TanVision vs Helios

At a glance

The Helios column is taken from Helios's own website as of October 2026, linked in each cell. Several of its feature notes are dated news posts on that site, and the date is given where it matters. Where a page we read says nothing about a point, the cell says so rather than guessing.

How each one runs

As of October 2026, their software page describes Helios Version 12 as a point-of-sale salon program for a desktop operating system. The same page says Version 12 Enterprise is designed for any number of locations: the application is installed locally and uses an internet connection to reach the Helios Enterprise Network, where the main application and the salon's data are hosted, and Helios runs application updates and data backups. Their See How page describes Helios 12 Desktop for a single location and Enterprise as a hosted option for several.

The same See How page describes a Helios Backoffice reached from any internet connection with no software to install, for changing data and running reports away from the salon, and a dashboard app for phones and tablets showing total sales, EFT revenue, client counts and employee sales averages.

TanVision runs in a web browser instead, so there is nothing to install on the counter computer. It works on a counter computer, a tablet by the beds or an owner's phone, in a light or a dark theme, and every open desk screen redraws itself when something on the floor changes. TanVision is cloud software and needs a connection; offline running is not something it offers today.

Pricing

As of October 2026, none of the Helios pages we read publishes a price. Their home page offers a Get Pricing link, under its Marketing Hub heading, that opens an email to them, and their training page asks salons to call their sales department about training options.

Their software page says workstations can be added to Version 12 Enterprise without changing the software cost, and that a package from its marketing hub comes as a bonus when a salon signs up for Helios V12.

TanVision's price is on our pricing page.

Front desk and check-in

TanVision's desk is a live floor board: a tile or row for each room showing whether it is free, running or needs cleaning, and the time left. Staff scan a keytag or search, pick the package and the room, and type the minutes. The minutes box is never filled in for them.

Before a session starts, check-in checks the paperwork and the limits. A session cannot start without a signed warning statement, a date of birth, and guardian consent for a minor. For UV rooms, TanVision can recommend a session length from the client's skin type and tan build-up, and it refuses a typed time above the limit or above the room's own maximum. The limits follow the salon's own settings, capped at each unit's maximum. More on exposure safety.

On the Helios side, an August 2019 news post describes an option to make skin type mandatory: it logs the skin type, the employee who took it and the date, keeps a skin type history on the client profile, and when it is on, a UV tan cannot be set without it. A June 2021 update note adds a skin type questionnaire for clients on a supported device, recording the answers so employees can suggest products, beds and time. A November 2012 release note says that when a client is put on the wait list by a tan code, the time is issued to the timer automatically.

Packages and memberships

TanVision sells session packs and unlimited plans with expiry dates, daily or weekly visit limits and freezing. A package's sessions, price and expiry are locked in at the sale, and every manual correction records who made it and why. The salon decides which package opens which room, and an upgrade is rung up as a sale before the bed starts. See memberships and packages and bed levels and upgrades.

A monthly package in TanVision can bill on auto-pay: the client saves a card on the card processor's secure page, and TanVision charges it each period with the tax, on terms such as a setup fee, a minimum number of payments and a cancellation rule. A declined payment is tried again. Their card processing page describes card payments at the point of sale, paying with a card on file from the client's EFT billing profile, and an EFT draft process with a review list before each batch is submitted; when a draft fails, the balance plus any reject fee is recorded on the client's profile and can be set to stop service until it is paid, or after a grace period of days or visits. An October 2019 news post adds automated EFT submissions on Version 12 Enterprise, and a January 2021 news post adds a free trial period on a membership before billing starts, on Helios 12 Enterprise.

Where Helios does more today

If any of these matter to your salon, Helios lists them and TanVision does not offer them today.

• Paying at the point of sale with a card on file from the client's EFT billing profile, on their card processing page. TanVision keeps a card on file only for monthly auto-pay.
• An EFT draft process with a review list before each batch is submitted, and, when a draft fails, the balance plus any reject fee recorded on the client's profile, which can be set to stop service until it is paid, on their card processing page.
• An Enterprise version designed for any number of locations, on their software page.
• A program for the salon's own computer, per their software page, with a Desktop version for a single location, per their See How page.
• Chip card readers sold through Helios, per an October 2017 news post.
• A marketing hub for email and mobile marketing with automated triggers, salon websites and scheduled social media posts, on their Marketing Hub examples page.
• A dashboard app for phones and tablets, on their See How page.

TanVision does not run several locations from one account today, and it does not support timer brands other than T-Max yet. If your salon depends on either, raise it on a demo.

Switching

TanVision brings your client list, the packages clients still hold and their visit history in from spreadsheets saved as CSV, so a move is three imports plus fresh digital signatures. Keytags come in with the client list, and gift certificates sold before the switch are added by hand. The switching page has the full checklist.