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Built for Booth Renters, Stylists & Barbers
The day you started renting a chair, you became a business owner — even if nobody handed you a manual. The shop takes its rent; everything else is yours to run: your book, your prices, your supplies, your taxes, your no-shows, and the client who's been "meaning to come in" for eleven weeks. Great hands fill a chair, but it's the boring stuff — rebooking, reminders, records — that keeps it full.
Ava Ledger is the back office for the chair. She reminds clients before appointments, nudges the ones who are overdue, takes card payments to your own bank, logs your booth rent and supplies as write-offs, and keeps your 1099 taxes from becoming a springtime crisis. You stay behind the chair; Ava works the desk you don't have.
Your book, protected
A no-show at 2pm isn't just a lost cut — it's rent you paid for an empty chair. Ava's automatic reminders cut no-shows down, and her rebooking follow-ups watch each client's rhythm: when the 6-week regular hits week seven, a friendly drafted message goes out before they drift to whoever had an opening. New inquiry lands in your inbox or from your booking link? Ava flags it hot so it's answered today.
The write-offs most chair renters miss
Booth rent is usually your biggest deductible expense — but it's far from the only one. Shears and clippers, color and backbar product, capes and sanitation supplies, license renewals, education and classes, even the business share of your phone: Ava logs each into a real tax category the moment you record it, building the Schedule C evidence most stylists reconstruct badly (or not at all) in April.
Taxes for the self-employed chair
Renting means 1099 life: self-employment tax of 15.3% on net earnings, quarterly estimated payments if you'll owe $1,000+, and no employer doing any of it for you. Ava keeps a live estimate from your actual numbers and reminds you before each deadline. Filing time is one tax-ready report — or one-click read-only access for your preparer. The full 1099 picture is on the independent contractors page.
Formulas, preferences, and the little things
Her exact toner recipe. His skin-fade guard number. The client who can't do ammonia. Ava keeps notes and history with every client so the details that make you their stylist never live only in your head. And when you're ready to fill slow Tuesdays, an AI-drafted promo to your own client list does it without discount-site fees. Shop owners running a full studio should see the salons & spas page; everything here comes in one flat plan.
Full book. Clean books.
7 days free. $69/month for your first 3 months, then $99/month — everything included.
Get Started FreeSet up between clients. Cancel anytime in one click.
Frequently asked questions
Is booth rent tax deductible?
Yes — booth or suite rent is typically a fully deductible business expense for self-employed stylists and barbers. Ava logs it every month automatically along with your other write-offs.
Am I self-employed if I rent a chair?
In most arrangements, yes. Booth renters usually receive 1099 treatment: you file a Schedule C, pay self-employment tax, and can deduct rent, supplies, tools, and education. Ava keeps all of it filing-ready.
Can Ava help clients rebook before they leave?
Yes — and after they leave. Ava tracks each client's usual cycle and drafts the rebooking nudge when they're due, so a 6-week client doesn't quietly become a 10-week client.
How do clients pay me?
Send an invoice or payment link and clients pay by card — funds go straight to your own bank account, with every payment recorded for your books automatically.
Can I keep formulas and client notes?
Yes. Color formulas, clipper guards, product sensitivities, and conversation notes live with each client's history, so every appointment picks up where the last one ended.