Buy the domain~~ (done 2026-10-29: alpformflow.ch at Infomaniak), then set up the email (info@alpformflow.ch).
  7. December: put up a sign (a temporary one is fine), then verify Google by video.

Login email and access

A separate Gmail address is fine as the login for Google, Meta, the booking tool and other platforms. Google Business Profile needs a Google account anyway.

  • Turn on 2-step verification and set a recovery phone number.
  • Keep the password in a password manager. Never write passwords in these docs.
  • Add a second owner or admin on every platform, so access is not lost if one account is locked.
  • Later, when the domain exists, show the domain email (e.g. info@alpformflow.ch) on the website, in the Impressum and in the listings. Keep the Gmail only as the login. Every platform lets you change or add the contact email later, so nothing is lost.

Google Business Profile

You can create the profile now and verify it later. During setup there is a "Verify later" option.

When What you can do
Now (not verified) Create the profile: name, category (e.g. "Massage spa"), address, phone, website. It is not visible on Google Maps or Search yet.
December, with the keys Verify the business, usually by a live video on a phone: the sign outside, the entrance, the treatment room and proof that you run the business (keys, a payment terminal). A sign with the salon name must be up before filming, a temporary one is fine. The review takes up to 5 business days.
Opening date Set a future opening date (only the month and year are required, up to one year ahead). After verification the profile shows "Opening soon" up to 90 days before that date. You can publish posts and photos about the opening. Clients cannot post reviews until the salon is open. [verify] These rules come from an older Google help page.

Do not verify with another address

Do not use a home address or a "service area" to appear on Maps earlier. This breaks Google's rules, and the profile can be suspended.

Links:

Facebook and Instagram (Meta)

  • Facebook Page: Facebook needs a personal profile first. The Page is created from it, and visitors do not see which profile owns it.
  • Business Portfolio (Meta Business Suite): keeps the Page, Instagram, WhatsApp and the ad account in one place. Add a second admin.
  • Instagram: switch to a professional (Business) account and link it to the Facebook Page. Ads need this link.

Links:

WhatsApp vs. WhatsApp Business

Both apps are free and use the same encryption. For the client they look almost the same. The Business app adds tools for the salon:

Feature WhatsApp WhatsApp Business
Business profile: address, hours, website, category, description, email ❌ ✅
"Business account" label for clients ❌ ✅
Catalog: services with prices and photos ❌ ✅
Greeting message for a first contact ❌ ✅
Away message: automatic reply outside opening hours, e.g. with the booking link ❌ ✅
Quick replies: saved answers, e.g. "/price", "/parking" ❌ ✅
Labels and lists: e.g. new client, booked, paid, package ❌ ✅
Link to Facebook/Instagram (WhatsApp button on the profile) and ads that open a WhatsApp chat ❌ ✅
Landline numbers ❌ ✅ (code by phone call)
Path to the WhatsApp Business API (automation, Phase 2) ❌ ✅ [verify] exact migration steps

Rule: one phone number can be used in only one of the two apps.

Links:

Phone number

If the therapist's private number moves to WhatsApp Business:

  • her private chats (friends, family) move into the Business app;
  • her private number becomes public: on Google, the website, the Impressum, flyers and ads;
  • changing the number later means updating every listing and every printed item.

Recommendation: get a second number on an eSIM now (prepaid or a cheap plan from a Swiss provider, about CHF 0–20 per month [verify]). The phone holds both numbers: normal WhatsApp on the private number, WhatsApp Business on the salon number. It is still one phone, work and private life stay separate, and the number belongs to the salon. See meeting questions 24 and 38 in Meeting: questions before we start.

Business email on the domain

How it works

  1. Buy the domain: done, alpformflow.ch at Infomaniak (2026-10-29).
  2. Choose an email provider. It is often the same company as the domain registrar.
  3. Create one mailbox, e.g. info@alpformflow.ch, and add aliases such as booking@ and hello@ that arrive in the same inbox. Aliases are usually free, so you pay for one mailbox only.
  4. Connect the email to the domain: add the MX, SPF, DKIM and DMARC records in the registrar's DNS settings (about 30 minutes; many providers do it automatically when the domain is with them). Without these records, emails can land in spam. See Domain, hosting, email.
  5. Read the email on the phone in the iPhone/Android Mail app, the provider's app or the Gmail app (add it as another account with IMAP). Google is ending the old Gmail feature that fetches mail from other accounts (POP) [verify], so use the IMAP account option.

