The Salos blog
Straight answers for Indian salon owners — GST, pricing, staff commissions, WhatsApp marketing, client retention and the software that runs it all. Written inside a working salon.
Money & GST
Salon services carry 5% GST without input tax credit since 22 September 2025. What it means for your prices, invoices, products, packages and returns.
Pricing, GST, packages, bridal, loans and the daily cash — where a salon's profit is made or lost.
Money & GST
A salon bookkeeping routine for Indian owners: daily closing, a chart of accounts, UPI and card reconciliation, packages as liabilities and what your CA needs.
Money & GST
Lay out a salon rate card clients actually read: category order, service names, stylist levels, GST, combos, a sample rate list and when to change it.
Money & GST
Sell shampoos, serums and skin care without pushing: the mirror script, a small range, shelf layout, MRP rules, margin maths with GST, and staff commission.
Money & GST
How to build and price bridal makeup packages for Indian weddings: per-look pricing, peak muhurat dates, deposits, contracts, paid trials, staffing and GST.
Money & GST
Find what each chair-minute costs, add product and commission, and set salon prices that keep a margin. Worked examples, level pricing and a price-rise message.
Money & GST
The maths behind your salon's average bill, add-ons that pay, retail that doesn't feel like selling, menu anchoring, staff scripts, incentives and tracking.
Money & GST
A day-end closing routine for salons: count the cash, match UPI and card settlements, spot counter leaks, and send the owner a one-page daily report.
Money & GST
Which loans and schemes a salon or beauty parlour can use in 2026: Mudra limits, the PMEGP subsidy, Stand-Up India's status, CGTMSE, documents and red flags.
Money & GST
How to price salon memberships, prepaid packages and wallet top-ups so they bring cash in without eating margin, with worked examples, six ideas and scripts.
Money & GST
Build a monthly salon P&L, find the cost lines that leak, work out your break-even revenue and use ten levers to lift your margin, with a worked example.
WhatsApp, Instagram, Google reviews, festivals, slow days, retention and no-shows.
Clients & marketing
Handle salon complaints at the counter and on WhatsApp, choose a redo, refund or credit, set who decides, log patterns, and know the consumer law that applies.
Clients & marketing
Set up a salon referral programme that brings new clients: give-get rewards, codes the front desk can track, abuse rules, the ₹ maths and WhatsApp scripts.
Clients & marketing
Find your salon's real dead hours, then fill them with off-peak menus, junior-stylist prices, express services, tie-ups and targeted WhatsApp, not discounts.
Clients & marketing
Get more genuine Google reviews and rank better in 'salon near me': a Business Profile checklist, when to ask, reply templates, and what Google forbids.
Clients & marketing
What a salon should post on Instagram, a profile that converts, a weekly routine, DM scripts that turn price enquiries into bookings, and how to measure it.
Clients & marketing
Work out what no-shows cost your salon, then cut them with WhatsApp reminders, fair advances, a clear cancellation policy, a waitlist and ready templates.
Clients & marketing
Why salon clients drift away, how to measure retention and rebooking, the usual visit gaps by service, and 10 fixes with scripts you can use today.
Clients & marketing
A month-by-month salon marketing calendar for India: the service to push, an offer idea, when to start promoting and a ready message for each festival.
Clients & marketing
How to market your salon on WhatsApp without getting blocked: app vs API, client opt-in, template approval, what messages cost, and 25 templates to copy.
Commissions, payroll, hiring and keeping your best stylists.
Team & staff
What a salon receptionist does from opening to closing, phone and WhatsApp scripts, walk-ins, billing and UPI, rebooking, hiring and pay, and a daily checklist.
Team & staff
Where to find stylists in India, a job post to copy, phone screening, trade tests by role with a scoring rubric, interview questions and a 30-day starter plan.
Team & staff
Why stylists leave, what replacing one really costs (with the maths), and the career ladder, pay, roster and stay-interview habits that keep your best people.
Team & staff
Salon payroll under the new labour codes: salary structure, attendance, late marks, 2x overtime, advances, PF and ESI maths, payslips and a month-end checklist.
Team & staff
Flat %, tiered slabs, monthly targets, salary plus commission, retail and upsell, team pools: one stylist's month worked six ways, plus a policy to copy.
Opening a salon, business plans, franchises, licences, KPIs, stock, SOPs and client safety.
Run & grow
Start a beauty parlour from home in India: services to begin with, a setup budget, pricing, society and local rules, and how to find your first 50 clients.
Run & grow
How to open a salon in India: format, rent maths, lease traps, fit-out and layout, a budget worksheet, licences, hiring, pricing and a 90-day plan.
Run & grow
A salon business plan template for India with worked financials: 3-year projections, capex, working capital, break-even, payback and what lenders read.
Run & grow
Consultations for colour, keratin, facials, waxing and lash tints, the hair-dye skin test Indian labels require, a consent form and what to do in a reaction.
Run & grow
Royalty on gross, mandated supplies and fit-out, GST you can't claim: how to compare a salon franchise with your own brand, and what the agreement must say.
Run & grow
Set consumption norms, work out cost per service, plug product leakage, set reorder points and run a monthly stock audit, with formulas and worked examples.
Run & grow
The 12 numbers that show how your salon is really doing, each with a formula, a worked example, how to read it and what moves it, plus a weekly KPI sheet.
Run & grow
Every licence and registration an Indian salon needs in 2026: what each is, who needs it, where to apply, documents to keep ready and what varies by state.
Run & grow
Copy-ready salon SOPs: opening and closing checklists, tool hygiene and sterilisation, consultation, haircut, colour and facial steps, the desk and complaints.
Choosing and switching software, online booking, client data and what AI can really do.
Software & AI
What AI can really do for an Indian salon in 2026: night-time WhatsApp replies, review replies and win-backs, plus the risks, the real cost and a 30-day plan.
Software & AI
A 30-point checklist for choosing salon software in India, covering GST billing, WhatsApp costs, commissions, data exports, demo questions and true yearly cost.
Software & AI
Should your salon take online bookings? Which services to put online, buffers and processing time, deposits, stylist choice, channels, walk-ins and no-shows.
Software & AI
What India's DPDP Act means for salons: notices, consent, WhatsApp offers, under-18 clients, staff biometrics, data requests, breaches and a 30-day plan.
Software & AI
A register or Excel looks free, but missed follow-ups, GST errors, cash leakage and owner time add up. Worked costs, a decision table and a first-week plan.
Software & AI
How to switch salon software without losing clients, package balances or history: what to export, how to clean it, a cut-over plan and the mistakes to avoid.
No decks, no pressure. We set up a demo around how your salon runs — and you decide if it deserves to run on Salos.
is all it takes. On WhatsApp or a call — you pick the slot, we bring your numbers.