Mobile hairdressers, beauticians and home services · no counter
Loyalty card for mobile services: stamps without a counter
A loyalty card for mobile services works without a counter: the client opens the card from a link you send or a QR code you carry, and once the service is done you confirm the visit on your own phone, in their home. With Iterum you use the counter app in the browser, scanning the card’s QR code or typing its code; a connection is needed.
Updated by Radman Sattari, Founder of Iterum
How a loyalty card for mobile services works
A loyalty card for mobile services records the return visits of clients who book you at home, for a cut, a blow-dry, a treatment or a groom, and after the threshold you choose it earns them a reward. Compared with a salon there is no counter and no QR sign: sign-up goes through a link or a QR code you carry, and confirmation through a phone, at the client’s front door.
The rule is the same as in a salon: a stamp is worth a completed service, not a booking or a cancelled call-out. Iterum does not read your diary and does not manage appointments: it counts the visits you or your team confirm according to the rule written on the card. If you also work from premises, the pages for hair salons, barbershops and beauty salons cover the counter side; this page is about the work outside.
Send the link when you book the first appointment
In the same chat where the client books, if it is relevant: one line with the reward and the card link, no app needed. No messages to bought lists or to people who do not know you.
Do the service
The stamp is not given on arrival: if the service is cancelled or cut short, the rule written on the card decides.
Confirm before you leave
Once the service is finished and paid for, open the counter app on your phone, scan the QR code on the client’s card or type its code, and confirm the visit.
Record the reward
When the threshold is reached, check the rule and offer the reward at the next appointment, so it does not cost you an extra trip.
No counter, no sign: how does a client join the card?
Without a counter, clients join in two ways: from the card link you send them, or by scanning the QR code you print from the dashboard and keep in your kit bag. In a phone’s browser the card is created at once, with no app, account or password, and a button to add it to Apple Wallet or Google Wallet on supported phones; without Wallet it stays available from the link.
If the link opens inside another app, such as Instagram, or on a computer, a short sign-up page appears first, with no box to tick: by creating the card the client accepts the card Terms and confirms they have read the privacy notice. Name and contact details are added later, only if the client wants, and the «Completa la carta» (complete the card) panel asks for no consents; extra rewards and offers are a separate, optional choice («Yes, I want them» or «No, thanks»). Where to share the link beyond the chat, from your Instagram bio to your Google profile, is covered in the guide on how to promote a loyalty card.
The best moment is the first appointment: while you set up your kit, or while a colour develops, there is time to open the card together. At the end, with the client seeing you to the door, there is less.
Stamping at the client’s home: phone, signal and awkward cases
In the client’s home, your phone is the counter: the counter app opens in the browser of a phone, tablet or computer, scans the card’s QR code or accepts its code, and confirms the visit. The stamp appears on the card, updates in the Wallet and is recorded in the dashboard. Confirmation does not check where you are: it only needs an internet connection, because there is no offline stamping.
If several of you work out on calls, each person can have their own account, with roles and permissions, and the team has no user limit on any plan. Whoever goes out alone confirms their own visits without using the owner’s login.
| Situation | What to do | What to write in the rule |
|---|---|---|
| No signal in the house | Note the code printed on the card and confirm the visit as soon as you have a connection, the same day | That a visit is confirmed within the day |
| The client cannot find their phone | Type the card code if you have already noted it; otherwise decide whether to make up the stamp at the next visit | Whether a missed stamp can be made up, and until when |
| Two people served in the same home | One card per person: each opens their own and gets their own stamp | That the stamp goes to whoever receives the service |
| Appointment cancelled or moved | No stamp: the card counts completed services | That a wasted call-out is not a visit |
| You also work in a salon | The same card for both kinds of visit, or a second card if your plan allows it | Whether salon and home visits count the same |
Can you work as a mobile hairdresser or beautician in Italy? What the law says
Yes: Italian national law allows both hairdressers and beauticians to work at the client’s premises, but not as itinerant trading or from a market pitch. For hairdressers, barbers included, Article 2(3) of Law no. 174 of 17 August 2005 (in Italian) states that the activity «may also be carried out at the practitioner’s home or at the place designated by the client, in compliance with the criteria laid down by regional laws and regulations» (our translation).