Costs

Option .ch domain Email Total per year Notes
Infomaniak (Swiss) ~CHF 9 per year 1 address free with the domain; more mailboxes cost extra ~CHF 9–20 Cheapest. Data stays in Switzerland. Good apps. Recommended.
Hostpoint (Swiss) ~CHF 5 in year 1, then ~CHF 15 from ~CHF 3 per month (~CHF 5 after 12 months) ~CHF 50–75 Well known in Switzerland, more expensive.
Google Workspace separate (~CHF 10–15) ~CHF 7 per user per month (annual plan), without VAT ~CHF 95–100 Gmail interface plus a shared Drive and calendar. Data outside Switzerland. Only worth it if we want Google's tools for the business.

All prices [verify] before buying.

For one therapist: Infomaniak, one mailbox, with info@ and booking@ as aliases, for about CHF 10–20 per year.

After the domain email works, change the contact email on Google Business Profile, Facebook, Instagram, WhatsApp, the booking tool and the Impressum. The Gmail address can stay as the login.

Booking tool emails

Neither booking tool sends client emails from our own address on the plans we tested:

  • Cal.com (free): emails come from Cal.com. With Custom Reply-To (a verified email set on the event type), client replies go to our address. Sending from our own domain needs custom SMTP, which is only on the Organizations plan.
  • Dikidi: does not send emails to clients at all. Client notifications go by Push (the DIKIDI Online app), paid SMS, WhatsApp or Telegram. Email is only used for staff alerts.

See Booking tool: buy or build?.

Which platforms cost money?

All the basic accounts are free. You pay only for ads, SMS and optional extras.

Platform Account Paid (optional)
Google Business Profile ✅ Free, always Google Ads. Google never charges for the profile. Ignore phone calls that sell "Google verification" or "top ranking": this is a common scam.
Facebook Page, Instagram, Meta Business Suite ✅ Free Ads; Meta Verified (a paid subscription with a badge and support), not needed
WhatsApp Business app ✅ Free Meta Verified (optional). The WhatsApp Business API (Phase 2 automation) charges per message for reminder and marketing templates [verify]
TikTok Business, YouTube ✅ Free Ads
Apple Business Connect, Bing Places ✅ Free —
local.ch / search.ch ✅ Basic listing is free Paid visibility packages (Localsearch), not needed at the start. Beware of fake "register entry" invoices, which are common in Switzerland: never pay for a directory you did not order.
Booking tool Cal.com (chosen 2026-10-24): free Paid plans only for teams or extra features [verify] when needed
Website Static hosting is free (e.g. GitHub Pages) or a few CHF per month —
Domain + email ~CHF 10–20 per year (Infomaniak) —
Second phone number (eSIM) ~CHF 0–20 per month [verify] —
Payments Business bank account ~CHF 0–10 per month [verify] TWINT and card payments ~1.3–1.7% per payment; a card reader (e.g. SumUp) once ~CHF 40–80 [verify]

Minimum fixed costs before ads: about CHF 10–20 per year (domain + email), plus the second number. The real spending is advertising (see Marketing; our budget is in the private notes), and SMS reminders if we want them [verify] the price in Cal.com.

Before opening: getting first clients

As soon as the name is decided:

  • Instagram and Facebook: posts like "Opening in December in Saanen", setting up the studio, introducing the therapist, what an anti-cellulite massage is. No paid ads yet; a small campaign 2–3 weeks before opening.
  • Website: a simple "Opening soon" page with the opening offer and a booking calendar that only allows dates from the opening day (in Cal.com: the date range of the event type).
  • WhatsApp Business: the business profile and an away message, e.g. "We open on 1 December, book here: link".
  • Local partners: flyers with a QR code for hotels, chalet agencies and gyms before opening.
  • Google: the profile appears after verification in December (see above).

Sources