Australian salons are rostered under the Hair and Beauty Industry Award: set spans of ordinary hours, a written roster 14 days ahead for full-timers and penalty rates on weekends and public holidays. Cash is about one payment in seven. Salongram, a free Android app, keeps the diary, staff rosters and payment records, but it does not run payroll or take card payments.
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Salongram is a free salon booking app for Australian salons and barbershops: appointments, clients, staff hours and WhatsApp reminders in one Android app.
The award. The Hair and Beauty Industry Award sets when ordinary hours can be worked, how rosters are written and what weekends cost, so the staff roster and the appointment book have to agree. Add state hygiene rules that change once you offer waxing, and clients who still pay cash about one time in seven, and the front desk has more to track than bookings.
The Hair and Beauty Industry Award lets ordinary hours be worked between 7 am and 9 pm Monday to Friday, 7 am and 6 pm on Saturday, and 10 am and 5 pm on Sunday. A full-time employee works an average of 38 ordinary hours a week over a period of no more than four weeks. Late-night appointments fall outside that span.
Full-time employees must get a written roster, which can be electronic, at least 14 days in advance, showing their hours, days and start and finish times. Ordinary hours may not be worked on more than five days a week, or six if the next week has no more than four, and an employee who works Sundays must get at least one Sunday off every four weeks.
For full-time and part-time staff, ordinary hours on Saturday between 7 am and 6 pm are paid at 133% of the minimum hourly rate, Sunday between 10 am and 5 pm at 200%, public holidays at 250% and a rostered day off at 200%. Every booking you add on a Sunday changes the wage bill.
Casual employees are paid 158% for Saturday daytime hours, 225% for any time on Sunday and 250% on public holidays, which already include the casual loading. Weekday hours before 7 am or after 9 pm, and Saturday hours outside 7 am to 6 pm, are paid at 150%.
The Reserve Bank's 2025 Consumer Payments Survey found that around 15% of payments by number were made in cash, up from about 13% in 2022, and around 8% by value. For in-person payments the share was 19% by number. The RBA has also said surcharging should be removed on designated card networks from 1 October 2026.
NSW Health says only businesses that carry out skin penetration procedures must comply with the Public Health Regulation 2022. Waxing is a skin penetration procedure, so a hairdresser or barber who offers it must register with the local council as a skin penetration business. Premises must still meet the Local Government (General) Regulation 2021.
The same NSW fact sheet asks for combs, brushes, rollers, clippers and scissors to be cleaned between clients, sterile single-use razors for shaving, clean towels or linen for each client and single-use applicators for creams. Equipment that is hard to clean should be single-use.
The Hair and Beauty Industry Award asks for a written roster at least 14 days ahead. Each stylist's weekly hours and time off sit in Salongram, so what you post and what clients can book match.
Ordinary Saturday hours cost 133% and Sunday hours 200%, and casuals cost more again. Salongram does not calculate pay, but the timeline shows who is booked on Sunday before you add another client.
NSW Health asks for combs, brushes and clippers to be cleaned between clients. Give each service a cleanup buffer, and the next booking starts once the tools are done.
Waxing counts as skin penetration in NSW, so the business must register with the council. Link waxing to the staff who do it; Salongram does not register the business for you.
Cash was about 15% of payments by number in 2025, so most clients tap. Salongram never touches the card itself; noting card or cash on each visit gives a daily split to check against the settlement from your terminal.
We found no official survey of how Australians book salon visits, so we will not quote one. What Salongram does is keep the appointment book and each person's working days in one place, so you can see who is in, what a busy Saturday looks like and which clients are due back, from a phone or a tablet at the front desk.
Each staff member has her own working days, hours and breaks. Set them to match the roster you give staff, and a booking with someone who is not rostered on shows a warning before you confirm it.
Staff hours and time offList waxing, brows and other services separately, with their own duration and price, so the diary shows exactly what each staff member is booked to do.
Services and packagesServices can carry a rebook interval, so the app lists who is due back for a cut, colour or foils, and a regular can be booked at the desk before they go.
Client history and rebookingClients who think of booking after you close can use your booking link or QR code. They choose services and a real free time, and the request waits in the app for you to accept or change.
The booking linkAn illustrative day, not research: a four-chair salon in Surry Hills, open Tuesday to Saturday, with two full-time stylists, a part-time colourist and a casual who does brows and waxing. The demo on this page uses a similar salon, with prices in Australian dollars.
The owner opens the staff columns: the casual is rostered from eleven, so earlier brow requests go to her first free slot.
A regular calls to add a toner to her foils; the booking finds the colourist's next free half hour.
A walk-in wants a men's cut and pays cash; it goes on the Quick Payment screen without creating a client.
A cancellation frees a slot; the waiting list shows a client who asked for any Saturday afternoon, and she is booked in.
The sales report splits card and cash for the day, ready to check against the terminal before the till is closed.
Most payments are by card or phone at the terminal, with cash still used for about one in five in-person payments. Salongram records each payment as card or cash, plus deposits and refunds, so the day's totals match your terminal and till. It does not take the payment itself.
Mark the booking as paid by card after your terminal approves it. The RBA has said surcharges on designated card networks should be removed from 1 October 2026.
Cash was 19% of in-person payments in 2025. A cash payment from a walk-in can be saved in seconds on the Quick Payment screen.
If you take a deposit for foils or a bridal booking, record it on the booking so the balance due shows on the day.
Type in your own numbers. A no-show is a slot nobody else could take; reminders and a waiting list are how most salons win part of it back.
An estimate from the numbers you enter (a month counted as 4.33 weeks). Nothing is sent or stored. Salongram is free to download.
Download Salongram free from Google Play, choose Australian dollars and add your services, from cut and blow-wave to foils, toners, brows and waxing.
Add each staff member with the working days, hours and breaks on her roster, and mark public holidays you close as closed days or time off.
Create the optional account to back up the diary, get your booking link and QR code, and add the link to your website or Instagram profile.
No. Salongram keeps each staff member's working days, hours, breaks and time off, so you can see who is rostered on, but it does not calculate wages, penalty rates or overtime. Use the Fair Work Ombudsman's pay tools or your payroll software for that.
Partly. You set each person's working days and hours, and the diary shows who is in and warns about bookings outside them. The award requires a written roster for full-time staff at least 14 days ahead; Salongram is not a roster document, so keep that separately.
No. Clients pay at your own terminal by card or phone, or in cash, and you mark the booking as paid. Salongram never handles the money; it records card and cash so the day's totals match your terminal and till.
No. Salongram prepares the reminder with the client's name, service and time and opens it in WhatsApp for you to send, or you can copy the text into another app. It never sends messages on its own.
Yes. You add your own services, prices and staff, so barbershops, brow and wax studios, nail bars and hair salons all use the same diary, client history, waiting list and reports.
Yes. Salongram is free on Android, with no fee per stylist, and keeps the diary, staff hours, clients and payment records. It does not calculate award wages or penalty rates, does not process cards and sends no SMS. Clients on any phone can book through your link.
Yes. Salongram costs nothing for a barbershop or salon in Australia. Add your barbers, their rostered hours and your services, then share a booking link or QR code. It is on Android and iPhone, and card payments stay with your own terminal.
Set up tonight, add your services and team, and book your first client in under a minute.
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