In New York City, haircuts, colour, manicures and massage carry a 4.5% city sales tax that the rest of the state does not charge. Every salon and every stylist, booth renters included, needs a state licence, the minimum wage is $17 an hour, and staff earn protected time off. Salongram keeps the diary, staff hours and payment records on one phone.
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A working copy of the app's screens with a sample salon in New York: local staff, services and prices in USD.
Salongram is a free salon booking app for New York City salons and barbershops: appointments, clients, staff hours and WhatsApp reminders in one Android app.
Tax, licences and staff time. The city taxes salon services that are tax-free in the rest of New York State, the state licenses the business and every person who works in it, and the city adds its own rules on protected time off to a minimum wage higher than upstate.
The state's Tax Bulletin TB-ST-575 lists beautician, barbering and hair restoring services, manicures and pedicures, and massage services as taxable in New York City at the 4.5% local rate. The same services are not taxable anywhere else in New York State. The bulletin page was last updated on 16 October 2026.
The Department of State requires a licence to own, control or operate an appearance enhancement business, and each person who provides services must be licensed in their own discipline. Independent contractors who rent space in a salon, called area renters, need their own Area Renter licence as well.
The same Department of State guidance says a business that offers nail services must provide ventilation that captures and exhausts harmful contaminants, with the detailed requirements and compliance timeframes set out separately. A salon adding a nail bar has to plan the room, not only the staff.
The New York State Department of Labor sets the minimum wage at $17.00 an hour in New York City, Long Island and Westchester County, against $16.00 in the rest of the state. It stays at $17.00 on 1 January 2027, because a condition that pauses the yearly inflation increase has been met.
New York City's Protected Time Off Law, enforced by the Department of Consumer and Worker Protection, gives most employees up to 40 or 56 hours of paid protected time off a year and 32 hours of unpaid protected time off from the beginning of employment. Employers must also provide 20 hours of paid prenatal leave on top.
The city's 4.5% sales tax applies to haircuts, colour, manicures and massage. Salongram records each price exactly as you enter it and does not add or file the tax, so decide how your menu shows it and enter prices that way.
Every area renter in a New York salon holds a licence of their own and runs a separate business. A renter's Salongram lives on the renter's phone, with a client list, price menu and booking link that the salon owner never sees.
Every person who provides services must be licensed in their discipline. Link nails, waxing or massage to the staff whose licence covers it, and the booking screen only offers them for that work.
With the city minimum wage at $17.00 an hour, it pays to know exactly who worked when. Salongram keeps each person's working hours and breaks; it does not calculate pay or overtime.
Staff can take paid protected time off, unpaid hours from their first day and 20 hours of prenatal leave. Enter the time off when someone is out, and their slots stop being offered to clients.
We found no official figures on how New Yorkers book salon visits, so this guide does not guess. Salongram keeps calls, walk-ins and online requests in one diary per stylist, so a small team in a busy neighbourhood does not double-book a chair.
Each stylist, barber and nail specialist has their own column, hours and services, so a walk-in is booked with someone who is free and licensed for the work.
How the schedule worksClients who decide late at night can pick a real free time from your booking link or QR code, and you accept or change the request in the morning.
The booking linkWhen a client cancels on a busy Saturday, the waiting list shows who asked for that time, and one tap books them in.
The waiting listAn illustrative Saturday, not research: a hair and nail salon in Jackson Heights, Queens, with two stylists, a barber, a licensed nail specialist and one area renter who keeps her own diary on her own phone.
The owner checks the columns: the nail specialist is booked solid until two, while the barber still has gaps.
A walk-in asks for a fade; the barber has thirty free minutes and the cut goes straight into his column.
A spa pedicure cancels, and a client on the waiting list who asked for Saturday afternoons takes it.
The area renter accepts two Sunday requests that came in through her own booking link, in her own diary.
Before closing, the owner's report shows the day's card and cash takings, with every price recorded as charged.
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.
Enter each service with its duration and the price you charge, after deciding whether your menu prices include the city's 4.5% sales tax.
Add each stylist, barber and nail specialist with the services their licence covers, plus their working days, hours and breaks.
Create the free optional account to get your booking link and QR code, then add it to your Instagram, Google listing or window.
Yes. The state's Tax Bulletin TB-ST-575 lists beautician and barbering services, manicures, pedicures and massage as taxable in New York City at the 4.5% local rate, while outside the city they are not taxable. Salongram does not add or file the tax, so ask your accountant how to show it on your menu.
Yes. The Department of State says independent contractors who rent space need their own Area Renter licence, and each person who provides services must be licensed in their discipline. In Salongram a renter can also keep their own free diary on their own phone, separate from the owner.
Salongram is one free option on Android: add your nail specialists, their hours and services, then share a booking link or QR code. It keeps clients, staff hours and payment records. It does not process cards, does not check licences or ventilation.
Salongram keeps each person's working hours, breaks and time off, which helps you check who worked when. It does not calculate pay, overtime or protected time off balances. The New York City minimum wage is $17.00 an hour and stays there on 1 January 2027.
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