How does commission work — by stylist or by service?

Do you have a booking calendar?

How does the no-show charge work?

Multiple chairs / multi-location?

Does it remember a client's colour formula?

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Hair salons, nail bars & spas.

Every cut, colour, and blowout links to the stylist who did it. Tips land on the right paycheck — by stylist, not pooled. Commission rates per service type. Colour services deplete the real cream and developer mixed. Client formula history follows the customer record.

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What's in the Salon starter

•4 categories: Hair, Nails, Beauty, Retail.
•19 services: Cut (short / medium / long), blowout, root touch-up, full-head colour, balayage, toner, manicure, gel manicure, pedicure, brow shape, lash tint, plus 4 retail products.
•5 back-bar ingredients: colour cream, developer, toner, foils, bonding treatment.
•Cuts and blowouts are pure-labour services — no product taken off. Colour services take real cream and developer off automatically.

A real ticket

Sarah does a full-head colour for $95 — and on stock:

colour cream −120 g
developer −60 ml
foils −4, toner −50 ml

Client tips $20 → goes straight to Sarah's payout, not the pool. Sarah earns 40% commission on the service, 10% on the retail shampoo sold after. All on one line of the close-of-day report.

Designed around stylists

•Every service tags a stylist. The reports tell you who's productive, who upsells retail, who needs help.
•Tips by stylist, not pooled. Adjust per shop if you do pool tips — your call.
•Commission rate per stylist and per service type. Senior 45%, apprentice 25%; retail share 10%.
•Client formula history. “Last colour: 7N base, 6.43 highlights, 35 min process” — surfaces next time they sit in the chair.
•No-show fee on the saved card. Client gives card at first visit; we charge if they no-show on a booked appointment.

Why not the cheap option?

vs Square Appointments
Free tier looks attractive; the gap shows up at month-end. Tips pool, commission rates are uniform, colour-bar product deducts as a single fixed cost. The reconciliation work is yours.
vs Vagaro (~$25-65/mo)
Strong booking + marketing side. Commission and back-bar tracking are thin — most salons keep a separate spreadsheet for stylist payouts.
vs Mindbody
Enterprise pricing ($129+/mo per location, with serious onboarding). Built for chains and franchises; overkill for an independent salon.

Moving from Square Appointments, Vagaro or Mindbody?

→Client list + service catalogue import via CSV. Past appointment history stays on your old system; new bookings start fresh.
→Stylist roster, commission rates, and tip-routing rules are configured at setup — usually thirty minutes for a typical 4-6 stylist salon.
→Saved-card no-show fees use Stripe SetupIntents — bring your existing Stripe account, no separate processor.
→Booking calendar isn't built-in yet; for the calendar side keep Vagaro or Acuity in the short term, sync the appointment to a sale here at checkout.

Frequently asked questions

How does commission work — by stylist or by service?: Both. Each stylist has a default rate (senior 45%, apprentice 25%, etc.) that you can override per service type. Retail upsell carries its own rate (typically 10%). End-of-day report shows every stylist's gross + commission + tips in one line.
Do you have a booking calendar?: Not in V1. Most salons we talk to are happy with their existing booking tool (Vagaro, Acuity, Booksy) — we replace the till side. Booking + reminders + the calendar UI lands in a future release; today the cashier creates the order from the appointment at check-in.
How does the no-show charge work?: At first visit, save the customer's card (Stripe SetupIntent — bring your own Stripe account). If they no-show on a booked appointment, charge the no-show fee against the saved card. Per-salon policy text on the receipt.
Multiple chairs / multi-location?: Yes. Each chair has its own iPad / laptop till. Multi-location is the standard Pro plan at $69/store/month. Move retail stock between locations in one tap; commissions roll up per stylist across all sites.
Does it remember a client's colour formula?: Yes — formula history lives on the customer record. “Last colour: 7N base, 6.43 highlights, 35 min process” surfaces next time they sit in the chair. Capture it on the stylist's tablet at the moment of mixing.

Recommended hardware

•Front-desk till: iPad or laptop on the desk.
•Receipt printer: Star TSP143IIIBI (Bluetooth).
•Card terminal: Stripe Reader M2 (BYO Stripe account).
•Stylist tablet (optional): small iPad at the chair for formula capture at the moment of mixing.

New to this vertical? Read the salon & spa buyer guide →

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Stylists, services, retail, commission rates — all set up for you to edit.

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