Guides & answers

How to run a loyalty program in Australia, in plain words. Every page answers its question at the top and shows the date it was last updated.

Guides

• Setting up a beauty salon loyalty program in Australia (2026)
  Updated 2026-10-21 — What should a beauty salon, lash or brow bar reward, and after how many visits? Money off that suits every service, refill timing, reception and the rules.
• Setting up a bubble tea loyalty program in Australia (2026)
  Updated 2026-10-21 — What should a bubble tea shop or dessert bar give regulars? A drink's worth off after 9 visits, what it costs you, groups of friends and food courts.
• Setting up a dog grooming loyalty program in Australia (2026)
  Updated 2026-10-21 — How many grooms before a reward, and what should it be? Money off that suits big and small dogs, a free wash at a dog wash, the pick-up scan and the rules.
• Setting up a massage loyalty program in Australia (2026)
  Updated 2026-10-21 — What loyalty reward suits a massage clinic or day spa? Money off that fits every length of massage, how many visits, health fund receipts and privacy.
• Setting up a takeaway loyalty program in Australia (2026)
  Updated 2026-10-21 — What should a kebab, pizza or charcoal chicken shop give its regulars? Money off with a clear limit, what it costs you, late nights, delivery and setup.
• Setting up a bakery loyalty program in Australia (2026)
  Updated 2026-10-14 — The bakery edition: a digital stamp card for weekly bread buyers and the morning coffee crowd, cash customers, the Saturday queue, and the reward maths.
• Setting up a car wash loyalty program in Australia (2026)
  Updated 2026-10-21 — The car wash edition: a digital wash card, how many washes before a free one, what the free wash really costs you, and where the QR goes at your wash.
• Setting up a hair salon loyalty program in Australia (2026)
  Updated 2026-10-21 — The hair salon edition: stamps or points when a blow-dry and a full colour cost very different amounts, the reward maths shown, rebooking, and a quick setup.
• Setting up a juice bar loyalty program in Australia (2026)
  Updated 2026-10-14 — The juice bar edition: a digital stamp card for regulars who come most days, how many stamps, add-ons and office orders, and the reward maths shown.
• Setting up a restaurant loyalty program in Australia (2026)
  Updated 2026-10-14 — The restaurant edition: stamps or points when one bill is a solo lunch and the next a table of eight, the reward maths shown, the Australian rules, and setup.
• Apple Wallet and Google Wallet loyalty cards: a guide for Australian businesses
  Updated 2026-10-21 — How to put your loyalty card in customers' Apple Wallet and Google Wallet with no app and no developer: how it works, what it costs, and a quick setup.
• Digital stamp cards: how they work and how to start one
  Updated 2026-10-21 — How digital stamp cards work, how to stop fake stamps, and how to move paper-card regulars across. Set up a digital stamp card in a few minutes.
• Loyalty program ideas for small businesses: rewards that work in Australia
  Updated 2026-10-21 — Loyalty program ideas for Australian cafés, barbers, salons, car washes, bakeries and restaurants: reward examples, how many visits, and what to skip.
• Setting up a nail salon loyalty program in Australia (2026)
  Updated 2026-10-21 — The nail salon edition: rewards that bring clients back every few weeks, how many visits to set, moving off paper cards, and going live in a morning.
• Stamp card or points: which loyalty program suits your business?
  Updated 2026-10-21 — Stamps suit shops where most sales cost about the same; points suit shops where spend swings. How each works, examples, and how to choose in five minutes.
• Setting up a barbershop loyalty program in Australia (2026)
  Updated 2026-10-21 — Barbershop loyalty in Australia: how many cuts before a free one, rewards that fit the weeks between visits, getting clients to join, and mistakes to avoid.
• Setting up a café loyalty program in Australia (2026)
  Updated 2026-10-21 — Café loyalty in Australia: why buy 9, get the 10th free still works, what the free coffee costs you, moving regulars off paper, getting them to join, and setup.
• How to set up a loyalty program in Australia (2026)
  Updated 2026-10-14 — How to set up a loyalty program in Australia: stamps or points, picking a reward, consent and privacy basics, and going live with a wallet card quickly.

Straight answers

• What is the best free loyalty program for a café in Australia?
  Updated 2026-10-11 — The free café loyalty options compared: BonusQR, FaveCard and paper, the apps with only a free trial, and where Rewardtree fits. Facts checked 29 Sep 2026.
• Do I need permission to text or email my customers offers in Australia?
  Updated 2026-09-30 — Yes. Under the Spam Act 2003, offers by text or email need consent, your business name and a working unsubscribe. What counts as an offer, and privacy basics.
• How do digital stamp cards work without an app?
  Updated 2026-10-11 — The card is a pass in Apple Wallet or Google Wallet, so customers download nothing. How they add it, how they collect stamps, and what if they have no wallet.
• How much does a free-coffee loyalty card really cost a café?
  Updated 2026-10-11 — Buy 9, get the 10th free gives away 10% at menu price, far less at cost, and only to customers who finish. The sums with your own numbers, plus software costs.
• How do I get customers to join my loyalty program?
  Updated 2026-09-30 — Ask at the till in one sentence, put the QR where people wait, keep the card short, and make joining quick with no app. A plain checklist.
• How do I get more repeat customers for my small business in Australia?
  Updated 2026-10-11 — Seven plain steps that bring Australian customers back: know your regulars, a reward they can see, early progress, staying on their phone, and asking first.
• What are the best Square Loyalty alternatives in Australia?
  Updated 2026-10-11 — Stamp Me, Loopy Loyalty, Loyally, paper cards and Rewardtree compared with Square Loyalty: price, wallet cards, tills. Each fact checked 29 Sep 2026.
• Best loyalty apps for small business in Australia (2026)
  Updated 2026-10-11 — Square Loyalty, Stamp Me, Loopy, Loyally, BonusQR and Rewardtree compared for Australian small businesses, with prices checked 27 Sep 2026.
• Is there a free loyalty program for small business?
  Updated 2026-10-11 — Yes: BonusQR has a free plan, FaveCard a free web card, and paper costs only printing. What free should include, and where Rewardtree fits (60 days free).
• How much does Square Loyalty cost in Australia?
  Updated 2026-10-11 — Square Loyalty costs A$49, A$99 or A$149 a month per location in Australia, set by loyalty visits (checked 27 Sep 2026). What counts, yearly costs, options.
• Should I use my POS loyalty program or a separate loyalty app?
  Updated 2026-10-11 — Use your till's loyalty if every sale goes through it and the fee is small change. If not, a separate wallet-card program works beside any POS. How to choose.
• Do loyalty programs actually work?
  Updated 2026-10-11 — What the research says: goal-gradient and endowed-progress effects, when loyalty programs bring customers back, and the mistakes that stop them working.
• How much does a loyalty program cost in Australia?
  Updated 2026-10-11 — Real prices checked 27 Sep 2026: Square Loyalty (A$49–A$149 a month per location), Stamp Me (A$49–A$199), US-dollar wallet apps, paper, free plans.
• Is the Square loyalty program worth it?
  Updated 2026-10-11 — When Square Loyalty's A$49–A$149 a month per location earns its keep for an Australian business, and when a cheaper wallet stamp card does the same job.
• What happens when a customer reaches their reward?
  Updated 2026-10-21 — The reward moment: why the visit that fills the card is paid, how a live screen stops screenshot cheats, and how to turn a free coffee into a Google review.