Salons & Spas
You're behind the chair all day. The books pile up at night. We take them off your plate.
Your Craft Came First
You got into this because you were talented. Clients followed you. You built a reputation. Eventually the math worked and you signed a lease, got your own chairs, put your name on the door.
What you probably didn’t plan for is the mountain of financial work that comes with running your own place. Tracking tips. Figuring out the right paperwork for booth renters. Filing sales tax on the products you sell. Reconciling the register after a full day of back-to-back clients. You trained to be great at what you do, not to manage a set of books.
Who We Work With
Who We Work With
Hair salons, barbershops, nail salons, day spas, med spas, massage therapists, estheticians, and independent beauty professionals across Buena Park, Orange County, and the Greater Los Angeles area.
Where You Are Right Now
Where You Are Right Now
Still doing client work most of the day. Handling the books at night or on weekends, if they get handled at all. Too busy to do it yourself and too far along to keep ignoring it.
What Makes Salon Books Different
Salons and spas have a mix of revenue types that most small businesses don’t deal with. Service income, retail product sales, card tips, cash tips, and booth rental payments from independent stylists all flow through the same bank account. Without proper tracking, it is impossible to know where the money is actually coming from and what is really driving your profit.
On the expense side, you have product inventory, supplies, equipment, rent, utilities, and potentially payroll for employees. If you also have booth renters, that is a separate set of paperwork entirely. We set up your books to separate all of this so you can see the full picture clearly every month.
Tip Tracking
Tip Tracking
Card tips and cash tips need to be recorded and reported properly. There are IRS requirements around tip reporting that many salon owners don’t realize apply to them. We make sure tips are handled correctly in your books and reflected in payroll.
Retail vs Services
Retail vs Services
Selling products and providing services have different margins and different tax treatment. California requires sales tax collection on retail product sales. We track these revenue streams separately so you know the profitability of each and your sales tax filings stay accurate.
California Adds a Layer
Running a salon in California comes with compliance requirements that other states don’t have. Worker classification is the big one. AB5 changed the rules around who qualifies as an independent contractor, and the salon industry was directly affected. Getting this wrong can lead to penalties from the EDD, back taxes, and a very stressful audit.
Beyond classification, California has its own payroll tax requirements through the EDD, including SDI and PIT withholdings on top of federal obligations. Sales tax on retail products has to be filed with the CDTFA on the correct schedule. If you’re hoping your POS system sorts all of this out automatically, there’s a good chance something is off.
Worker Classification
Worker Classification
Booth renters and employees are treated very differently by the IRS and the state of California. We help you understand the distinction and make sure your records, contracts, and filings support the way you have classified your workers. This is one of the most common audit triggers in the salon industry and it is worth getting right.
Sales Tax on Products
Sales Tax on Products
If you sell shampoo, skincare, styling tools, or any retail product, you are collecting sales tax. We track the taxable sales, reconcile them against your POS reports, and file your CDTFA returns on time. No guessing, no late penalties.
Clean Books, Clear Picture
Your books get closed every month. You can look at a report and see how much you made from services, how much from retail, and what your actual expenses were. Tax time stops being a scramble because everything is already organized and your CPA gets a clean file instead of a box of receipts.
Payroll runs on schedule. Your employees get paid correctly with the right withholdings. Your booth renters get their 1099s in January without a last-minute chase for W-9s. You stop worrying about whether you are doing something wrong and start running your business with real numbers to guide your decisions.
Monthly Books and Payroll
Monthly Books and Payroll
We close your books every month and handle payroll for your employees. Tax deposits, quarterly filings, and year-end forms are all taken care of. You spend your evenings off the clock instead of staring at QuickBooks.
Tax Season Without the Panic
Tax Season Without the Panic
When April comes around, your records are already organized. Your CPA or tax preparer gets clean financials with everything categorized and reconciled. No last-minute scramble. Just accurate numbers ready to file.
Orange County's Small Business Bookkeeper
The Next Step:
A Short Conversation
Tell us about your business and what you need help with. We'll listen, ask a few questions, and give you a straightforward quote with no surprises.
