A US salon runs on state licences, tips and long evening and weekend hours. Every state licenses barbers, hairstylists and cosmetologists, and about eight in ten Americans who get haircuts usually tip. Salongram, a free Android app, handles bookings and records card and cash payments, but it does not process cards.
Try the demo with a salon in Austin
Luxe & Co. Salon
Austin · USD · 09:00 to 19:00, Tuesday to Saturday
A working copy of the app's screens with a sample salon in Austin: local staff, services and prices in USD.
Salongram is a free salon booking app for American salons and barbershops: appointments, clients, staff hours and WhatsApp reminders in one Android app.
Three things shape a US salon more than anything else: licensing is run state by state, tips are part of how clients pay, and the busiest hours fall on evenings and weekends. Add a large Spanish-speaking population and many self-employed stylists, and the front desk has a lot to keep straight.
All states require barbers, hairstylists and cosmetologists to be licensed. The usual path is a state-approved training program followed by a state exam, with fees and, in some states, continuing education to renew. The details differ from state to state, so check your own state board before opening or adding a service.
In a 2023 Pew Research Center survey, 78% of Americans who get haircuts said they always or often tip, second only to sit-down restaurants at 92%. Pew did not report a typical tip size for haircuts, so many salons simply leave room for a tip when they take payment.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics says most barbers, hairstylists and cosmetologists work full time, part-time work is common, and schedules often include evenings and weekends, because that is when clients are free. Those are also the hours when the phone rings while every chair is taken.
Census Bureau figures for 2017 to 2021 show that 22% of people aged five and over speak a language other than English at home, and about 61% of them speak Spanish. Staff who run the salon in Spanish can switch Salongram's language in its settings.
Federal job data counted about 670,800 barbers, hairstylists and cosmetologists in 2025: about 75,800 barbers and about 595,000 hairdressers, hairstylists and cosmetologists. Most work in barbershops or salons, some in spas, hotels or resorts, and some rent booth space from a salon owner.
The Bureau of Labor Statistics puts the 2025 median pay for barbers, hairstylists and cosmetologists at $35,880 a year, or $17.25 an hour. About 80% of barbers and 48% of hairdressers, hairstylists and cosmetologists are self-employed, so many chairs are run as small businesses with their own client lists.
The federal calendar has eleven holidays, from New Year's Day and Martin Luther King Jr. Day to Thanksgiving and Christmas. They set days off for federal employees; a private salon decides for itself whether to open, so set the days you close as closed hours or time off in the app.
About 80% of barbers and nearly half of hairstylists in the US are self-employed. Salongram costs nothing to use, so a booth renter keeps a full diary, a client list and their own prices on their own phone without a subscription.
Clients come when they are free, which is why US salon schedules run into evenings and weekends. Each stylist gets their own working days and hours, and the booking screen offers times only when that person is on shift.
About six in ten Americans who speak another language at home speak Spanish. Salongram switches fully to Spanish, so a team that works in Spanish sees the schedule, services and prices in Spanish, with amounts still in dollars.
Most Americans who get haircuts tip, by Pew's 2023 survey. Salongram has no tip pooling, but every appointment keeps its total, any discount and what was paid by card or cash, so the takings are clear before tips are shared.
The eleven federal holidays bind federal offices, not private salons, so each owner decides whether to open. Add time off for whoever takes the day, and the booking page offers only the stylists who are actually working.
We found no neutral survey of how Americans book salon visits, so we will not quote one. What a front desk deals with is clear enough: phone calls, walk-ins, messages and repeat clients. Salongram keeps all of them in one schedule and never blocks a booking.
Booking takes two steps: find or add the client, then pick services, stylist and time. Typing 7 lists every free slot from 7:00, so you can book while the client is still on the line.
See the scheduleShare your booking link or print the QR code at the desk. Clients see real free times and send a request that you accept, change or decline in the app.
How the booking link worksSalongram writes the confirmation and reminder, and you send it from WhatsApp. It never sends anything on its own, so there is no per-message charge from us.
WhatsApp remindersKeep a waiting list by time window or date. When a client cancels, the app shows who fits the free slot, and one tap turns that entry into a booking.
The waiting listHere is an illustrative day, not survey data: a four-chair salon open late on Saturday, with a mix of phone bookings, link requests and walk-ins, priced in US dollars with card and cash payments recorded.
The owner opens the staff-column view and sees two link requests from Friday night waiting to be accepted.
A regular calls to move her color appointment; the reschedule screen shows live free slots with her usual stylist.
A walk-in pays cash for a quick cut without giving details; it is saved on the Quick Payment screen in seconds.
A client cancels; the waiting list shows two people who fit, and the first one is booked in.
The sales report splits card and cash for the day, ready to compare with the card terminal's own total.
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. The setup asks for your business name, then suggests opening hours and starter services you can edit or skip.
Choose USD, enter your opening hours and each stylist's working week, and mark federal holidays you close on as closed days or time off.
Create the optional account to back up your data and get your public booking link and QR code for the front desk or your Instagram bio.
No licence is needed for the app itself. Your state board licenses the people who do the services, and the rules differ from state to state. Salongram only keeps the schedule, clients and payment records, so take licence questions to your own state board.
No. Salongram records each payment as card or cash, including advances and refunds, so your daily totals add up. The card itself is charged on your own terminal or card reader, and tips are handled there or in cash. The app has no tip-splitting feature.
Yes. Salongram is available in Spanish, English and Arabic, chosen in the app's settings. That matters in the US, where Census figures show about six in ten people who speak another language at home speak Spanish.
No. Salongram prepares a reminder with the client's name, service and time and opens it in WhatsApp for you to send. If your clients expect SMS text reminders, you would send those another way; the app does not send texts.
Yes. Salongram is free on Android through Google Play and on iPhone through the App Store. Your public booking page works in any phone browser, so iPhone clients can still book with you.
Yes. Salongram is free to download and use on Android and iPhone, for a barbershop, a salon or a single booth renter. It keeps the schedule, clients, staff hours and payment records. It does not process cards or send SMS, though clients on any phone can book through your link.
Any booking app that runs on your own phone and keeps your clients separate from the salon owner's. Salongram is one free option: a renter installs it, adds their services and prices, and shares their own booking link. It has no shared logins, so the owner does not see the renter's clients, and it does not split booth rent.
Set up tonight, add your services and team, and book your first client in under a minute.
Try the live demo
Salongram