FAQs

Nisha is Australian booking and business software for salons, clinics and service businesses. It runs your calendar, online booking, client records, inventory and checkout, and it shows you the profit behind every service, not just the revenue. An AI business mentor reads your numbers and tells you what to do next. It was built by a working hairdresser, Samantha Harrison.

Hair salons, beauty and skin clinics, extension specialists, nail studios, massage and wellness businesses, and solo operators. If you take appointments and use product on clients, Nisha fits. It works for one person or a team of twenty.

Nisha is live. You can sign up and start a 14-day free trial at app.nisha.com.au right now. The founders waitlist was for early access before launch.

Those platforms manage appointments and take payments. Nisha does that too, then goes further: it connects your bookings, team pay, product usage and overheads to show the profit on every service, and it recommends what to change. Inventory and service costing are built in, not bolted on. It is like having a business coach inside your booking system.

We get asked this a lot. The honest answer is that we won't speak for Phorest's features. What Nisha is built around is profit per service: every booking carries its product cost, wage cost and target, so you see what each appointment actually made. Inventory, Scale Station colour weighing, booking fees and an AI mentor are included. If you want to compare side by side, send us a message through the contact page and we'll walk you through it. 

Nisha's Scale Station also weighs colour, so if you keep Vish you would be weighing in two places. Many owners switch to Nisha for the booking, profit and inventory side and leave Scale Station off until their Vish contract ends; Your scales can be used in Nisha 

Yes. Send us a message through the contact page with a sentence about your business and we'll come back to you within 24 hours. The free trial also includes setup videos that show every section of the app.

Prices are in Australian dollars. Solo is $49 a month for one bookable person. Team is $39 per bookable team member per month, for up to three. Pro is $140 a month for four bookable team members, then $35 for each extra. Inventory management is included in every plan. Non-bookable team members such as receptionists and assistants are free and unlimited. See the pricing page for the full inclusions.

Scale Station is an optional add-on at $49 a month per business, flat, not per team member. The smart scales are bought separately from a retailer, not from Nisha. Nisha works with Acaia Bluetooth scales.

Yes. Every plan comes with a 14-day free trial. You add a card when you pick a plan, but you are not charged until the trial ends, and you can cancel any time before then.

No. Nisha is month to month with no long-term commitment.

A bookable team member takes clients and has their own calendar column. That's who you pay for. Non-bookable team members, such as receptionists, assistants or a social media person, can be added free so their wages and hours count in your numbers.

No. Texts are sold at cost as prepaid credits: 10 cents per credit, from $10 for 100. Credits roll over and never expire, and you can set a monthly cap so overflow goes to email instead. Email reminders and in-app notifications are unlimited and included.

Platforms that "include" SMS usually pay for it by taking a percentage of your card transactions. Nisha doesn't take a cut of your sales, so texts are passed on at cost and you only pay for what you use.

No. Nisha runs in a web browser on the iPad, laptop, phone or computer you already have. For card payments you keep using your existing EFTPOS terminal.

Yes. Export your client list from your current system and import it in Customers, using the import wizard for your old platform. Names, numbers and emails come across, and duplicates are flagged so you can merge them. Appointment history and client can be done using claude in Chrome & our team can assist with the transfer.

Yes, appointments can't be imported, but you only do it once. Set up your services first, turn client notifications off, then enter bookings starting from the furthest date and working back; it's fewer appointments that way. Use repeat appointments for regulars. Most owners run both systems side by side for about two weeks.

Keep Nisha's client notifications off while you load the calendar, and turn them on in Settings, then Client Communication, once you've moved across. Warn that week's clients they may get one duplicate message.

Services can't be imported by spreadsheet because they link to product costs, durations and targets that other systems don't export, but we can rebuild your menu from your public booking link. Retail products can be loaded from a price list. Inventory items can be uploaded by a CSV or PDF using our import wizard.

Its not HARD, it can also be done using Claude in your Chrome browser. It takes a little more effort than a standard booking system, because it asks for your team's pay, your product costs and your inventory. That's what lets it show true profit. You do it once. One founding member set up her whole account from the onboarding videos before her first call.

When an imported client goes to book online for the first time, Nisha recognises them as an existing client and emails them a link to set a password, so their history stays on one record.

Yes. You get a booking page with your own link to put on your website, Instagram and Google profile. There is no marketplace, so clients find you through your link, not a directory, and there are no new-client fees.

