Everything an owner needs to know about GST on a salon bill, in plain words.
Two things confuse salon owners about GST. First, services and products are not always treated the same on one bill. Second, a bill that is missing details is treated as a wrong bill, even if the amount is right.
Your business name, address and GST number. The bill number and the date. Numbers must run in order, with no gaps. Each item listed separately, with its own amount. The tax shown separately, not folded into the price. The customer's name, and their GST number if they ask for one.
Mixing service and product on one line. A haircut and a shampoo bottle are two different lines. Discount applied after tax instead of before. This changes the tax amount and is the most common mistake. Bill numbers out of order because someone printed a duplicate and skipped one. Package sales recorded as one big bill on day one instead of against each visit as it is used. Tips added to the bill total. A tip is not part of the sale.
You do not need to understand tax law. You need a counter that cannot make these five mistakes.
Bill numbers run automatically. Nobody can skip one. Service and product lines are separate by design. Discount goes in before tax, always, because the screen does it in that order. A package is recorded once, then used up visit by visit. Every bill is saved, so you can find it a year later in a few seconds.
TrackMyGlow for Business does all five of these, and you can switch GST off entirely if you are not registered. You can start free. No refunds are given once a paid plan is bought, so please try the free version first.
Never fold tax into the price. Show it separately. Apply the discount before tax. Bill numbers in order, no gaps, no exceptions.
It depends on your turnover and your state's rules, and it changes from time to time. Check with a local accountant — that one conversation is cheaper than getting it wrong. If you are not registered, your billing software should let you turn GST off completely.
Before. Discount reduces the sale value, and tax is then calculated on the reduced amount. Applying it after tax is the most common salon billing error.