Question 1

Which countries does OpenChair work in?

Accepted Answer

OpenChair is built for venues in Australia, New Zealand, and the United Kingdom. Pricing is in your local currency (AUD, NZD, or GBP). Payments process through Stripe with Tap to Pay on iPhone and Stripe Terminal in all three regions. Calendar Closures includes one-tap import of AU, NZ, and UK national public holidays. Support runs in local hours and all client-facing copy uses British English.

Question 2

Is there a free trial of Pro?

Accepted Answer

Yes. Every new venue gets a 14-day free trial of Pro with full feature access — AI Concierge, Reconnect, Style Match, Intelligence, included Sparks, branded storefront, commission tracking, and lower 1.8% + 30c processing. No credit card is required to start the trial. When it ends you can stay on Pro from A$34.95 / NZ$24.95 / £19.95 a month, or drop to the Free plan at any time.

Question 3

What's included in the Free plan?

Accepted Answer

The Free plan is free forever and includes unlimited appointments, one team member, five services, online booking on an OpenChair-branded storefront, client management, email reminders, Stripe payments with Tap to Pay on iPhone, and a native iOS and Android app. Processing is 3.0% + 50c. No credit card is required, no booking commission is taken, and there is no time limit. Move to Pro when you need automations, lower processing, team tools, and AI features.

Question 4

How do I get paid with OpenChair?

Accepted Answer

OpenChair handles all card processing through Stripe — one all-in rate with no separate processor fees. On Free, you pay 3.0% + 50¢ per transaction. On Pro, it drops to 1.8% + 30¢. International card transactions attract an additional 1.8% surcharge for cross-border processing. Unlike marketplace platforms that take 20% of every new client booking, OpenChair charges zero commission. Your clients, your revenue — always. Pro venues can choose weekly or monthly payouts.

Question 5

How does per-seat pricing work with the monthly cap?

Accepted Answer

Pro starts with a base seat price — A$34.95 (NZ$24.95, £19.95) — and each additional team member is just A$20 (NZ$20, £10). A 3-person team costs A$74.95/mo. There’s a hard monthly cap: A$199 (NZ$199, £99). No matter how many team members you add after that, your bill stays the same. A 10-person team and a 20-person team both pay the capped rate. The more you grow, the better the value — your effective per-seat cost goes down as your team scales.

Question 6

Are there any hidden fees?

Accepted Answer

No. The processing rate shown is all-in — there are no separate payment processor fees, gateway fees, or monthly minimums added on top. International card transactions attract an additional 1.8% surcharge, which covers cross-border processing costs. Domestic transactions pay only the advertised rate. What you see on the pricing page is what you pay.

Question 7

Am I locked into a contract with OpenChair?

Accepted Answer

No. All plans are month-to-month with no lock-in contracts and no cancellation fees. You can upgrade, downgrade, or cancel at any time from your account settings. If you choose annual billing, you save the equivalent of 2 months (∼17%) — but you can still cancel and receive a prorated refund for unused months. We earn your business every month, not through a contract.

Question 8

Can I switch between Free and Pro?

Accepted Answer

Yes, anytime. Upgrade from Free to Pro and you’ll be charged the prorated difference for the rest of your billing cycle — you get immediate access to all Pro features including AI Concierge, Processing Gaps, and included SMS. Downgrading takes effect at the start of your next billing cycle, so you keep Pro features for the remainder of your paid period.

Question 9

Do I need a credit card to start?

Accepted Answer

No credit card is needed to create your account and set up your venue. You’ll need to complete Stripe Connect onboarding before your booking page can accept client payments — this takes about 5 minutes and ensures your business is ready to process real transactions from day one. You can explore the full platform and build your service menu before connecting Stripe.

Question 10

How does OpenChair compare to Fresha on pricing?

Accepted Answer

Fresha charges a 20% commission on every new client booked through their marketplace — that adds up to thousands per year for a busy salon. OpenChair charges zero commission on bookings, ever. Pro starts from A$34.95/mo with additional seats at just A$20 each and a hard monthly cap of A$199 regardless of team size. SMS and email marketing are included, not a paid add-on. And OpenChair offers AI features Fresha doesn’t have: automatic cancellation filling from your waitlist, multi-wave lapsed-client win-back, AI-generated campaign copy, and a concierge that handles enquiries on your behalf.

Question 11

What SMS and email allowances are included?

Accepted Answer

Pro includes generous SMS and email allowances that scale with your team. You get 100 SMS plus 50 per seat (so 150 with one seat, 250 with three, all the way to a 550 cap), and 1,000 emails per seat up to 10,000. These cover appointment reminders, win-back campaigns, review requests, and marketing blasts. If you exceed your allowance, additional messages are charged from your prepaid Wallet balance at A$0.08 per SMS on Pro (or A$0.10 on Free) — still well under what Fresha and Timely charge. Email overages cost a fraction of a cent per send.

Question 12

What is the Prepaid Wallet and how do Sparks work?

Accepted Answer

The Wallet is a prepaid balance used for messaging overages and AI usage. AI credits are called Sparks — 1 Spark = 1 cent. Pro venues get 500 Sparks per active seat (up to 5,000 pooled at venue level). These are consumed first for AI features like Concierge actions, Style Match, and content generation. When included Sparks run out, the Wallet covers the difference at the same rate. All included allowances (Sparks, SMS, and email) reset each billing period — unused balances do not carry over. You can top up your Wallet anytime via Stripe or enable Auto-Top-Up for uninterrupted service.

Question 13

What payment methods can my clients use?

Accepted Answer

Your clients can pay through your Stripe-connected storefront via credit or debit card (Visa, Mastercard, Amex), Apple Pay, and Google Pay. For in-venue payments, OpenChair supports contactless payments via Stripe Terminal on both iOS and Android — no additional hardware required. For your subscription billing, we accept any major credit or debit card through Stripe.

Simple pricing for salons that plan to grow.

Free

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Simple, All-in Processing

No marketplace commissions

Per-seat pricing, capped

No lock-in contracts

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