Tips, bookings, and walk-ins — one clean stack.
Tip-aware processing, appointment-booking integrations, and pricing designed for appointment-based service.
The salon economics problem
Nail salons run on appointments, walk-ins, and tips — and every one of those interacts with the payment stack differently. A tip added to a card swipe shouldn't be surcharged. A no-show should be charged against a card on file without a dispute. A walk-in shouldn't slow down because the terminal is rebooting. We set up the merchant account around salon economics: tips excluded correctly, card-on-file for bookings, and hardware that keeps the chair moving.
The right program for this category
Cash Discount / Dual Pricing (0% processing)
Our first-choice program for this category.
Interchange-Plus if you'd rather not pass the fee
Honest pass-through alternative — no surprise markups.
Cash discount works as long as tips are correctly excluded from the surcharge calculation (we set that up at the terminal). If you'd rather not pass the fee on a service business, interchange-plus is a clean pass-through alternative.
Hardware, POS, and gateway matched to the category
Payment terminals
Dejavoo QD3 or Clover Flex at the front desk, Valor VL110 for chair-side checkout.
Point-of-sale systems
KwickPOS has a dedicated nail salon configuration with service menu management, tip handling, and appointment workflow built in. Alternatively, integrate your existing booking platform (Vagaro, Booker, GlossGenius, Fresha) with Clover or EposNow at the counter.
Gateway
NMI for online booking deposits and gift card sales.
Add-ons and integrations
Tip-exclusion configured at the terminal, tokenized card-on-file for no-show protection, online booking deposits, loyalty program.
Category-specific safeguards
- Correct MCC 7230 placement
- Tip and tax exclusion configured at the terminal
- Tokenized card-on-file for no-show protection
- PCI support included
Common questions
Will my Vagaro booking system still work?
Yes. We connect to the processor underneath Vagaro (or similar systems) rather than replacing the booking platform you already run on.
Can we hold a card for no-shows?
Yes. We provision tokenized card-on-file so you can authorize at booking and charge a no-show fee per your cancellation policy.
Can techs run their own checkout on mobile?
Yes. We provide handhelds so payment can happen chair-side instead of at the front desk.
Ready for a real quote?
Send your last statement. A specialist returns the math and the program that fits your business — usually the same day.