Payment Terms

1. Key Terms

• Authorization — a temporary hold on your card. No money leaves your account yet.
• Capture — when the hold becomes an actual charge.
• Booking Fee — a non-refundable fee ChairHop charges clients per booking. Shown at checkout.
• Cancellation Window — the period before your appointment during which cancellation fees may apply. Set by each stylist.
• Deposit — the upfront amount held and charged when a booking is confirmed.
• Fraudulent Activity — using a stolen card, disputing a legitimate charge, creating fake accounts, or any other deliberate misuse of our payment system.
• Force Majeure Event — something outside our control (storm, pandemic, internet outage, etc.) that prevents normal operations.
• No-Show — when a client doesn't show up without cancelling first.
• No-Show Fee — the fee a stylist may charge for a no-show. Set by the stylist and shown at booking.
• Payout — the transfer of funds from ChairHop to a stylist's bank account.
• Response Window — the 48-hour period after a booking request during which the stylist must accept or decline.
• Service Fee — ChairHop's cut of each transaction, deducted from the stylist's earnings before payout.
• Square — our payment processor. All card transactions go through Square.

2. How Payments Work

ChairHop uses a two-step payment process. We hold your deposit when you request a booking and only charge it when your stylist confirms. You're never charged for an appointment that wasn't confirmed.

1. You request a booking: You pick a stylist, service, and time. A deposit authorization is placed on your card — no charge yet.
2. Stylist has 48 hours: The stylist reviews your request and can accept or decline. We notify them right away and send a reminder before the window closes.
3. Stylist accepts → deposit charged: When the stylist accepts, your deposit is captured (charged). You get a confirmation email.
4. Stylist declines or doesn't respond: If they decline or the 48-hour window passes, the hold is released. Your card is not charged. You'll get an email confirming this and inviting you to rebook.
5. Appointment happens: You get your appointment. Any remaining balance beyond the deposit is collected per the stylist's payment policy.
6. Stylist gets paid: After the appointment is marked complete, ChairHop sends the stylist their payout — minus our Service Fee and Square's processing fee.

How long does an authorization hold last?

Authorization holds typically clear within 3 to 7 business days if released. This depends on your bank — ChairHop can't speed it up. You'll get an email when we release a hold.

3. Deposits

The default deposit is 50% of the total appointment value. Stylists can set a different deposit amount — anywhere from a small deposit to the full amount. Whatever it is, it'll be shown clearly before you confirm your booking.

Taxes, if applicable, are shown separately at checkout.

4. Fees

For clients: Booking Fee

ChairHop charges a Booking Fee for each appointment booked. This fee is non-refundable — even if you cancel — and is shown at checkout before you confirm.

For stylists: Service Fee and processing fee

ChairHop deducts a Service Fee from each transaction before sending your payout. Square also charges a processing fee, which is passed through to you at cost. Neither fee is visible to or charged to clients — they come out of your earnings.

We'll give you at least 14 days' notice before raising our Service Fee.

5. Accepted Payment Methods

We accept Visa, Mastercard, and American Express credit and debit cards through Square. All transactions are in Canadian dollars (CAD) for Canadian users. We don't accept cash, cheques, e-transfers, or crypto.

If you're paying with a non-Canadian card, your bank may charge foreign exchange fees. That's between you and your bank.

6. If Your Payment Fails

If your authorization or charge fails, we'll let you know by email. To fix it:

• Check that your card details are correct in your account settings.
• Make sure there's enough available balance or credit on the card.
• If your card looks fine but keeps failing, contact your bank.
• Still stuck? Email admin@chair-hop.com and we'll help.

Your booking won't be confirmed until payment goes through. If you don't sort it out in time, the stylist's availability may open up for other bookings.

7. Stylist Payouts

To receive payouts, connect a bank account through Square. We don't store your banking details.

We send payouts within 2 business days of a completed appointment, as long as:

• The appointment is marked complete in the Platform
• There's no pending dispute or chargeback on your account
• You've completed Square's identity and banking verification
• Your balance has reached the minimum payout threshold of CAD $10

We may hold your payout if there's a dispute, suspected fraud, or something else unusual. We'll tell you if that happens and why.

