Salon software questions from Canada, answered plainly

Not yet. Québec's Charter of the French language expects the software, the contract and the invoices to be offered in French first, and we have not finished a Québec French version. A visitor in Québec who opens either sign-up form is shown a waiting list instead, and we write once when Québec opens.

No. The rule is about where the salon is, not where its clients live. A salon in Ontario with clients from across the river books them like anyone else.

Not at present. Belavin Limited, the UK company that sells Slotora, is not registered for GST/HST, and the Canada Revenue Agency only requires a non-resident digital seller to register once its taxable Canadian sales pass C$30,000 over twelve months. When we register, the rate will follow your province, read from the postal code you gave for the salon.

No, and we would rather say it up front. The salon's data lives in a database in London (Amazon Web Services, eu-west-2). The services that send email and app notifications, take card payments and run the AI features are based in the United States and handle the parts they need. If storage in Canada is a requirement for you, Slotora does not meet it today.

This is not legal advice, but the Privacy Commissioner's guidance on cross-border processing says the business that collected the information stays responsible for it when a provider abroad handles it, and that clients should be told, in plain words, that it may be processed in another country and reached by that country's authorities. Our privacy policy has a section for individuals in Canada that you can point clients to.

Yes, within Canada's anti-spam law, and Slotora applies the rule for you. A campaign, an automation or a last-minute offer goes to a client of a Canadian salon only if she has given consent that is on record, or has had a visit with you in the last 2 years — CASL's implied consent from a purchase. Everyone else is left out of the send, and each marketing email carries your business details, a mailing address and an unsubscribe link.

Only if you tick the box for it when you sign up, and only once you have confirmed your email address. The box starts unticked. Messages about your account, your bookings and your bill are not marketing and come regardless.

Not in Canada yet. Texts to Canadian numbers are switched off while we finish the carrier verification Canadian networks ask for, so every client reminder goes by email instead. Your own alerts about new bookings still reach you in the Slotora app.

Yes, with a Stripe card reader. Interac cards are taken beside Visa, Mastercard and American Express, and the money goes to your own Stripe account. A contactless Interac payment above C$100 needs the card inserted and a PIN, which a phone cannot take, so keep a reader for those. An Interac payment can only be refunded in person, with the same card on a reader.

Tap to Pay on iPhone and Android is switched on for Canadian salons one at a time, once it has been checked with Canadian cards. Ask us when you sign up. For larger Interac payments a reader is still needed, for the PIN reason above.

Yes. Mark the booking paid by bank transfer, so the visit shows as settled. Slotora does not send or receive e-transfers itself; the money arrives in your bank as it always has.

Yes, province by province. The opening-hours page lists your province's holidays for the next 18 months; tick the ones you close for and online booking closes with you.

Yes. When you save the salon's postal code, the time zone moves to your province's, including Newfoundland's half hour and Saskatchewan's year-round standard time. Places that keep a different clock from the rest of their province can choose their zone in settings.

Cancel from the plan page in the web app. Your plan runs to the end of the period you paid for and does not renew. You can export your clients and bookings at any time, and delete the account from Settings whenever you want it gone.

Nothing stops that day. You get 7 more days with everything working; after that the booking page stops accepting new online bookings until you subscribe, while existing appointments, their reminders and your data all stay in place.

Export your data from the old system, then bring it in from the web app: clients, services and photos from any Excel or CSV file, upcoming appointments from the old system's export, and gift-card balances, pass sessions and loyalty points. Bringing appointments and balances across sends nothing to any client. If you would rather not do it yourself, upload the export files on the “We move you” page and we do the move for you; we answer on working days.

The law of England and Wales, because Slotora is operated by a company registered there. The terms have a section for Canadian salons, under the English terms on our legal page.