salon pos system
Salon POS systems
A salon POS (point-of-sale) system is the checkout layer of the business: it rings up the service, takes the card, prompts for the tip, sells retail off the shelf, and records every line against the stylist who earned it. It is distinct from the booking calendar, though most modern platforms bundle the two so the appointment flows straight into the ticket. Under the hood a POS is really two things stitched together: the register software (services, retail, discounts, gift cards, tabs) and the payments processor that moves the money and pays you out.
For an independent operator this is where margin is actually made or lost. Services run on a thin 8.2% net margin, while professional retail products carry roughly 50% margin versus about 8% on services, so a POS that makes shelf sales one tap at checkout is not a convenience, it is the profit lever. It is also where your two largest cost lines get reconciled: commission and retail splits and the 8 to 12% of revenue tied up in back-bar and retail stock. Get the checkout wrong and every one of those numbers gets guessed at instead of counted.
The right system quietly returns time and accuracy. Salon software of this kind saves owners 5 to 7 hours a week on the admin that used to happen after close, and because ticket size swings hard by format (from $216 at a med spa to $77 at a salon), the POS you choose has to fit how your specific business actually charges. See how this connects to the AI capability in payments and retail.
By the numbers
The economics behind POS systems.
How to choose
Buying POS systems as an independent.
- Look at the true cost of processing, not the sticker rate. Compare the effective percentage plus the per-transaction fee, any monthly software fee, and the hardware cost of the terminal. A flat-rate processor is simpler to predict; interchange-plus can be cheaper at volume but harder to read. Ask whether the processing rate is locked in or the vendor can reprice it.
- Insist that retail and inventory live in the same POS. Because retail carries roughly 50% margin against about 8% on services and stock is 8 to 12% of revenue, you want back-bar depletion and shelf sales counted at the register, not tracked in a separate spreadsheet you stop updating by March.
- Check how it handles payroll and splits. Your staff are 48 to 55% of sales, and most stylists sit in a 50 to 59% commission band with retail commission on top, so the POS should calculate service and retail splits, booth rent, and tip disbursement without you exporting to do the math by hand.
- Make tipping frictionless at the terminal. One in five stylists get about 20% of their income from tips, so an on-screen prompt that routes the tip to the right person, and reconciles it against card settlement, is not a nice-to-have for the people working your chairs.
- Decide whether it replaces your booking tool or bolts onto it. Some POS platforms are all-in-one; others process payments on top of a calendar you already run. Pick deliberately so you are not forced to abandon a booking setup that works just to change how you take a card.
- Confirm the practical realities: how fast payouts land, whether it keeps ringing sales in offline mode when the internet drops, and how gift cards, packages, and refunds are handled. These edge cases are where a POS either saves a busy Saturday or breaks it.
The tools
Leading POS systems, vendor-neutral.
Head-to-head
The comparisons buyers actually search.
Where SalonAI fits
Your POS is a source for sales, deposits, refunds, tips, and product movements. A salon AI plan can connect those records to inventory, reconciliation, client care, and owner reporting. Keep systems that serve you. Verify supported access, shared records, permissions, and running costs in Founden before activating a connection.
Questions
What buyers ask.
What is the difference between a salon POS system and salon booking software?
Do I need a separate payment processor, or is it built into the POS?
Why does retail selling matter so much at the POS?
Will a POS handle stylist commissions and tips?
Can SalonAI work with the POS I already use?
Ready when you are
Your craft. Your business. Your salon AI.
Build the digital and administrative side of your salon around the way you work. Take your plan into Founden to connect growth, client care, daily operations, money, and owner insights.
Built with Founden. Review your setup and running costs before activation.