Salons, barbershops, spas, beauty and nail studios in Australia run on the same things as salons anywhere: a diary, a front desk, a bill and a till. What is different is the paperwork around the bill. Prices have to include GST, a tax invoice has rules, and your ABN belongs on it. Software built for another country tends to get these wrong in small ways your accountant finds at the end of the quarter.
This guide is a checklist for owners comparing salon software in Australia. For each point we say what to look for and where SaloonERP stands, including what it does not do yet.
SaloonERP is global salon software, open to salons in any country. Choosing a country only fills in starting defaults such as currency, tax name and time zone; every setting stays the salon's own choice. This guide covers how it fits Australia.
1. Are prices GST-inclusive, with the GST taken out?
Australian customers expect the price on the menu to be the price they pay. If your software adds GST on top, every price list has to be worked backwards, and a A$85 cut turns into an odd number at the till.
What to look for: a setting that treats your prices as including GST, works out the GST inside each line, and still shows the GST amount on the bill.
SaloonERP: Settings has a "Prices include GST" switch, on by default for new Australian workspaces. The GST is taken out of each line: the price before GST is rounded to the cent and the GST is the rest, so the two always add up. The till, checkout, invoice and printed receipt all show "Includes GST" under the total, and the tax summary report takes the included GST out of your taxable figure. Changing the switch never alters a bill already written.
A worked example: a A$85 haircut with A$5 off, plus a A$110 colour, comes to A$190.00. The bill shows A$190.00 paid, including A$17.27 GST.
2. Does the invoice meet the tax invoice rules?
A tax invoice needs the words "Tax invoice", your business and its ABN, the date, what was sold, and the GST amount. For a sale of A$1,000 or more, it also has to identify the buyer.
SaloonERP: once your ABN is on file, invoices are titled "Tax invoice" automatically on the dashboard, the printed receipt and the mobile apps, unless you chose your own title. Your ABN prints as "ABN: 51 824 753 556", and the GST amount always shows on inclusive bills. A sale of A$1,000 or more cannot be saved as an anonymous walk-in; the till asks for the customer first. Below that, anonymous sales are fine.
3. Is your ABN checked when you enter it?
One wrong digit in an ABN puts the wrong number on every invoice until someone notices. An ABN has a checksum set by the ATO, so software can catch a typo the moment it is typed.
SaloonERP: the ABN is checked against that checksum when you save it, and a mistyped number is refused. If an ACN is entered by mistake, it is recognised and refused with the message "That is an ACN. A tax invoice shows your ABN." Tax file numbers are never accepted. A valid checksum confirms the number is well formed; it does not look up the ABN register.
4. Do phone numbers, dates and times look Australian?
Customers give their number as 0412 345 678 one day and +61 412 345 678 the next. If the software stores both, you get the same client twice. Dates printed month-first and a diary in the wrong time zone cause their own mistakes.
SaloonERP: customer numbers typed as 0412 345 678, +61 412 345 678 or (02) 9374 4000 are stored in one international format, so the same client cannot be added twice under a different spelling, and searching "0412 345" still finds them. Dates show as DD/MM/YYYY, amounts in dollars to two decimals, and each branch keeps its own time zone (Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, Adelaide, Perth and others) with daylight saving handled. The financial year opens on 1 July.
5. What does the privacy policy say about Australia?
Your salon holds clients' names, numbers and visit history. Ask how the software company handles that under the Australian Privacy Principles.
SaloonERP: the SaloonERP privacy policy and the Saloonly privacy policy each have an "If you are in Australia" section covering the Australian Privacy Principles and the Privacy Act 1988, access and correction requests within 30 days at no charge, overseas disclosure, the Notifiable Data Breaches scheme and how to complain to the OAIC.
| Check | What to look for | SaloonERP in Australia |
|---|---|---|
| GST-inclusive prices | Menu price is what the customer pays | Yes, on by default; GST taken out per line |
| GST shown on the bill | "Includes GST" and the amount | Yes, on till, invoice and receipt |
| Tax invoice | Title, ABN, GST amount | Yes |
| A$1,000+ sales | Buyer identified | Yes, anonymous sale refused |
| ABN check | Typos caught on entry | Yes, ATO checksum; ACN and TFN refused |
| Phone numbers | One format, no duplicates | Yes, for client records |
| Dates, time zones, year | DD/MM/YYYY, branch time zone, 1 July | Yes |
| SMS reminders to +61 | Texts to Australian mobiles | Not yet; email reminders only |
| Card processing | Taking card payments | No; card is recorded, processed on your terminal |
| Staff app | iPhone and Android | Yes, on the App Store and Google Play |
| BAS and STP | Lodgement and payroll reporting | No; GST figures for your BAS, lodge elsewhere |
What SaloonERP does not do in Australia yet
- SMS to Australian mobiles. Reminders go by email for now.
- Card processing. SaloonERP records card payments so your takings reconcile, but the payment itself runs on your own terminal.
- BAS, Single Touch Payroll and super. The tax summary gives you the GST figures for your BAS, but nothing is lodged with the ATO from SaloonERP, and payroll does not report through STP or handle superannuation. Keep your STP-enabled payroll for that.
- Local support hours. Support is online from the desk in Nagpur, India, Monday to Saturday 10:00 to 19:00 IST, which is mid-afternoon to late evening on the east coast.
We would rather you know this before a trial than after.
Everything else is the same SaloonERP
The rest of the product works the same in every country: the live walk-in board, split billing, the cash drawer, stock with batches and expiry, memberships and gift cards, staff commission, appointments and multi-branch reports, with an optional Academy add-on for salons that teach. Plans are a flat monthly fee per branch with no percentage of your takings; current prices are on saloonerp.com/pricing and the team can quote in Australian dollars.
More detail is on SaloonERP for Australia. If you are running a salon in Australia, start the 14-day trial with no card, or read the guides for India and Nepal to see how the same product adapts to each country.
Frequently asked questions
Does SaloonERP work for salons in Australia?
Yes. SaloonERP is global salon software for salons in any country. Choosing Australia fills in the starting defaults: Australian dollars, GST with prices that include it, ABN on tax invoices, DD/MM/YYYY dates, each branch's own Australian time zone with daylight saving, and a financial year from 1 July. Every one of these is the salon's own setting and can be changed.
How does SaloonERP work out GST on an inclusive price?
It takes the GST out of each bill line rather than adding it. The price before GST is rounded to the cent and the GST is the rest, so the two always add up to what the customer paid. A A$190.00 bill includes A$17.27 GST.
Does SaloonERP send SMS reminders to Australian mobiles?
Not yet. Appointment reminders in Australia go by email. We will say so here when SMS to +61 numbers is available.
Can SaloonERP take card payments?
No. SaloonERP records how each bill was paid, including card, cash and bank transfer, so your takings and drawer reconcile, but the card itself is processed on your own terminal.
Is there an app?
Yes. The SaloonERP staff app is on Google Play for Android and on the App Store for iPhone. SaloonERP also works in the browser on any phone, tablet or computer.