For beauticians, Article 4(5) of Law no. 1 of 4 January 1990 (in Italian) provides that the activity may be carried out «at the practitioner’s home or at a place designated by the client, in premises that meet the requirements of the municipal regulation» (our translation). Under both laws, starting up requires a certified notice of start of business (SCIA) filed with the one-stop shop, and regions and municipalities set the details.
This summary is not legal advice and covers only hairdressers and beauticians; other mobile services, such as dog grooming or personal training, follow other rules. Before you start, check the details with your municipality’s one-stop shop for businesses (SUAP) or your trade association.
| Activity | National law | At the client’s premises | Not allowed | Who sets the details |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Hairdresser (including barbers) | Law 174/2005, Art. 2(2)–(4) | Yes, at the place designated by the client | Itinerant trading or a market pitch | Regional laws and regulations; SCIA to the one-stop shop |
| Beautician | Law 1/1990, Art. 2 and Art. 4(5)–(6) | Yes, at the place designated by the client, in premises that meet the municipal regulation | Itinerant trading or a market pitch | Municipal regulation; SCIA to the one-stop shop |
Older clients without a smartphone: does a digital card work?
Not for everyone: many clients of mobile services are older, and among people aged 75 and over only 35.7% used the internet in the previous three months, according to the Istat survey Cittadini e ICT – Anno 2025 (in Italian), published on 22 April 2026. Among 65–74-year-olds the share rises to 72.5%, and 63.9% of households made up only of people aged 65 and over have internet access at home.
An Iterum card opens on a phone or a computer: someone who uses neither cannot keep one. For these clients, prepare a paper card with the same rule and the same reward, and use the digital card with clients who have a smartphone; the two options are compared in the guide on paper vs digital loyalty cards. The reward is a thank-you, not a condition of the service.
| Age | 2024 | 2025 |
|---|---|---|
| 65–74 | 68.1% | 72.5% |
| 75 and over | 31.4% | 35.7% |
| 75 and over, men | not reported | 43.0% |
| 75 and over, women | not reported | 30.5% |
Stamps or points for mobile services?
With a stamp card each completed service earns one stamp, the easiest rule to explain on a doorstep. With a points card you decide what a point is worth, for example one point per euro, and type it into the counter app; a wrong entry can be undone within 10 minutes. Iterum does not read your till or card reader, so the rule must be easy to work out in your head.
If you charge a call-out fee, say whether it earns points: it is the first question you will get. A stamp card and a points card can run side by side within your plan’s number of active cards: 1 on Base, 2 on Pro and 3 on Premium. The guide stamps or points loyalty card explains the choice in general; for personal trainers, the loyalty card for gyms page works through frequency and thresholds, and the dog grooming page covers clients with more than one pet.
| Mobile service | Stamp card | Points card | Decide beforehand |
|---|---|---|---|
| Hairdresser or barber | One stamp per completed cut, blow-dry or colour | Points for the amount paid | Whether a blow-dry counts the same as a colour |
| Beautician | One stamp per completed treatment | Points for the amount paid | Which short treatments do not count |
| Dog grooming from an equipped van | One stamp per visit or per pet | Points per pet or per euro | Whether two dogs earn one stamp or two |
| Personal trainer | One stamp per session completed | Points per session or per euro | Whether a session cancelled at the last minute counts |
What reward should you give if you work at clients’ homes?
The best reward for a mobile business is added to an appointment already booked and needs no extra trip: a whole free service also costs you the journey. If you charge a call-out fee, waiving it for a loyal client is a clear reward whose cost you already know.
