Managing daily takings, cashing up, and staff tips has long been a stressful part of the day for salon teams. Is there a way to make things easier? IQ Pay, SalonIQ’s all-in-one payment solution may have the answer.
Abbie Serafin, head of IQ Pay at SalonIQ, discusses how to improve client retention, cashing up, team tips, and how IQ Pay is making a real difference to salon teams up and down the country.
Avoiding Mistakes When Cashing Up
Cashing up can be challenging at times. Thankfully, IQ Pay feeds automatically into SalonIQ, so there’s no room for mistyping or missed bills. With traditional cashing up, a team member could accidentally enter £1 instead of £100, which is of course going to create issues.
This is where the integration comes in, as SalonIQ automatically sends the amount directly to the card terminal. It gives the team reassurance – they know they don’t need to cross reference, run reports, or deal with multiple pieces of paper. It’s all on SalonIQ.
“These are easy mistakes to make and they do happen,” Abbie said. “I know I’ve done it myself. When I was a stylist, I took payment for a client and missed a zero off – the bill was meant to be £150 and I charged £15. This system completely solves this problem and takes the weight off the team’s shoulders. They’re not having to add anything up, it’s all there for them, and it removes the worry of making a mistake.”
TipSmart
TipSmart is SalonIQ’s integrated tipping solution. It’s transforming the way salons handle tips, helping stylists develop stronger relationships with their clients and empower their teams. The team get all their tips directly, and they’re being paid completely fairly and transparently.
“Our most recent statistics show just over 1,300 team members are benefitting,” Abbie added. “This is a mixture of clinicians, stylists, therapists and barbers, and they’re all receiving tips via TipSmart into their own Revolut account. So far this year we’ve had over 100,000 tips being left via TipSmart, which is absolutely incredible.”
Feedback
The SalonIQ team has received nothing but positive feedback since they have launched TipSmart.
“One salon we work with received 38 per cent more tips in just 16 days of using TipSmart,” Abbie shared. “It had previously taken them 44 days to achieve the same number of tips, and they’ve gone from averaging £4.95 per day to £13 per day. This is a small salon in a less affluent area, so this increase is really rewarding for the team.”
Paying tips in this way means teams aren’t having to wait until the end of the pay period – they get their money straight away. They finish the service and the money goes straight into their bank account – it’s instant gratification.
“Another salon we work with has a long-standing client who has previously never tipped. After setting up TipSmart, she then tipped £30 on her next visit,” Abbie continued. “Results like this are huge. Many people want to tip but in a cashless society that hasn’t always been possible. Now it’s prompted, so if you get a great service, you can reward your therapist or stylist instantly.”
Automatic Tipping
With TipSmart, SalonIQ has even gone as far as providing automatic tip splitting across multiple team members.
“If one person does the color and another does the cut, for example, the system splits the tip proportionally. There’s no manual work required and each member of the team is tipped fairly,” Abbie said.
Using TipSmart
Getting started with TipSmart is a breeze.
All the information needed is within the SalonIQ system, with dropdown navigation to guide members through the process.
“It can feel daunting, but everything salon teams need is there. We know tips need to be declared, and there are full guides available to make the process easy to digest,” Abbie said. “This also removes responsibility from the salon, which is a big bonus. Previously, tips processed through the business were treated as income and added to wages, which created a lot of extra admin. Now it’s separate, transparent, and goes directly to the team member. It’s a win-win. The team get instant access, and we remove the admin and confusion for salons.”
Client Retention
Client retention has been a real challenge since COVID, and the rising popularity of lived-in color and cuts mean some clients are only coming in two or three times a year. Abbie shared her tips for bringing clients back to the salon.
“I think subscriptions are key,” she recommended. “For example, a client could pay £50 a month for regular blow dries. You can cap usage, offer discounts on retail, or include perks like exclusive treatments. That’s £50 taken monthly, automatically. The salon gets predictable income, and the client gets added value.
Subscriptions also create a VIP experience – clients feel part of a community. Plus, psychologically, clients feel like they’re getting a free treatment because they’ve already paid. That increases the average bill, retail spend, and upsells. It’s also a great way to introduce clients to services they didn’t know about.
Abbie also recommended thinking about Klarna: “With larger services like hair extensions or treatment courses, Klarna allows clients to pay in installments. The salon receives the full amount upfront, and Klarna manages the payment plan with the client. This makes services more accessible and allows the team to recommend higher-value treatments that achieve better results, so clients are more likely to come back.”
Deposits
Beauty professionals can also accept deposits using IQ Pay, which has become the norm since COVID. They’re helpful for reducing no-shows, and they confirm commitment.
“It’s important to clearly communicate cancellation policies, send reminders, and educate both clients and team members about why this all matters,” Abbie added. “It all comes back to client retention, growth and profitability. Some salons also roll deposits over, keeping them on account for future bookings.”
Top Three Benefits of IQ Pay
Abbie ended by sharing her top three benefits of using IQ Pay: “I’d say the ability to give salon teams their tips directly, the subscription offering, and the time saving element in terms of admin.”
“We’ve seen team members use tips for holidays, house deposits, and even IVF journeys. Getting these tips isn’t just extra income, it can be life changing. It’s also completely transparent. Many providers hide fees in complex contracts, but with IQ Pay, everything is transparent, with no long-term locks ins,” she continued. “The simplicity and clarity that comes with IQ Pay is extremely valuable. Systems need to reduce admin and make it easy for both the business and any self-employed team members to understand figures, and that’s exactly what IQ Pay does.”