Question 1

Who owns my client book on FolioCut?

Accepted Answer

You do. Your client list, visit history, cadence, notes, portfolio photos and reviews are tied to your chair, not to the shop you rent from or work for. FolioCut treats every provider as their own business with their own data silo.

Question 2

Can FolioCut remind my clients when they're due?

Accepted Answer

Yes. Turn on Auto rebook reminders in your Clients tab. When a client is about 85% of the way to their usual next visit and has nothing booked, FolioCut sends one friendly text or app alert with your booking link around 10am your time. Only clients who agreed to reminders get it, never more than one per visit cycle, and never within 14 days of a Make Me Busy message.

Question 3

How do I add a Book button to my Google Maps listing?

Accepted Answer

Copy your FolioCut link from your dashboard, open your Google Business Profile, tap Edit profile, paste it under Bookings or Appointment links, and save. Clients who tap Book on Google land on your FolioCut page, so deposits and the style consult still apply. Google can take a few days to show it.

Question 4

If I leave my shop, do my clients and booking link come with me?

Accepted Answer

Yes. Your personal link (foliocut.ai/b/yourname) belongs to you and follows you. Moving to another shop or going independent moves your chair, your services and your upcoming bookings with you. Clients keep booking you on the same link.

Question 5

What does the shop keep when I leave?

Accepted Answer

Only the records of visits that already happened in that shop, because the shop needs them for its own bookkeeping and taxes. The shop does not get your client contact list, your upcoming bookings or your link.

Question 6

Can a shop owner lock me out or move my chair?

Accepted Answer

No. Your login is your own account. A shop owner cannot move your chair, change your link or delete your client book. Joining someone else's shop needs that owner's approval, but leaving is your call.

Question 7

Can I go independent?

Accepted Answer

Yes. With one tap you can run your chair from your own private studio. It stays off the public shop directory, and your link keeps working.

Question 8

How is this different from other booking apps?

Accepted Answer

On many salon platforms the shop account owns the client database, so a barber who leaves starts over. On FolioCut the provider owns the book and the shop owns the location.

Question 9

Does FolioCut market other barbers to my clients?

Accepted Answer

No. Your booking page shows you. FolioCut is not a discount marketplace that sends your regulars to the shop down the street.

Question 10

How do deposits work?

Accepted Answer

Clients pay a 10% deposit when they book, and the card is kept on file for the balance. On paid plans you can turn deposits off, but a client booking again within 72 hours of another booking still pays a deposit, so nobody can tie up your day for free.

Question 11

Can I approve bookings before they are confirmed?

Accepted Answer

Yes. Booking requests hold the slot while you decide. The deposit is only held on the card, so a decline or an expired request costs no card fees.

Question 12

Do walk-ins work too?

Accepted Answer

Yes. Walk-ins join a live line, get the next available chair, and get a text about five minutes before their turn. Public line boards only show initials.

Question 13

Why not just use ChatGPT or a filter app for a haircut preview?

Accepted Answer

Generic tools invent hair that cannot be cut on your head. FolioCut renders the look on the client's real photo as one clean picture, keeps the face, clothing and background consistent across views, and keeps the goal realistic for the client's hair.

Question 14

What does the barber get from the AI?

Accepted Answer

A chair sheet: the agreed look plus practical cutting notes, so client and pro walk in on the same page. Clients can ask for revisions until it looks right.

Question 15

Does the AI choose hair colour formulas?

Accepted Answer

No. For colour, the AI writes an advisory brief only: lift, placement, timing and risks, and it always flags when a strand or patch test is needed. Real mixes are written by the stylist and stay staff-only.

Question 16

Does the AI replace the barber's judgment?

Accepted Answer

Never. The professional checks the real hair, scalp and growth patterns and makes the final call. The completed-cut check is deliberately lenient. It looks for a practical match, not pixel perfection.

Question 17

What is Make Me Busy?

Accepted Answer

When you have openings in the next 72 hours, Make Me Busy finds clients who are actually due, based on how often they really come in, and invites them with a one-tap rebook link.

Question 18

Will it spam my whole list?

Accepted Answer

No. It skips clients who already have a booking, only texts clients who opted in, and never contacts the same client more than once every 14 days.

Question 19

How does FolioCut know when a client is due?

Accepted Answer

It compares the cadence the client tells you with their real visit history, and uses the real history first.

Question 20

How fast can a client rebook?

Accepted Answer

One tap. Texts carry a short rebook link that opens your calendar with your service already picked. Returning visitors on your shop or barber page see a 'Book again' shortcut, and signed-in clients see it on their home screen.

Question 21

Do clients need the app?

Accepted Answer

No. Everything works from a normal web link, including from your Google Maps listing. The app is optional.

Question 22

Can clients add the appointment to their calendar?

Accepted Answer

Yes. Booking texts include a one-tap calendar file, and pros can sync their own chair to Apple or Google Calendar.

Question 23

Can booth rent be collected automatically?

Accepted Answer

Yes. The shop owner turns on automatic rent for a rental chair and picks a due day. The renter must agree and save a card first; then rent is charged around 9am on the due day and sent to the owner's payout account. The owner covers card fees. A failed charge retries once two days later, then shows as past due, and the owner can mark it paid in cash. Changing the amount, period or due day asks the renter to agree again, and either side can stop it anytime.

Question 24

How are tips handled?

Accepted Answer

Card tips added at close-out are recorded automatically against the payment. Cash tips are self-reported at close-out or in the Money tab. Tips belong 100% to the provider and are never split with the shop.

Question 25

Can I track expenses and receipts?

Accepted Answer

Yes. The Money tab logs expenses like clippers, supplies and booth rent. Snap a photo or upload a PDF receipt and tag it to a tax category.

Question 26

What is the Tax Pack?

Accepted Answer

A yearly or quarterly export for your tax pro: a Schedule C style summary with line numbers, an itemized CSV and a ZIP of your receipts. Product costs feed cost of goods sold automatically.

Question 27

Does it handle booth rent and commission chairs?

Accepted Answer

Yes. Shops set each chair as rental, commission or student. A weekly payout report shows service revenue, the shop's share, card tips owed to the barber and what the barber already took in cash.

Question 28

How do instructors sign off on student work?

Accepted Answer

Instructors approve floor work with quick reviews from the clinic floor, building a verified practical record for each student.

Question 29

What is the Graduate Pack?

Accepted Answer

A shareable page with verified accreditation, a practical breakdown and a gallery of consented work. Hiring contact goes through the school, so a student's private phone and email are never shown publicly.

Question 30

What happens at graduation?

Accepted Answer

The student keeps their chair, link and portfolio and carries them into their professional career.

Question 31

Who can see after-photos?

Accepted Answer

Only the client, the pro, and relevant school staff for student work. A photo appears publicly only with the client's explicit portfolio consent.

Question 32

Are links in texts safe?

Accepted Answer

Yes. Guest links carry signed keys, not guessable IDs, so a booking or consultation link cannot be used to look up someone else's.

Question 33

Who can see colour formulas?

Accepted Answer

Only staff. Formulas never appear on public pages or client exports.

FolioCut FAQ

Your data and your chair

FolioCut vs other booking apps

FolioCut vs generic AI

Filling your chair

Booking and rebooking

Money, tips and taxes

Schools and students

Privacy and security