A salon point of sale for Canada, with Interac at the counter
When a client stands up from the chair, the booking already shows what she still owes. Take it on a Stripe card reader that accepts Interac debit beside Visa, Mastercard and American Express, show her a QR code to pay on her own phone, or record cash and the terminal you already have. Card money lands in your own Stripe account, and Slotora keeps none of it.
Start a 14-day trialFour ways to be paid at the desk
Use one, or all four on the same day. Every one of them lands on the same booking, so the day adds up.
A Stripe card reader
Canadian debit cards are Interac cards, and Slotora asks for Interac on every in-person payment in Canadian dollars, beside the credit card networks. The client taps, inserts or swipes; the payment is marked on the visit the moment it clears.
A QR code on the screen
Press Take payment and a code for the exact balance appears, big enough to scan across a counter. She pays with Apple Pay, Google Pay or a card on her own phone. Nothing to buy and nothing to charge overnight.
Cash and your own terminal
Keep the machine from your bank if you like. Cash, a card on your own terminal and a bank transfer are recorded against the booking, so the takings are complete even when the money never went through Stripe.
Tap to Pay on a phone, salon by salon
Tap to Pay on iPhone and Android is switched on for Canadian salons one at a time — ask us. Keep a reader or a payment link for the bigger bills: an Interac tap above C$100 wants the card inserted with a PIN, and a phone has nowhere to insert it.
One figure, worked out for you
A deposit taken online when she booked, a gift card she half used last month, a coupon, a series pass that covers today's visit: Slotora subtracts all of it and puts a single amount on the booking. Nobody at the desk does arithmetic in front of a client.
Tips are added with a tap at 10, 15 or 20 per cent, or typed as any amount. They are saved with the payment and reported on their own, so they never swell what your services earned and each stylist's share stays visible.
From the chair to the cash count
What happens to one appointment, start to finish.
Booked
A deposit, if you ask for one
Taken in Canadian dollars through your Stripe account when she books online, and shown on the visit.
Finished
The balance is on the booking
Deposit, gift card and pass already taken off. You see one number and choose how she pays it.
Paid
Her receipt goes by email
What she paid, the tip, the method and anything still open, in your salon's name, sent the moment the payment lands.
Closing
Count the drawer
The close lists the day by payment method and by team member, works out what the cash drawer should hold, and shows any difference as soon as you type what you counted.
Refunds, mistakes and disputes
Refund part of a payment or the whole of it. Cash handed back is written down as a refund instead of the line being deleted, and a mistyped amount is corrected with the original still in the history, so the record can always be read back.
Interac has one rule of its own, set by the network and not by us: a debit payment taken in person can only be refunded in person, with the same card on a reader. Slotora tells you so when you press refund, instead of failing quietly. If a credit card payment is disputed, you are told and the booking is flagged.
What the card payments cost
Slotora adds 0% to any payment. Stripe charges its own standard Canadian rates directly to your Stripe account: on its page today, 2.7% + CA$0.05 for most cards in person, CA$0.15 for an Interac debit payment in person, and 2.9% + CA$0.30 for a domestic card online. Cash and your own terminal cost you nothing through Slotora.
Before you put away your old till
The counter does a lot, and a few things it does not.
- It is not a retail till
- Selling a bottle of shampoo takes it off your stock list, but it records no payment. Retail takings are not in the day-end figure, so a salon with a big retail shelf may still want a separate till for it.
- No sales tax on the receipt
- Slotora puts no GST/HST line on the receipt. If a client needs one for her own books, the invoice from your Xero or QuickBooks carries it.
- Some processors charge less in person
- Stripe's in-person rates are standard, not the cheapest in Canada. If almost all your takings are cards at the counter, compare before you choose.
- Tap to Pay is not instant
- It is switched on salon by salon after testing with Canadian cards, so plan on a reader or the QR code for your first weeks.
Questions about taking payment in Canada
Can my clients pay with Interac debit?
Yes, on a Stripe card reader. Interac is requested on every in-person payment in Canadian dollars, alongside Visa, Mastercard and American Express.
Do I have to buy a card reader?
No. The QR code needs no hardware at all, and cash or the terminal you already own can be recorded against each booking.
Why was an Interac tap on the phone declined?
Above C$100, Interac asks for the card to be inserted and a PIN entered, which a phone cannot take. Use a card reader, the QR code or a payment link for that amount.
Can I refund an Interac payment from the dashboard?
No. Interac requires an in-person refund with the same card on a reader. Credit card payments can be refunded in part or in full from the booking.
Does Slotora take a share of what I take at the counter?
No. Card payments go to your own Stripe account at Stripe's own rates, and cash is yours. Slotora's only charge is the monthly subscription.
Where the card rates come from
Stripe sets these, and its own page is the one to trust if it has changed.
- Stripe — Pricing (Canada) — https://stripe.com/en-ca/pricing · Read on
Run the counter from the diary
Open the visit, take the balance, and let the day close itself into a cash count. Try it with your own services before you change anything at the desk.