Hair / nail / beauty salon (appointment + booth rent) software, built around IRS and booth-rent / chair-rent billing ledger

Arkathos gives a hair a workspace tailored to how the work actually runs — This workspace is built around the appointment book and the booth-rent chairs — booked service time, stylist payouts, and keeping clients rebooked. Arkathos tailors a hair workspace around 6 agents: Quartermaster, mint-warden, Treasury, bulletin-board, Marshall, Herald.

Compliance a hair can't afford to miss

Watchtower tracks every license, bond, insurance policy, and continuing-education requirement for a hair, with renewal cadences and staged reminders so nothing lapses.

• A hair must maintain a Cosmetology license (individual practitioner), through the State Board of Cosmetology / Barbering (e.g., CA Board of Barbering and Cosmetology, NY Dept. of State Division of Licensing Services, NJ Board of Cosmetology and Hairstyling, TX TDLR, FL DBPR Board of Cosmetology), which renews every two years.
• A hair must maintain a Manicurist / nail technician license, through the State Board of Cosmetology / Barbering, which renews every two years.
• A hair must maintain a Esthetician / skin care specialist license, through the State Board of Cosmetology / Barbering, which renews every two years.
• A hair must maintain a Salon / shop establishment license, through the State Board of Cosmetology / Barbering, which renews every two years.
• A hair must maintain a Booth-rental / chair-rental (area renter) license, through the State Board of Cosmetology (where required; not all states), which renews every two years.
• A hair must maintain a Health & sanitation inspection permit, through the State Board of Cosmetology or local Health Department, which renews every year.
• A hair must maintain a Local business operating license, through the City / County clerk or municipal licensing office, which renews every year.
• A hair must maintain a General liability insurance, through the Commercial insurance carrier, which renews every year.
• A hair must maintain a Professional liability insurance (malpractice), through the Commercial insurance carrier, which renews every year.
• A hair must maintain a Workers' compensation insurance, through the State-regulated workers' compensation carrier, which renews every year.
• A hair must maintain a Cyber liability insurance, through the Commercial insurance carrier, which renews every year.

Everything Arkathos runs for a hair

These are the agents set up first for a hair — and because it's one platform, every plan includes all 16 Arkathos agents. Also included whenever you need them: Sentinel, Guardhouse, Scribe, Courier, War Room, Armory, Mint Warden, Vault Keeper, Watchtower, Bulletin Board, Client Portal.

• Quartermaster — Online booking & appointments, Calendar & availability, Events & waitlists, Automated reminders, Job dispatch & scheduling.
• Treasury — Invoicing & payment collection, Expense tracking, Accounting & bookkeeping, Business tax prep & filing, Recurring billing & subscriptions, Financial dashboards & reports.
• Marshall — Payroll runs, Employee & HR records, Tax withholding & filings, Time & PTO tracking.
• Herald — SEO & get-found content, Social media scheduling, Email & newsletter campaigns, Brand voice & content studio, Review & reputation growth, AI-overview & directory visibility.

Your tailored hair workspace

These are net-new, hair-specific capabilities — not a generic CRM bolted onto your industry.

• Booth-rent / chair-rent billing ledger (Treasury): Recurring auto-charged rent per stylist/booth, kept separate from service revenue, with late-rent flags and per-stylist rent statements. The defining money workflow of a booth-rent salon and absent from the invoice tab today.
• Per-stylist commission + service-vs-product split (Treasury): Each ticket splits service commission, retail-product commission, and tips per stylist into a payout statement, correctly separating taxable product from non-taxable service for sales tax.
• Deposit-to-book + no-show fee (Quartermaster): Card-on-file at online booking, automatic no-show/late-cancel charge, and a cancellation-window rule — to protect high-value color/chemical appointments that block hours of chair time.
• Color-cadence rebooking engine (Quartermaster): Auto-prompt clients to rebook on their service cadence (cut 4-6 wks, color 6-8 wks) with reminder texts and a 'due to rebook' worklist driving retention.
• Per-chair performance & retention view (Treasury): Per-stylist revenue, rebook rate, and product-attach reporting so the owner can see which chairs are productive and which booth renters are underperforming.

The agents and tabs you get

Quartermaster for a hair surfaces Calendar, Bookings, Availability, Waitlist, Chat. Treasury for a hair surfaces Financial sheet, Invoices, Tips, Sales tax, Chat. Marshall for a hair surfaces Employees, Time tracking, Payroll, Chat. Herald for a hair surfaces Compose, Schedule, Get found, Directories, ✦Studio, Chat, Brand voice.

Frequently asked questions

best software for hair salon

Look for all-in-one booking, POS, client records, inventory, and payroll instead of juggling separate apps. Popular picks include Fresha, Vagaro, GlossGenius, Boulevard, and Mangomint. Arkathos bundles all of these under flat, no-per-seat pricing.

how much does salon booking software cost

Most plans run $24-$200/month depending on team size, plus hidden add-ons: SMS reminders, 2.4-2.9% payment-processing fees, and payroll. Arkathos charges one flat rate with no per-seat or per-stylist fees.

do i need a pos system for my salon

Yes, for anything beyond a single chair. A salon POS links payments to appointments, client history, retail inventory, and reporting in one place rather than separate tools. Arkathos handles POS, scheduling, and records together.

how do i stop no shows at my salon

Require a deposit or card-on-file, send automated SMS/email reminders, and enforce a clear cancellation policy; deposits sharply cut missed appointments. Arkathos automates reminders, deposits, and rebooking prompts across its scheduling and CRM agents.

best salon software for booth renters and 1099 stylists

Pick software that treats stylists as independent contractors: separate calendars, individual payments, and rent tracking, not employees. Misclassifying commission staff as 1099 risks IRS trouble. Arkathos handles both booth-rent and commission models plus payroll and compliance.

how do i keep track of client color formulas

Use client-record software that stores color formulas, service history, notes, and before/after photos per client (Boulevard, Vagaro, SalonScale, Vish). Arkathos's CRM agent keeps formulas, notes, and visit history attached to each client profile.

is there free salon scheduling software

Yes, Fresha, Setmore, Picktime, and Square offer free booking tiers, but they monetize via payment-processing fees or capped features. For unified booking, payments, payroll, and marketing without per-seat costs, Arkathos uses flat pricing.

how do i get more clients for my hair salon

Claim your Google Business Profile, enable 24/7 online booking, post before/after work on social, run new-client offers, and add a referral program. Arkathos's marketing agent handles listings, review requests, and campaigns automatically.

how do i track salon inventory and product usage

Use POS-linked inventory that deducts retail on each sale, tracks backbar and color usage, sets low-stock reorder alerts, and supports barcode counts. Arkathos ties inventory to sales and reordering so counts update automatically.

What licenses and insurance does a hair need?

Arkathos tracks 11 items for a hair, including Cosmetology license (individual practitioner), Manicurist / nail technician license, Esthetician / skin care specialist license, Salon / shop establishment license. Each renewal and expiration is monitored in Watchtower with staged reminders.

Which Arkathos agents does a hair get?

Arkathos tailors a hair workspace around 6 agents: Quartermaster, mint-warden, Treasury, bulletin-board, Marshall, Herald.

How is the Arkathos workspace tailored for a hair?

Beyond the standard tools, Arkathos builds hair-specific features: Booth-rent / chair-rent billing ledger; Per-stylist commission + service-vs-product split; Deposit-to-book + no-show fee.

Related industries