Chair rental, also called booth rental, is a simple deal on paper. The stylist pays the salon a fixed rent, and in return keeps what their own clients pay. In practice the books get tangled fast: rent paid late, renters taking payments on the salon’s card machine, shared products, and a salon that has both employed stylists and renters on the same floor.
This guide covers both sides of the chair: what the salon owner records, and what the stylist who rents records.
One payment, two sides
| Salon owner | Stylist renting the chair | |
|---|---|---|
| The weekly rent | Income, in its own account (Chair Rental Income) | A business expense (Chair Rent) |
| The renter’s client payments | Not your sales | The stylist’s income |
| A security deposit | A liability you will return | An asset you will get back |
| Products the renter uses | Recharged to the renter, or included in the rent | An expense, if charged separately |
For the salon owner
Keep rent out of service sales
Chair rent is real income, but it is a different kind of income from haircuts and colours. Record it in its own account, such as Chair Rental Income. Mixing it into service sales makes your average bill, your sales per stylist and your commission figures meaningless, because a large part of “sales” would be rent that no client paid for a service.
The renter’s takings are not your sales
If a renter’s client pays through your till or your card machine, you are collecting money on the renter’s behalf. That money is not your revenue. Record it in a liability account, such as Amounts Owed to Renters, and pay it over on an agreed day, usually after deducting the rent due.
| Example | Entry |
|---|---|
| Renter’s client pays 80 on the salon’s card machine | Debit card receipts 80 · Credit Amounts Owed to Renters 80 |
| Weekly rent of 120 is due from the same renter | Debit Amounts Owed to Renters (or Rent Receivable) 120 · Credit Chair Rental Income 120 |
| You pay the renter what is left over | Debit Amounts Owed to Renters · Credit bank |
The cleanest arrangement is for each renter to use their own card machine and their own booking system. Then the only money that crosses between you is the rent.
Security deposits
Many salons take a deposit when a renter moves in. It is not income. Record it in a liability account such as Renter Deposits Held, and keep it there until the renter leaves. If the agreement lets you keep part of it for unpaid rent or damage, move only that part out, and record why.
Late and unpaid rent
Record rent when it falls due, not only when it is paid. Unpaid rent then shows as Rent Receivable for each renter, and you can see at a glance who is behind and by how much. A short statement for each renter every month, showing rent due, payments received and balance, prevents most disagreements.
Shared costs
Decide in writing whether products, towels, laundry and utilities are included in the rent or charged separately. If you charge them separately, invoice them and record them as recharges, so your own product costs stay accurate.
For the stylist who rents
If you rent a chair, you are running your own small business:
- Your rent is a business expense. Keep the written agreement and pay by bank transfer so every payment is on record.
- Everything your clients pay you is your income, including tips, whichever way they pay.
- A security deposit you paid is money you will get back, not an expense.
- Money you take for yourself is drawings, not a salary.
Our bookkeeping guide for self-employed hairdressers gives you a simple record sheet and a 15-minute weekly routine.
Renter or employee? Check before you start
Calling someone a chair renter does not make them one. A renter normally sets their own prices and hours, keeps their own clients and takes their own payments. If the salon sets the prices, fills the diary and controls the hours, the stylist may legally count as an employee, with tax and employment duties for the salon. The tax authority looks at how the arrangement works in practice, so it is worth getting it checked once.
Salons with both employees and renters
Many salons mix the two models. Keep them apart in the books: employees’ services go to service sales and through payroll, while renters pay rent and keep their own takings. The biggest risk is a renter’s client being rung up as a normal salon sale. Train the front desk on which stylists are renters, and check the list of sales by stylist every week.
A monthly checklist for salon owners
- Rent due for every renter has been recorded
- Rent Receivable matches each renter’s statement
- No renter’s client appears in your service sales
- Amounts Owed to Renters has been paid over, or is agreed
- Renter Deposits Held equals the deposits in your signed agreements
- Recharges for products and shared costs have been invoiced
Recording chair rent in TressyPOS
TressyPOS is built for salons whose team works for the salon: bills, commission, payroll and tips are all handled for employed stylists. If you also rent chairs, you can add accounts such as Chair Rental Income and Renter Deposits Held to your Chart of Accounts and post each rent payment to them with a journal entry. That keeps rent out of your service sales, and your Profit & Loss shows rental income on its own line, next to real double-entry books for the rest of the salon.
For what a salon should record every day, read our guide to salon bookkeeping.
This article describes general bookkeeping practice. It is not tax, legal or employment advice; confirm the rules that apply to you with a qualified accountant or your local authority.