Med spa equipment list: what you need to open, and what can wait
The short answer. A clinic opens on one device it can keep busy, two properly fitted rooms, and the unglamorous list — sterilisation, linens, a booking system, a way to take payment. Everything else is a year-two decision pretending to be a launch decision.
The most expensive mistake at this stage is not buying the wrong device. It is buying a second one before the first has a full calendar.
Every supplier you speak to will present their platform as essential. It is worth remembering that a clinic is a room, a qualified person and an appointment — the device is what that person uses, not what the business is. Below is what genuinely has to be in the building on opening day, what waits, and the checks to run before any of it is paid for.
Day one: the list you cannot open without
| Category | What it is | Why it is day one |
|---|---|---|
| One treatment platform | The device that carries your core service | It is your menu. Choose it after you have settled what you are legally able to offer |
| Treatment beds and stools | One per room, adjustable, plus a rolling stool | A bed that does not adjust properly costs your staff their backs |
| Sterilisation and infection control | Autoclave or single-use protocol, sharps disposal, PPE | Non-negotiable, and inspectable |
| Linens and consumables | Enough to run a full day twice over | Laundry turnaround is slower than you expect in week one |
| Booking system and POS | Online booking, calendar, payment, client records | The booking link is your most important marketing asset |
| Room lighting and a magnifier | Controllable light at the bed | You cannot assess skin under ceiling light |
| Reception basics | Seating, counter, retail shelf | First impression, and where rebooking happens |
Pick the device after the menu, not before
The order most people use is backwards: they fall for a platform at a trade show, then build a menu around it, then discover a service on that menu needs someone they have not hired. Settle what you can legally offer and who will perform it first — what you can and cannot offer without a physician — then buy the device that serves it.
One device, fully booked, beats two half-booked
Two platforms double your fixed costs and your training burden, and they split your marketing attention across two audiences before you have either. A single device with a full calendar is a healthier business than two with gaps, and it is a much easier one to run with a small team.
What can wait until the calendar tells you
- The second platform. Wait until the first one is genuinely full, not busy-feeling. Full means you are turning bookings away or extending hours.
- A dedicated body or contouring device. Different audience, different marketing, different season — see the seasonal calendar.
- Deep retail stock. Start narrow. Retail that does not move is cash sitting on a shelf with an expiry date.
- Custom cabinetry and the feature wall. Clients notice cleanliness and competence long before joinery.
- A third and fourth room. Build them shell-ready if the lease allows, and fit them out when the first two are full.
Three checks before anything is paid for
Is the device licensed in Canada?
Aesthetic lasers and IPL platforms are medical devices here. Class II, III and IV devices require an active Medical Device Licence, and only licensed devices may be marketed in Canada. Look it up yourself in Health Canada’s Medical Devices Active Licence Listing — it is free, public and searchable by device or company name.1 A supplier who cannot give you a licence number is telling you something. More in is that laser Health Canada licensed?
What does it cost to keep running?
Ask for consumables and the service contract as separate annual figures, in writing, before you agree to anything. They are usually quoted last, they never stop, and on some platforms they are the reason a cheap purchase turns expensive. Ask what a handpiece replacement involves and how long parts take to arrive — a device out of service takes a room out of production.
Will the building take it?
A large platform can need a dedicated circuit, sometimes at higher voltage, and an older building may not have panel capacity for several of them. Get an electrician into the unit before the lease is signed rather than after. This and the plumbing stack are the two things that most often turn a build-out quote into a different number.
The things nobody puts on the list
A second set of everything consumable. You will run out of something in week one. Having a spare of the small things is the difference between a delay and a cancelled appointment.
Somewhere for staff to eat. A clinic with no back-of-house is a clinic where the team eats in a treatment room, and clients notice.
Signage in both languages. Required in Quebec and easy to leave until the week you open, which is the week it costs the most to rush.
Training time in the calendar. Device training is not the same as being good at the treatment. Book the gap between delivery and the first paying client, and protect it.
How this fits the rest of the budget is in what it costs to open a med spa in Canada, and the buy-or-lease decision in lease or buy your equipment.
Frequently asked
What equipment does a med spa actually need to open?
One treatment platform you can keep busy, properly fitted rooms with adjustable beds and controllable light, sterilisation and infection control, linens, and a booking system that takes payment. Everything beyond that is a later decision.
Should I buy one device or two?
One. Two platforms double the fixed cost, the training burden and the marketing attention required, before you have proved either. Add the second when the first is genuinely full.
How do I check a device is legal to use in Canada?
Search Health Canada’s Medical Devices Active Licence Listing by device or company name. Class II, III and IV devices need an active licence, and only licensed devices may be marketed in Canada.
What do suppliers leave out of the quote?
Consumables and the service contract, usually. Ask for both as separate annual figures in writing, plus what a handpiece replacement involves and how long parts take to arrive.
Can I open with refurbished equipment?
Yes, if it holds an active Health Canada licence and comes with transferable service. The service arrangement matters more than the age — a fault with no support takes a room out of production indefinitely.
Next in this series
Sources
- Health Canada, Medical Devices Active Licence Listing (MDALL). Checked 30 August 2026.
General information for people planning a clinic in Canada — not legal, medical or purchasing advice. Device classification and licensing requirements change; verify any platform in Health Canada’s listing and confirm scope of practice with your own advisors before committing. This page publishes no cost figures. Nothing here is a representation of the financial performance of any New Age Spa location or franchise, and it is not an offer to sell a franchise; where the law requires one, an offer is made only by disclosure document.
