Square gets paid every chair. You don't.
Square's flat 2.7% on every haircut, colour, and treatment adds up faster than most salon owners realize. Dough's interchange-plus pricing usually saves salons 30 to 50% on processing — and Boost gets you a free booking website, monthly Instagram content, and a custom AI assistant for the front desk. The Clover Mini sits where Square used to. Same workflow at checkout. Way less out of every ticket.
See what your salon would save
Send us your last statement and we'll show you exactly what your monthly bill would be on Dough — plus which Boost tier your volume qualifies for.
Square is easy to set up. It's expensive to keep.
Most salon owners signed up with Square because the iPad reader was cheap and the apps were friendly. The pricing model is the part that costs you the rest of the year.
Flat 2.7% on every chair, every service
On a $40K/mo salon, that's roughly $1,100 going to Square. Interchange-plus on the same volume usually runs $600–$700. The same money pays for an extra wash basin every year.
No-show chargebacks
Customer books, doesn't show, then disputes the cancellation fee. Without a documented policy on the receipt and at booking, salons lose most of these disputes.
Booking software locked to a processor
Square Appointments is bundled into Square. Most owners feel stuck because switching processors means switching booking tools too. It doesn't have to.
Instagram you keep meaning to update
Your work is photogenic. Most salons have a few thousand followers, posts from 2019, and zero time to fix it. Boost handles the social so you don't have to.
Three reasons salons switch from Square and don't go back.
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Interchange-plus pricing kills Square's flat-rate markup.
Square is easy because it's flat. Flat is expensive when your volume gets meaningful. Dough puts you on real wholesale interchange plus a 0.20% markup — usually a 30 to 50% reduction on your monthly bill. The Clover Mini at the front desk works exactly like Square. Only your statements change.
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Boost is the bigger pitch — the website, social, and AI you don't have time for.
Most salon owners don't have time to build a booking website, post on Instagram three times a week, or set up an AI to answer "do you take walk-ins" for the hundredth time. Boost handles all three. You'd pay processing anyway. Now you get the work for free.
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Tip prompts, gift cards, and stylist tip-out — same workflow as Square.
The Clover Mini handles tip prompts (15/18/20% or custom), gift card sales and redemption, and end-of-day reports broken out by stylist for tip reconciliation. Your front desk team won't notice the swap. The bookkeeper will.
$40K/mo salon on Square, switching to IC+
Estimate based on a typical salon card mix and average ticket. Real savings depend on your service mix and ticket sizes. Send your last Square statement and we'll show you the exact math for your salon.
The terminal that sits on the front desk.
Same workflow as Square. Lower fees per chair.
Clover Mini
Compact countertop unit at the front desk. Built-in receipt printer, tip prompts, gift card support, and end-of-day stylist tip-out reports. Smaller footprint than the Square stand. Faster checkout.
- Tap, chip, swipe, contactless
- Built-in receipt printer
- Tip prompts (15/18/20% or custom)
- Gift card sales & redemption
- Free if your salon qualifies
Clover Flex
Wireless handheld for spas with multiple treatment rooms. Walks to the client at the chair, takes payment without bringing them up to the front.
Clover Station Duo
Full POS for larger salons running multi-stylist booking, retail product sales, and gift card programs together.
Authorize.Net
For online deposits on big bookings (wedding parties, multi-treatment spa days) and gift card sales through your website.
Booking integrations
Works alongside Vagaro, Mindbody, and most non-Square booking platforms. Mention your tool on the call.
Terminal pricing depends on which contract you sign — month-to-month or four-year term with a free terminal. See all our terminal options →
Heather at Serenity Valley Medi Spa cut credit card fees to zero.
"We do bigger tickets — Botox, fillers, packages — and the processing fees were eating real money every month. Dough put us on dual pricing, which wiped out the credit card fees on our end. Plus they built me a website and a custom AI for the spa. Best switch I've made."
Heather — Owner, Serenity Valley Medi Spa
Heather chose dual pricing instead of interchange-plus — separate quoted prices for cash vs card customers, which eliminates the credit card processing cost on her end entirely. Through the Boost program she earned both a free spa website and a custom AI assistant trained on her treatment menu and FAQs.
Heather's setup
The Instagram you don't have time to update.
Salons live on social. Most owners don't have time to keep it fed. Boost handles the website, the monthly posts, and the AI front desk — funded by processing fees you'd be paying anyway.
Salon website with online booking
Five to seven pages. Service menu, stylist bios, gallery, hours, booking form. Hosted free at the Pro and Premium tiers.
Monthly Instagram content
Posts every month — graphics and captions for new services, stylist features, before-and-afters. Up to 12 posts a month at the Premium tier.
Custom AI for the front desk
A GPT trained on your services, hours, and FAQs. Lives on your site. Answers "do you take walk-ins" and "how much for highlights" so the front desk doesn't have to.
Google review card
Free at every tier. A tap-to-review NFC card for the front desk. Customers tap their phone after their service, land on your Google review form on the way out.
Whatever you do behind the chair, we can help.
Doesn't matter what services you offer — if you take a card, we'll process it.
Quick answers, no fluff.
The questions every salon owner asks before switching from Square. If yours isn't here, call us at (647) 691-9085.
For higher-ticket spas (medi spas, multi-treatment days), dual pricing can work — separate quoted prices for cash vs card, no customer-facing surcharge line.
With a clear policy and signed booking confirmations, salons win most no-show disputes.
For larger spas with multiple treatment rooms doing checkout in different spots, the Clover Flex goes wireless and walks to the client at the chair. See all terminal options →
Hosted free at Pro and Premium tiers. See the full Boost tiers →
Vagaro and Mindbody both support external processors and play nicely with Dough. Mention your current booking platform on the call and we'll confirm before you switch.
Make more dough from every chair.
Send us your last Square or Moneris statement. We'll show you exactly what your salon would save and which Boost tier you'd qualify for. No commitment, no pushy reps.