Set a default fee as a flat amount or a percentage, then override it per service if you like (for example 100% on consultations). Online bookings pay automatically. For bookings you make yourself, send a payment request at creation or any time later. If it isn't paid within your window (24 hours by default), the appointment cancels itself if you have the AUTO CANCEL feature turned on, the client is warned 12 hours before and after. Booking fees need Stripe connected and SMS credits in your account.

We call it a booking fee on purpose. A deposit usually has to be refunded; a booking fee is a non-refundable charge for holding the time, kept according to your cancellation policy. Clear wording protects you if a client disputes it.

Yes. You can override the fee on any request or waive it for a client, so your loyal regulars aren't treated like first-timers.

Their booking fee is kept, in line with the cancellation policy you set. If you'd rather keep the goodwill, you can convert the fee to store credit for their next visit with one tap.

Yes. Each stylist's online availability can be set to everyone, to an existing-client group only, or off. A fully booked stylist can keep taking their regulars online without opening the door to new clients. 

Not if you use packages. Build the full service as a package, turn the individual components off for online booking, and clients can only book the complete job. Nisha still costs each component separately behind the scenes.

Yes. A "please confirm" message goes first (say five to seven days out) and a reminder last (24 hours out). You choose which messages are on and whether each goes by SMS or email, in Settings, then Client Communication.

No. Messages come from a verified Nisha sender with your salon's name in the message, and clients tap a link to confirm, reschedule or pay rather than replying "yes".

When a client cancels, Nisha can text clients booked later and offer them the earlier time. The first to claim it gets it; everyone else keeps their original appointment. It fills gaps without you ringing around.

In the salon you keep using your own EFTPOS terminal or provider, such as Square. Nisha runs the checkout and records the sale, so your reports are complete. Online booking fees and express checkout links run through Stripe.

Only for booking fees, the express checkout link and buying SMS credits. Connect it under Settings, then Integrations. One Stripe account per Nisha account.

Check the client in, then send them an express checkout link from Nisha to pay on their phone, now or later.

Refund online booking fees inside Nisha. Refund terminal payments through your terminal provider, then record it in Nisha so your reports stay right.

For each service it takes the price, subtracts the product used and the estimated wage for the time, and compares the result with the target from your Income & Targets. You can filter services that are above target, below target or losing money. Aim for roughly 80% above target.

It's where you tell Nisha what you need to take home, your business costs and your savings goal. From that it works out what every paid hour has to earn, and what each service needs to make. It's a living number: start modest and raise it as you grow.

It's an estimate of personal income tax added on top of your take-home, so your target covers it. Nisha doesn't model GST, BAS or company tax and isn't connected to your accountant's software. If you want a buffer, add your usual BAS or PAYG instalment as a recurring business cost. Treat it as an estimate and check with your accountant.

Recurring fixed overheads you claim: rent, electricity, software, insurance. Don't add wages (they come from team profiles) or stock orders (product cost is taken per service), or you'll count them twice.

No, the opposite. When processing time is bookable, another client pays for those minutes, so they drop out of that service's cost. If you want a one-on-one experience, leave it off.

Yes. The Price planner shows each service against its target and lets you reprice in bulk by percentage, margin, profit per hour or Nisha's recommendation. It can lower prices as well as raise them.

No. Nisha gives you day-to-day operating numbers; your accounting software handles compliance. There are no accounting integrations yet.

Scale Station weighs the colour and product used on every service with a Bluetooth smart scale. It updates your stock, works out the true cost of that appointment, saves the formula to the client, and lets you charge for product used beyond the service's allowance.

Acaia Bluetooth smart scales. Any device with Bluetooth and the Chrome or Edge browser can run the station.

No. Weigh your bowl once and save its weight under Scale Station hardware; if you have several bowls, save the lightest. Nisha subtracts it on every reweigh.

Nisha assumes all of the product was used. That keeps the team accountable and stops wastage hiding in your numbers.

Yes. Set a markup on the product cost or a fixed price per 10 grams. Anything over the service's allowance appears as a product usage line at checkout, and you can require an owner PIN for large charges.

Yes. The products and grams used are saved to the client's profile under Formulas, ready for next time.

Yes. The owner recap inside Scale Station shows within and over allowance, excess absorbed, bowls wasted and unfinished bowls. Reports, then Scale Station analytics, breaks usage down by brand, category and shade.

