Every salon owner knows tips—earning them, distributing them, handling them—are a very big deal. “Gratuities are no long crumbs,” declares Suzy Tryall, owner of Sage Tryall Salon in Lynchburg, VA, “they’re the cake. Tips are a huge part of our stylists’ incomes.” This fact led Tryall, and many other stylists, to take a good look at tipping in their salons, to find ways to streamline tip payments, reduce fees incurred by tipping on credit cards, get tip money to their stylists quickly, save time, increase security and satisfy clients and staffers. (And now more than ever, streamlining expenses and time is critical for salons.) Their searches often lead them to Tippy, a tipping platform built specifically for the beauty industry.

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Bigger Tips, Bigger Education Budget

Tryall implemented Tippy in fall of 2019—a process she describes as “easy peasy”—and hasn’t looked back. Why does she love Tippy? Let her count the ways! “Our clients say it’s so modern,” Tryall says. “When they touch the screen to allocate a tip, they feel like they’re putting money in their stylist’s hands. It’s the modern way to give someone money and a handshake!”

And without a doubt, tips have gotten bigger at Sage Tryall. (A Tippy spokesperson says on average, tips increase 21.5 percent with Tippy.) “All the math is done for the client on the screen,” Tryall explains, “so they don’t have to try to figure out what 10 or 20 percent comes to. And with Tippy, the stylist immediately knows the amount of the tip. The money goes directly to their account—they don’t have to wait for me to transfer the money from credit card receipts. They can even split a tip with their assistant, and that money goes directly into the assistant’s account.”

Best of all, says Tryall, is how the savings from Tippy has boosted her education fund. “We send our team around the world for education,” she says. “And now those substantial credit card fee savings are going straight into our education fund. It’s a fantastic way to use those savings.”

Saving, Not Spending

At Metropolitan Salon and Spa in La Crosse, WI, Holly Fox’s team of five stylists and five spa employees wanted to receive their tips immediately, instead of waiting for them to show up in their paychecks.  Fox’s Salon Centric rep tipped her off to Tippy and when Fox discovered the tips go directly to the service provider, she signed on. In a year, tip amounts have increased by seven percent and clients love knowing their tips are going directly to their service providers, and love the fact that their service providers know who left the tip and how much they gave.

Another win? While many beauty pros tend to neglect their financial health, Fox’s employees have turned Tippy into a savings incentive. “We implemented Tippy a year ago,” says Fox. “Since then, a majority of our stylists started savings accounts and they put their tip money directly into those accounts. Many of them weren’t saving any money prior to this.”

Funding An Expansion

Ashley Rose of Bleach Salon in Point Pleasant, NJ. was tired of playing accountant and banker. “My POS system makes it hard to separate tips from credit card charges,” she says. “I was spending so much time figuring out which tips went into which paycheck. With Tippy, I don’t have to do any of that. And because it’s all done digitally, I don’t have to keep large quantities of cash on hand. Plus my stylists don’t have to make all those trips to the bank to deposit their tips.”

Rose estimates she is saving several hundred dollars a month thanks to Tippy, and every penny is going into a planned expansion. “I took over the space next door,” she says. “I’ll be doubling my square footage, expanding my hours, offering a weekend blowout bar and adding facials, lashes and an expanded retail area, all with help from Tippy.”

Note To Owners

If you’re hesitating to check out Tippy, don’t, say Tryall, Fox and Rose. “It’s so easy, it saves money and the clients are happy—they think it’s so cute!” says Rose. “The support from the Tippy team is incredible from day one,” adds Fox. “They’re always super helpful and easy to work with.”  And Tryall sums it up this way: “This is one of the smartest things you can do to level up your business. It shows you are doing business in a correct and honest way and people today appreciate a business with integrity.” 

Tippy recently introduced Tipit Fwd, a virtual tip jar that is a simple way that salon clients can reach out and support their favorite service professionals through these challenging times—with both tips and encouraging messages. Here a salon owner shares how Tipit Fwd made a tremendous difference:

"I employ mostly younger people, just starting out in their career. That is a place in life where you often have more bills than money. The tip it forward program appeared at such a critical moment, allowing our guests to send a little extra support to the Stylists that have quickly become such a special part of their lives. In an industry where the professionals have had a difficult time earning the respect that they deserve, these short weeks have shown our society what an important role that Stylists play in everyone’s lives. Tippy has lifted-up the beauty industry in so many ways throughout this crisis. They have offered business and professional advice through their posts, comic relief and empathetic encouragement, when we need it most. Being willing to create a program to help Stylists thrive through the most difficult days they have faced, means everything. This crisis will end, and we will forget the stress and worry we endured. The behaviors of the companies, who have stood by our side, will last a lifetime. Thank you, Tippy! "   
Patricia Hill |  Patricia Hill Color Studio

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