8. Cancellations and Refunds

If you cancel (client)

• Before the cancellation window: full deposit refund, minus the non-refundable Booking Fee.
• Within the cancellation window: cancellation fee set by your stylist, deducted from your deposit. Any remainder is refunded.
• No-show: the stylist may charge the full appointment value.
• Booking Fee: non-refundable in all cases.

If the stylist cancels

You get a full refund of everything you paid, including the Booking Fee. We'll process it within 2 business days.

ChairHop isn't responsible for any consequential costs from a stylist cancellation — like travel expenses or time off work. That's between you and your stylist.

Refund timeline

After we initiate a refund, it typically takes 5–10 business days for credit cards and 3–7 days for debit cards to show up, depending on your bank. If it's been more than 15 business days, contact your bank first. If you still have a problem, email admin@chair-hop.com.

9. Payment Disputes

We handle disputes about whether a payment was processed correctly. We don't handle disputes about whether a haircut looked good. Those are between you and your stylist.

If you think a deposit, cancellation fee, or no-show charge was applied incorrectly, email admin@chair-hop.com within 14 days of the charge. Include:

• Your name and email
• The appointment date and stylist name
• What you think went wrong and how much is in question
• Any evidence — screenshots of cancellation confirmation, messages through the Platform, etc.

We'll acknowledge your dispute within 2 business days. We'll ask the other party for their side, then make a decision within 14 days. Our decision on whether the payment was correctly processed is final.

One thing to note: we can only verify messages sent through the Platform. If you need to prove you cancelled or communicated something, use the in-app messaging feature.

10. Chargebacks

A chargeback is when you dispute a charge directly with your bank and the bank reverses it. If a chargeback is filed on a transaction connected to a stylist, we'll:

• Notify the stylist and hold the disputed amount
• Work with Square to respond using available evidence
• Ask the stylist to provide documentation within 5 business days

If the chargeback is resolved in the client's favour, the amount is deducted from the stylist's balance. Square charges a chargeback fee per dispute — that fee is also passed to the stylist.

If you file a chargeback on a legitimate charge (friendly fraud), your account may be suspended and you may be required to repay the amount before it's reinstated.

Stylists with consistently high chargeback rates may face payout restrictions, reserve requirements, or account termination.

11. Fraudulent Activity

Using stolen payment methods, disputing legitimate charges, creating fake accounts, or otherwise gaming our payment system is not allowed. If we suspect fraudulent activity, we may immediately suspend your account, hold your payouts, and report it to Square and law enforcement.

12. Taxes

Stylists are responsible for their own taxes — including income tax and any applicable sales taxes like GST, HST, QST (Canada) or state sales tax (US). ChairHop doesn't withhold or remit taxes on your behalf and isn't responsible for your tax compliance. Talk to an accountant if you're not sure what applies to you.

ChairHop collects and remits taxes on its own fees (Booking Fee, Service Fee) as required by law.

13. Things Outside Our Control

If a Force Majeure Event — like a natural disaster, power outage, pandemic, or Square system failure — prevents us from processing payments or payouts on time, we're not liable for the delay. We'll do our best to catch up as soon as things are back to normal and let you know what's happening.

This doesn't cancel any payment obligations that already existed before the event. If a stylist cancels an appointment because of an outage, their client still gets a full refund — it may just take a bit longer to process.

14. Payment Errors

If you were charged incorrectly, email admin@chair-hop.com within 30 days. We'll investigate and fix any errors on our end. Errors reported after 30 days may not be correctable.

15. Coming Soon

We're planning to add tips, gift cards, and subscription options for clients in the future. When new payment features launch, we'll update these Payment Terms and let you know in advance.

16. What Survives If You Close Your Account

Even after your account is closed, the following still apply: your obligation to pay any amounts owed before closure; chargeback liability for transactions before closure; fraud-related obligations; and tax obligations for earnings received while active.

17. Governing Law

These Payment Terms are governed by the same law as our Terms of Service — Quebec law for Canadian users, New York law for US users. Any unresolved disputes follow the process in our Terms of Service.

18. Questions About Payments?

Email admin@chair-hop.com. Put "Payment Issue" in the subject line so we can route it quickly.

• General payment support: admin@chair-hop.com
• Location: Montreal, Quebec, Canada