With clients who book you every two months, reward validity matters too: in Iterum you choose whether an earned reward stays valid with no expiry, or for 30, 60, 90, 180 or 365 days. The reward cost calculator spreads the cost you enter over the visits required; more ideas are in the guide to loyalty card reward ideas, and if you are thinking of a gift other than your own services, read the loyalty card rules in Italy first.
| Reward | Cost to you | Suits you when | Write on the card |
|---|---|---|---|
| Free call-out | The cost of the trip, which you already know | You charge a fixed call-out fee | Which appointment it applies to |
| A short extra service added to a paid appointment | Low: a few more minutes | You want a frequent reward | Which service, and that it is added, not swapped |
| A product from your kit | Medium, at cost price | You use products the client can reuse | Which product, and up to what value |
| A whole free service | High: time, materials and travel | The threshold is long and the client books often | That it is booked like a normal appointment |
What Iterum does for mobile businesses, and what it does not
Iterum is a digital loyalty card for local businesses: for mobile work it covers sign-up, confirmed visits and rewards, not your diary or payments. The demo designs on this page show made-up data: they are not real clients or results.
Set up the card before paying
In the card designer you set the design, stamps or points and the reward, and see a preview.
Try it for 7 days
Activate the 7-day free trial: you pay €0 today, a payment card is required and, unless you cancel, the selected plan continues after the trial. Base includes 300 new clients a month, Pro 1,000 and Premium 5,000, with unlimited clients in total; prices are on the pricing page.
- Does: a stamp or points card on the client’s phone, from the link or the QR code, with Apple Wallet and Google Wallet on supported devices.
- Does: confirmation in the counter app on a phone, tablet or computer, accounts for the whole team, a minimum interval between two stamps from 1 minute to 24 hours.
- Does: a client list with each client’s last visit, statistics on visits, clients and rewards, and messages on the card only to clients who have consented, within the plan limit of 2, 4 or 8 a month per location.
- Does not: diary and bookings, route planning, payments, reading the till, stamping without a connection.
Sources and method
Sources consulted on 16 October 2026: the text in force on Normattiva of Law no. 174 of 17 August 2005, Articles 1–4, and of Law no. 1 of 4 January 1990, Articles 1–4 (both in Italian); the Istat press release Cittadini e ICT – Anno 2025 of 22 April 2026 (in Italian). Quotations from the laws are our translation.
The situations, rules and rewards in the tables are examples, not data collected from real businesses. The information about Iterum describes the product as of 16 October 2026, as shown on its public pages and in the dashboard, and does not promise more appointments or more sales. Iterum is loyalty card software and has no connection with Istat.
Frequently asked questions
- How do I give a stamp if I have no counter?
- From your phone, at the client’s home: open the counter app in the browser, scan the QR code on their card or type its code, and confirm the visit once the service is done. An internet connection is needed.
- Does the client have to download an app?
- No. They open the card from the link you send or the QR code you carry and, on supported phones, add it to Apple Wallet or Google Wallet. No account or password is needed.
- What if there is no signal at the client’s home?
- Iterum cannot stamp without a connection. Note the code printed on the card and confirm the visit as soon as you have signal, the same day, or use the client’s Wi-Fi if they offer it.
- Is it legal to work as a mobile hairdresser in Italy?
- Yes: Law 174/2005 allows it at the place designated by the client, within regional rules, but not as itinerant trading or from a market pitch. Law 1/1990 sets a similar rule for beauticians. Check the details with your municipality’s SUAP.
- What about older clients without a smartphone?
- Keep a paper card for them with the same rule: the digital card only opens on a phone or a computer. According to Istat, in 2025 35.7% of people aged 75 and over used the internet in the previous three months.
- How much does it cost to try Iterum as a mobile business?
- The trial lasts 7 days and you pay €0 today; a payment card is required to activate it. The price of the selected plan is shown before you confirm, and the plan continues after the trial unless you cancel.
Find your sector.
These are demonstration previews made with the Iterum card catalog. Names, rewards and stamps are examples.