How to share the salon reception computer without sharing an owner login

OpenChair's shared front-desk workstation gives a reception browser a restricted operational role. An owner or manager enrols the browser, an individual staff member claims it with their own PIN and the browser returns to a locked state when that person finishes.

That is different from leaving the owner's personal account signed in for everyone to use.

For a salon, barbershop or day spa, the useful question is not whether the computer can be shared. It is which tasks someone should be able to complete while they are using it, and what they should leave behind when they step away.

Start with the work reception actually needs to do#

A stylist covering the desk between appointments may need to review the schedule or handle an ordinary booking. A receptionist may need limited client lookup and operational messages. Neither situation automatically requires owner administration or sensitive care records.

Write down the tasks the shared computer is meant to support before setting it up. That gives you a practical test of whether the restricted workstation is the right tool.

If the job requires access outside that scope, deal with the access requirement directly. Do not make the shared browser permanently more powerful simply because an owner occasionally uses the same desk.

Enrol a dedicated browser#

An owner or manager sets up the browser as a front-desk workstation. The shared context is then distinct from their personal account authority.

When locked, the workstation shows a redacted schedule. It is not intended to preserve the full view of the last person who used the browser.

This matters at a public-facing desk. The next person to sit down should not inherit an unfinished client search or the owner's access to the business merely because the previous person left the screen open.

Enrolling a browser is a specific setup step. Simply opening OpenChair on a communal computer does not make it a shared workstation.

Have each operator claim the workstation#

A staff member uses their own PIN to claim the workstation before carrying out permitted work.

Here is an illustrative salon handover. The receptionist leaves for a break, and a stylist covers the desk. The receptionist locks the workstation. The stylist then claims it with their own PIN and works within the available front-desk tools.

The important boundary is the active person, not a password everyone knows. Do not circulate an owner's login as an alternative to individual workstation access.

The next step is to check the tasks that actually matter at your venue. Can the staff member find the right appointment and complete the permitted booking work without needing access that the workstation deliberately excludes?

Understand what restricted access means#

The shared workstation exposes Schedule, restricted operational Inbox and limited Clients access.

These tools should not be confused with the full application available in a personal account.

In a day spa, for example, reception may need enough information to manage the booking without accessing every therapist's detailed consultation record. In a barbershop, someone covering the desk may need the schedule without needing owner settings.

Those are examples of access requirements, not a claim that every record is available in shared mode. Sensitive care records and owner administration are outside the restricted front-desk scope described here.

Lock before the next person takes over#

The handover is not complete when the booking task is finished. It is complete when the operator locks the workstation.

Locking removes the active claim and protected destinations. OpenChair's July web production review also checked that a retained client-search draft was cleared when the workstation was locked.

Use that as a practical test on your own configured browser. Claim it, perform an ordinary permitted task, lock it and inspect what remains visible. Then let another authorised operator claim it in turn.

A shared-device routine should include the moments when people are distracted, not just the ideal demonstration. Agree who locks the browser when the desk changes hands, when the venue closes and when an operator leaves the workstation unexpectedly.

Software controls and staff habits need to work together. A lock action cannot help while an authorised person deliberately leaves the active session open.

Keep owner work in the right context#

Some work requires a personal account. The workstation provides a temporary personal-account handoff for that situation.

Treat it as a change of working context. The person signs in with their own authority for the task that needs it, then returns the browser to the intended shared state afterwards.

An owner checking administration should not leave that personal session as the default reception setup for the rest of the day.

Check the browser and the installed app separately#

The shared-workstation journey described here was verified on the production web application in July 2026. The release evidence separately recorded outstanding physical native-device privacy, accessibility and payment-interruption checks.

That means a browser demonstration is not proof that every iPad or Android scenario has been verified. Test the device and installed software your team will actually use, especially before relying on a payment or device-specific workflow.

This article is about a dedicated browser workstation. It is not a blanket claim about tablet security, offline behaviour or every payment device.

A useful first setup#

Start with one reception browser and a small number of authorised operators. Review the locked view, the individual claim, an ordinary permitted task, the lock action and any personal-account handoff the venue genuinely needs.

The result you are looking for is specific: staff can complete front-desk work without sharing an owner's personal login or leaving unnecessary access for the next person.

For the broader client-record responsibilities that sit outside a simple front-desk task, see the consultation forms guide.