STINGER CHAIR
Scheduling software for barbershops and salons, built around the walk-in.
The scheduling and workforce platform that costs enterprise companies thousands a year — except walk-ins are a named queue in the book, not a clipboard next to it. Runs on its own or inside Command Center.
Live
Floor, on a real shop.
Atelier Sol — Miami Design District · demo shop, seeded, never the default on a real account
Wait list
Named. In order. Not a clipboard.
Atelier Sol — Miami Design District · a cancellation goes to the next person waiting who fits
The problem
Marketplace products can't speak a shop floor. Shop products can't speak a clipboard.
Walk-ins are 60–80% of a barbershop
If the turn isn't in the book, the book is a lie. The Turn is a named, first-come walk-in queue built into Floor — call, seat, leave — not a side list.
Booth renters as real tenants
A booth renter gets their own booking link and their own book inside the shop. Rent is tracked, not billed — Chair has no payment connection, so nothing is ever drafted from anyone's account.
No client app required
An Instagram bio link goes straight to the shop's own booking page. Phone number is the client's identity — no app to install, no marketplace account to create.
The floor
How does one shop book stay in sync across every chair?
Shared shop book
Every staff member on a shop writes to the same book on the server, not a private copy on someone's phone. Two people editing at once merge rather than one silently overwriting the other, and the floor refreshes on save — the same book, not a live cursor.
Formula notes that append, never overwrite
Guard, lineup, color, allergies — notes accumulate per client instead of getting replaced, so the history survives even when the stylist changes.
Shop time, not phone time
Every clock reads off the shop's real timezone, computed from hours minus booked time minus buffers — not a slots table someone forgot to update.
Barber talk and salon talk, same shop book
Barber and salon words both map onto the same shop, staff, service, and appointment book — the same way Cage handles a bar and a trade yard.
Money & identity
Does salon scheduling software have to touch your card payments?
Confirm gate on every dollar
Deposits are queued on a typed or tapped confirm at the desk and never charged — Stripe is not connected. No-show fees and booth rent are recorded, not billed. Chair has no spoken money path — there's no version of "Annabelle, charge them" that actually moves a dollar.
Stamped with who was actually logged in
Every change is stamped with who was actually signed in. A name a customer typed does not count as who did the work.
Honest payouts
The shop's Stripe connection state comes from the server only — a client request can't flip it on. Until Stripe is actually connected, the till says queued, not collected.
What's real vs. what's roadmap
Honest about unconnected, not silent about it.
Stripe: labeled unconnected
Cash confirms work today. Card payments queue rather than pretending to collect — the UI says so plainly instead of showing a fake "paid" state. Chair does not fake a payments integration it doesn't have live.
SMS and calendar push: not yet live
The consent checkbox exists in the UI; there's no carrier or Google Calendar connection behind it yet. That's called out directly rather than shipped as a dead toggle.
Shared login with Command Center: designed, not live
Chair runs standalone today and is included with Stinger Command Center's higher tiers. Signing in once across the two is designed but not yet wired — when it lands, money still needs a human confirm; neither rule gets looser.
How it compares
Chair against Square Appointments, Vagaro, and Booksy.
Vagaro also has a real booth-renter product with its own booking pages and rent collection — that one's not a clean win. Chair's honest gaps: Stripe isn't connected yet, so card payments queue instead of collecting, and native SMS reminders and calendar sync are still roadmap.
| Feature | Chair | Square Appointments | Vagaro | Booksy |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| A named, structured walk-in queue built into the daily schedule (not just an appointment waitlist) | Yes | Not stated | Unclear — "customer waitlist options" listed, not distinguished from a walk-in queue | Not stated |
| Independent booth/chair renters get their own booking page and rent tracking | Yes | Not stated | yes — dedicated booth-renter product with individual booking pages and automated rent/fee collection | Not stated |
| Native built-in payment processing (can actually charge a card) | no — Stripe not connected; deposits and no-show fees are recorded, not charged | Yes | yes — Vagaro Merchant Services | Yes |
| Clients can book with no app required, via a shareable link | Yes | yes — booking website, Book Now button, QR code | Partial — booking via Vagaro Marketplace/social; app-free confirmation not explicit | Partial — Booksy Profile Link; app-free confirmation not explicit |
| Client notes/preferences persist and accumulate across visits | Yes | Not stated | Partial — "client tracking" and SOAP notes listed, accumulation scope not stated | Not stated |
| Native SMS appointment reminders working today | roadmap — consent checkbox exists in the UI, no carrier connected yet | Partial — "appointment reminders" listed, SMS not confirmed specifically | Partial — "unlimited notifications" listed, SMS not confirmed specifically (email confirmed) | yes — free SMS confirmations/reminders included |
| Monthly cost, single location | no extra fee — included in your plan | Free tier exists; Plus ~$29/mo, Premium ~$69/mo per third-party aggregators, not confirmed on Square’s own page | $23.99/mo to start, +$10/calendar up to 7 | $29.99/mo + tax, +$20/mo per additional team member |
| Native calendar sync (e.g. Google Calendar) for staff | roadmap — designed, not yet wired | Not stated | Not stated | Not stated |
Competitor figures pulled from each vendor's own pricing/feature pages, 2026-09-03. Chair features drawn from what's live today per this page and the internal capability catalog.
Get started
Runs alone. Comes free with the platform.
Chair is sold on its own to shops that never touch the rest of Stinger, and it's included with Command Center's larger tiers. Either way, it's the same shop booking system — no second product, no second login to manage later.
Related: see Chair alongside Stinger Command Center, or browse the full Stinger platform.