Frequently asked questions

Clairgest is an all-in-one management software for Canadian beauty professionals: estheticians, hairdressers and massage therapists. It bundles POS, agenda, client records, SMS reminders, GST/PST/HST accounting and Law 25 compliance in a single bilingual app.

Three main verticals: esthetics (facials, waxing, mani-pedi), hair (multi-stylist, chair rental contracts (booth-style staff), colorings) and massage therapy (insurance receipts, 60-90 min slots, SOAP notes). An "other" mode handles hybrid cases.

Yes. Built by Les Logiciels Cygsoft Inc., a Quebec company based in Sept-Îles. Data hosted exclusively in Canada (OVH Beauharnois). Support in French and English. Compliant with Law 25 and PIPEDA.

The displayed prices ($39 / $79 / $149 CAD) are our current rates and may evolve over time. The first 50 customers signing up via the waitlist get a founder rate locked for their first 12 months — even if prices increase later.

A discounted price reserved for the first 50 customers from the waitlist. Locked for 12 months even after a price increase. Includes early access to new features and a direct line to the team.

Simple and Solo = 1 user (you). Pro = up to 3 users (you + 2 employees). Salon = unlimited users. Simple is for self-employed without SMS or public booking; Solo adds SMS and public booking. If you have 4+ people, Salon is the right plan.

Yes, no fees. You can upgrade or downgrade anytime from your settings. Pro-rata is calculated automatically.

Yes. All plans include 14 days of free trial with no credit card required. Subscription is activated only if you decide to continue.

All Service data is hosted exclusively in Canada at OVH (Beauharnois datacenter, Quebec). Automatic daily backups from our Sept-Îles infrastructure, stored separately. No transfer to the United States.

OVH Canada (hosting), Twilio for SMS, SendGrid for emails — emails signed so they don't end up in spam, Microsoft Clarity (anonymized heatmaps, opt-in only), Google Analytics 4 (with anonymize_ip, opt-in only). Full details in the privacy policy.

Law 25 guarantees your right to access, rectify and delete your data. From your Clairgest profile, you can download your data ("My data") or request full deletion. Maximum response time 30 days, per the law.

Clairgest is compliant with Law 25 (Quebec) and PIPEDA (federal). Law 25 features include incident registry, documented privacy impact assessment (required by Law 25), public list of our suppliers, informed consent forms with digital signatures, and timestamped audit trail.

Yes. End-to-end encrypted, like your online banking. Your passwords are encrypted with the same technology as banks. Your confidential notes stay encrypted at all times. Optional second-step login for extra security. Multiple layers of security, checked internally 24/7.

Twilio is our SMS provider. SMS sent from a Canadian number. Compliant with Canadian SMS regulations. Included in Solo, Pro and Salon plans.

SendGrid for our emails, digitally signed so they don't end up in spam. Enables PDF receipt sending, confirmations and reminders with excellent deliverability.

For now, CSV export of transactions is compatible with QuickBooks and Sage (manual import). Direct integration is on the roadmap but no confirmed date yet.

For now, Clairgest records payments (cash, debit, credit, gift certificates) without terminal connection. Stripe integration for online payments via the public booking page is on the roadmap.

During onboarding, we import your clients, appointments and history from Excel (template provided), Google Calendar or any structured CSV. Migration from paper requires manual data entry that we guide step by step.

We accept CSV exports from most competitors (Mindbody, Booker, Square Appointments, Cygnus, etc.). Our team handles the import for free during Salon plan onboarding. Solo and Pro plans: we provide the CSV template and a step-by-step guide.

Initial setup: 30-60 minutes (account creation, services, employees, taxes). Data migration: 1-2 hours for a solo practice, up to 1 day for a multi-employee salon. We guide you on a video call throughout onboarding.

Yes. Onboarding is included in all plans (short videos + written guidance). Salon plan: personalized onboarding including employee training. You can also contact us before signing up with any specific question.

Support available Monday to Friday, 8 AM to 6 PM Eastern Time. Average response under 4 business hours. Salon plan benefits from priority support with a direct line.

Email (admin@cygsoft.com), contact form, and in-app support widget. Live chat is on the roadmap. No phone hotline for now — we prefer written communication to keep traceable resolutions.

Yes, and English too. Our team is bilingual. We respond in the language of your inquiry. No chatbot, no outsourcing — only humans who know the product.

Less than 4 business hours for the first message (Monday-Friday). For critical bugs (POS down, data inaccessible), we respond within an hour. Salon plan: 1 business hour SLA guaranteed.

From Settings → Employees, you create each employee with their role (admin / user / employee). Each role has different permissions: admin can do everything, user can make sales but not change settings, employee can only clock in/out.

Available on Pro and Salon plans. Your employees clock in/out via a dedicated kiosk (URL or tablet) with a personal PIN. Hours are calculated automatically (including lateness and overtime) and exportable for payroll.

Owner: the salon's account creator, cannot be deactivated, controls billing. Admin: extended permissions except managing the owner. User: POS + agenda + client records access without global settings access. Employee: limited to time tracking and own profile.

Yes (Pro and Salon plans). The chair rental contracts (booth-style staff) mode lets each contractor have their own GST/PST/HST numbers, their own accounting reports, their own receipts in their name — while sharing the salon's agenda and POS.

No native app for now. Clairgest is a responsive web app that works on any modern device (iPad 11", iPhone, Android, desktop). A native iOS/Android app is on the roadmap if demand is strong.

The public booking page (clairgest.ca/yoursalon) is in development and will be available soon. Once shipped, it will be fully responsive and let your clients book in a few clicks 24/7.

Yes. Log in from any mobile or tablet to access client records (history, contraindications, notes), take a quick note or modify an appointment. Optional second-step login protects your account from anywhere.