> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.sable.salon/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Card readers

> Pair a countertop reader so clients can tap or insert a card, add a tip on the device, and be on their way.

A card reader turns the front desk into a proper checkout counter. The
client taps or inserts their card on the device and picks a tip on its
screen, with the payment landing in Sable on the same ticket as the service.

## Pair a reader

Plug the reader in and let it find your salon's Wi-Fi. Once it's connected,
it shows a short pairing code on its own screen, made of three words.

In Sable, open **Settings** → **Card Readers** and choose **Pair reader**.
Pairing, renaming, and removing readers is done by the salon owner; everyone
else on the team sees the readers and whether they're online.
Type the code exactly as it appears on the device, give the reader a name
you'll recognize at a glance (**Front desk** and **Color bar** beat
**Reader 1**), and pair it.

<Note>
  Pairing codes rotate every few minutes. If yours is rejected, glance back at
  the reader's screen for the current code and try again.
</Note>

The name matters more than it looks: at checkout you'll pick the reader by
that name, so a name that describes where it sits keeps a two-chair salon
straight.

## Tip options on the reader

The reader asks the client for a tip on its own screen, using the same tip
percentages you already set in **Settings** → **Payments**. Change them
there and the reader follows.

## Take a payment on the reader

When you finish an appointment and go to check the client out, **Card reader**
is waiting at the top of the payment options, already selected whenever you
have a reader online. If you've paired more than one, pick the one the client
is standing at by the name you gave it.

Send the sale to the reader and the client takes it from there: they choose a
tip on the reader's screen and tap or insert their card. Sable shows you the
sale is in progress the whole time, so you can hand the client the device and
keep your hands free.

The moment the card is approved, the ticket closes with the tip already added
to the total. Nothing more to type in.

<Note>
  A reader can only run one sale at a time. If you send a ticket to a reader
  that's already busy, Sable tells you which one and lets you either wait for it
  to finish or cancel that payment first.
</Note>

If the client changes their mind, cancel the payment from Sable or on the
reader itself. Either way nothing is charged and the ticket stays exactly as
you left it, so you can take the payment another way.

## Keep an eye on your fleet

**Settings** → **Card Readers** lists every reader you've paired, whether
it's online right now, and when it was last seen. Rename a reader any time.

Removing a reader unpairs it from your salon. If a payment happens to be in
progress on it, that payment is safely canceled and nobody is charged.

## When a reader shows as offline

An offline reader is almost always power or Wi-Fi. Check that it's charged
or plugged in, and that it's on the same network you paired it with. It
reappears as online on its own once it reconnects.

## Which readers work

Sable supports the Stripe Reader S700 and S710, the countertop readers with
a screen the client can use.

<Note>
  Taking payments on your iPhone without any extra hardware is a separate
  feature, **Tap to Pay**, and it lives in the Sable iOS app.
</Note>