Setting up a nail salon loyalty program in Australia (2026)

Published 27 September 2026 · Updated 28 September 2026 · Reviewed quarterly

For a nail salon, run a digital stamp card in Apple or Google Wallet: one stamp per appointment and a reward after 5 to 10 visits, like a free nail art add-on or a 10th manicure free. Clients join by scanning your reception QR in about 20 seconds. On Rewardtree this is free and takes about 5 minutes.

The steps#

1. Pick the reward. Choose one reward clients will want: a free nail art add-on after 5 visits, or the 10th manicure free. An add-on costs you little and feels like a treat.
2. Set the number of visits. Regulars often book every few weeks, so keep the card short enough to finish: 5 visits for an add-on, or 10 for a full service with a small treat at visit 5.
3. Add head-start stamps. Start every new client with a stamp already on the card, so their first appointment feels like progress.
4. Put the QR at reception. Print the counter kit from the Share page in your dashboard and stand the QR at reception, where clients wait and pay. Clients scan it, confirm their mobile with a texted code and add the card to Apple Wallet or Google Wallet.
5. Stamp at checkout with the Merchant app. When a client pays, staff scan the QR on their card with the free Rewardtree Merchant app and tap Add stamp. The card on the client's phone updates to show the new stamp.
6. Carry over paper regulars. For clients with a paper card, staff add their stamps by hand in the Merchant app. That needs an owner or manager, or the staff member's own PIN, and every stamp added by hand is recorded under that person's name.

Why nail salons suit stamp cards#

A nail salon runs on regulars. Many clients book on a rhythm, every few weeks for a gel refresh or an infill, and each of those visits is one appointment. That makes the stamp card a natural fit: one appointment, one stamp, and a reward the client can see getting closer.

The trouble has always been the paper card. It's in another handbag, it gets tossed out with the receipts, and a card you can't find doesn't bring anyone back. A digital stamp card lives in the client's Apple Wallet or Google Wallet, on the phone they're holding while they wait for their nails to dry.

It also gives you something paper never did: a list of your clients, with when they joined, how many visits they've made and when they last came in.

Rewards that work#

Pick one of these as your main reward:

• Free nail art add-on after 5 visits. Costs you a few minutes and a little product, and it feels like a treat.
• 10th manicure free. The classic, easy to understand.
• $20 off your 6th visit. A clear dollar amount suits a higher-priced menu.

Keep the reward something from your own menu. A free service is worth the full menu price to the client and costs you less than that to give. And keep it to one reward: clients should be able to explain it to a friend in one sentence.

You can also add up to three small treats partway along, like a free cuticle oil at visit 3. Each can be used once per card, and they come back after the main reward.

When you set up the card, pick the stamp shape you like (a heart or a star suits a salon), add your logo and colours, and check the live preview on an iPhone and an Android phone.

How many visits to set#

Work it out from how often your regulars come:

• A client who comes every three weeks reaches 5 visits in about three months, and 10 visits in about six months.
• A client who comes every two weeks reaches 5 visits in about two months, and 10 visits in about four months.

A good rule of thumb is that a regular should be able to picture reaching the reward. So:

• For an add-on or a smaller reward, 5 visits.
• For a full free service, 8 to 10 visits, with a small treat at visit 5 so the finish never feels too far away.

Add head-start stamps too. A new client whose card already shows a stamp has been told, without a word, that you expect to see them again.

Staying on their phone between appointments#

The weeks between appointments are where clients drift. A few free things keep your salon in front of them:

• The card is always there. It sits in Apple Wallet or Google Wallet, with your name, your colours and their progress.
• It updates every visit. After each stamp, the card on their phone shows the new count, so they can see the reward getting closer.
• Your booking link on the back. The back of the card holds a short note, up to four links and your contact details. Put your online booking link there, and rebooking is one tap away.
• The lock screen near your salon. When a member is near your salon, their iPhone can show your card on the lock screen with a short line you write once in Settings, like "Time for a refresh?". It's free on every plan.

Rebooking reminders#

The honest version: Rewardtree doesn't send rebooking reminders on the free plan. The card, the booking link on its back and the lock-screen line all work by themselves, for free.

If you want to send your members messages yourself, that's the Growth plan, A$29/month + GST. It's for one-off offers, come-back messages you switch on, AI-written message ideas, member groups, and a report of the sales those messages won back. You don't need it to run a stamp card. The details are on the pricing page.

The simplest rebooking reminder is still free: ask at checkout, while you're stamping the card, "Shall we book you in for three weeks' time?"

Staff and a shared reception phone#

Most salons have one phone or tablet at reception that everyone uses. That works well with Rewardtree:

1. Add everyone who works reception on the Staff page of your dashboard. Staff are unlimited on every plan.
2. Give each person their own 4 to 6 digit PIN with Set PIN. No two people can share one, and that includes you.
3. On the reception phone, install the free Rewardtree Merchant app, sign in with the owner's or a manager's email, and switch on Shared counter device.

Scanning a card needs no PIN. Adding stamps by hand does: each person types their own PIN, and the stamp is recorded under their name. The counter kit you print from the Share page includes a staff cheat-sheet, so a new starter can learn it in a minute.

Moving paper regulars#

Your paper-card regulars shouldn't lose what they've earned. Once a client has joined with the QR:

1. In the Merchant app, open Members and tap Award a stamp manually.
2. Look the client up by their mobile number.
3. Enter the stamps from their paper card, plus today's visit, in one go.
4. Tap Award, and type your PIN if the app asks.

Every stamp added by hand is recorded under the person who added it, and anything unusual shows up for the owner under Fraud alerts on the dashboard.

Going live in a morning#

1. Claim your free link and follow the setup: stamps, your reward, your colours. It takes about 5 minutes.
2. Print the counter kit from the Share page and put the QR at reception.
3. Install the free Rewardtree Merchant app on the reception phone and sign in (see "Staff and a shared reception phone" above). You need it to scan cards; your clients never need an app.
4. Add your staff and their PINs.
5. Tell the next client: "Scan this and your loyalty card goes in your phone's wallet."

It's free forever, with unlimited clients, staff and locations. The join page works in eight languages, including Vietnamese, Simplified Chinese and Arabic, so clients can join in the language their phone uses. For the full plan, read how to set up a loyalty program in Australia, and for the counter details, the digital stamp card guide.

Questions, answered#

Run a nail salon? See Rewardtree for nail salons.