No, but many salons leave a tablet at the colour bar set up for it. Checkout still works from an iPad or any other device.

Yes. Assistants, receptionists and support staff are added free so their wages and hours are in your numbers. Only bookable team members are charged.

No. Pay, wage costs and whole-business profit sit behind Owner Mode, which has its own PIN. Each team member sees only their own information, and you set what each role can see in Roles & Permissions. Product costs are hidden from the team.

They can, with their PIN on any device, which feeds the virtual timesheet. It's optional if you run payroll elsewhere. Missed a clock-in? Edit the timesheet in Pay run.

Yes. Commission plans run weekly, fortnightly or monthly, inclusive or exclusive of GST, with refunds applied to the next period. KPIs pay a reward on top of a wage, and team members can see their own progress if you allow it.

Yes. Save the app to the home screen and it works like an app. Send team members their own account logins from their team member profiles. 

You can give team access to their KPI's and contractors access to their own "My earnings" reports so they can see their commissions and personal numbers, without sharing your own private reports. 

Yes, in every plan. Inventory tracks retail and professional products, suppliers, stock on hand, low-stock levels and stocktakes, and a barcode scanner for quick entry. Product used on services is deducted automatically.

Group by how you use it, not by brand: toner, bleach, developer, colour. For permanent colour, make levels the subcategories and shades the variations. Service costs attach at category level, because you don't know the shade until the client is in the chair.

No. Adjust stock on hand manually or use the stocktake variance.

If you're a sole trader, leave "I pay myself a wage" off in your team member profile and enter what you want to take home under Personal Take-Home in Income & Targets. Owner drawings aren't a wage cost, which is why they won't show as one. Enter both your bills and the extra you want on top; Nisha adds the tax needed to cover it. If you'd rather be treated like an employee, turn "I pay myself a wage" on and Nisha factors in tax and super.

Two things first. Business expenses should not include wages or product costs; those come from team profiles and service costs. And every team member's rostered hours need to be entered, because the target is spread across the hours your team can actually be booked. With both in, the number is usually right.

Keep each location's expenses in its own account. Shared costs are split between them. 

Yes, you do this in integrations. And it will show on your booking system.

Some systems export names in one column. Send your CSV to support and we'll convert it into the Nisha template for you to upload; placeholder email addresses are cleared so no one gets messaged at a dead address, and notes come across. If you've already imported a messy list, tell us and we'll help you clear it. 

Usually they were flagged as duplicates (often family members sharing a mobile number) or marked deleted in your old system. Send us your original export and your Nisha list and we'll compare them.

Client details import. Appointment history and old notes don't, so keep your old system open for reference while you settle in. Fresha doesn't have an import wizard yet; send your customer CSV and we'll convert it.

Yes. Linked clients share a point of contact, so a child's appointment reminders go to the parent's number, and you can check out several linked clients together. 

Only Stripe's fee. Nisha doesn't add a fee on top.

Yes. In calendar settings, choose the time increment you want: 10, 15 or 20 minutes. 

Nisha now sets your timezone from your business address automatically, and you can override it in your business profile. 

Yes. Overtime thresholds are set per team member in their pay settings. 

Send a form yourself from the client's profile, or let it go out automatically by attaching it to a service or by setting an automation rule, such as "send my consultation form to every new client". Forms currently go by both text and email; the option to choose one is being added.

Use Report Bugs on the Nisha home page. It goes straight into the development queue, and most reported bugs are fixed within about a day. Include your device and what you were doing when it happened.

Yes. We run a live onboarding webinar for new members. 

If an answer isn't right, give it a thumbs down. That flags it for Samantha to correct, and the mentor gets better for everyone.

Nisha runs in your browser on any phone, tablet or computer; save it to your home screen and it opens like an app. A native app is in development. 

The screen locks after a period of inactivity so the next person can't see your private information. Set the timer or turn it off under Settings, then PIN access. You're only signed out fully after seven days of inactivity.

Yes. Each business's data and AI mentor are isolated from every other account, financials are hidden from team logins, and you can export your data whenever you need it. See our privacy policy for details.

Nisha is built in Australia and priced in AUD. Clients with overseas mobile numbers can book online. Nisha is also LIVE in UK, USA, and NZ.

Email support with replies within 24 hours, setup videos for every section, Whatsapp community and 1:1 calls when needed.