Makastam for barbershops

How a barbershop day actually runs

Mornings are often quiet, then the chairs fill up after work and all day Saturday. When it gets busy, what goes missing is the information in between: who was booked for half four, which barber did the beard, who said he would pay next week, and why the till does not match at night.

In most shops that lives in the barbers' heads, a diary on the counter and a thread of Instagram messages, and once a second barber joins it turns into arguments. In Makastam the diary, tickets, till and earnings are linked, so something entered once shows up everywhere it is needed.

Walk-ins and online bookings in one diary

Your shop gets its own online booking link. Put it in your Instagram bio, your Google Business Profile or your WhatsApp status, and print the QR code for the mirror or the window. The customer picks a service, chooses a barber or taps "no preference", and only ever sees times that are genuinely free.

Free slots come from each barber's working hours, days off and existing bookings, so nobody is double-booked. Walk-ins and phone bookings go into the same diary, where every barber has a column.

You can also share the shop's Telegram booking link: customers book inside Telegram and cancel there if they cannot make it, freeing the slot. Anything they write to the bot lands in your Inbox.

A quick sale for the Saturday queue

There is no time for forms when the bench is full. On the quick sale screen you pick the barber, the services and the payment method, and the ticket is closed. Booked services are already on it.

• Every line belongs to the person who did it: if the barber cut and a junior washed, they appear as separate lines.
• Wax, pomade or beard oil sold at the chair goes on the same ticket and comes off your stock.
• Tips are recorded separately and are not mixed into your takings.
• Payment can be cash, card or bank transfer, or split between cash and card.
• A ticket cannot be closed while a service line has no barber, so work is never credited to the wrong person.

Prices are entered excluding VAT and you choose the rate per line, including zero. You can see the full flow on the tickets and quick sale page.

Tabs for trusted regulars

Many shops have a few tabs: the regular who pays at the end of the month, or the local business that sends its staff in. The hard part is keeping track. When you close a ticket, any unpaid part goes onto the customer's account; the list shows who owes what, the oldest balance and their last visit, and you record the payment when it arrives.

Customers connected to Telegram can receive a polite weekly reminder about their balance. More on the client tabs page.

Juniors, barbers and chair renters: separate numbers

Barbershops mix arrangements: one barber is on commission, another on a fixed wage plus commission, a third rents the chair and keeps his own takings. In Makastam you set each person's rule once, and their earnings build up line by line as tickets close. Their share of tips, any advance you paid and who carries the card fee are part of the rule.

Earnings can run on a daily pay period: the day ends, the owner approves, and the barber confirms on his "My earnings" screen or adds a note to dispute it. Our guide on how to calculate staff commission walks through the set-up with examples. Whether a chair renter counts as self-employed is a question for your accountant, not your booking software.

Knowing your customers: last visit and notes

"Number two on the sides, scissors on top" usually lives in one barber's memory and goes on holiday with him. The client profile keeps those notes with past tickets, the last visit and missed appointments. "We miss you" and birthday messages can go out automatically, only to customers who gave marketing consent. Running a shop in the capital? Have a look at our page on salons in London.