A reception timer starts a bed for the minutes someone keys in. Management software starts it for the session that was sold, after checking that the customer may tan today. The difference shows in minutes given away, in legal checks done from memory, and in the records you can show when the SPF Économie visits.
How does a reception timer work in a tanning salon?
The customer pays at the till. A member of staff keys a duration into the timer and starts the bed. The till knows what was paid, the timer knows what was run, and nothing ties the two together.
That works, and many salons have run that way for years. Its weak point is that every step depends on the person at the counter getting it right, every time, including on a Saturday afternoon with a queue.
Where do free minutes come from?
Free minutes rarely come from one big mistake. They come from a minute added because the customer had to wait, a 15 typed instead of a 12, or a session started before it was rung up and never rung up afterwards. None of it shows anywhere, because the timer keeps no link to the sale.
As an illustration only: a salon running 30 sessions a day that gives away one minute per session gives away 30 minutes of bed time a day. These are round numbers chosen to show the mechanism, not a measurement.
With software driving the bed, the bed runs the time sold, and no session runs longer than what was paid for. Starting a bed goes through a sale. A technical or inspection run without a customer is still possible, and it is logged as such.
What about forgotten shutdowns and overruns?
With manual control, the end of the session, the ventilation and the moment the bed is free again all depend on someone watching. A wrong duration on the keypad is an overrun that nobody sees afterwards.
With connected beds, each phase runs on its own: preparation, the exact time sold, then ventilation. The bed picker at the till shows which beds are free, running or cooling down, so nobody walks down the corridor to check.
Which legal checks happen before the bed starts?
The Belgian royal decree of 20 June 2002 on tanning centres asks the salon to check several things before a customer tans. With a timer, every one of them is done in someone's head or on paper:
- the customer is at least 18 and is not skin type 1;
- the salon holds a document signed by the customer and the reception person, with the skin type;
- at least 48 hours between the first and second exposure of a session, then at least 24 hours between the following ones;
- the first exposure of a session is limited to half the normal dose, and the duration is adapted to the skin type, the bed and the lamps.
The decree lets either the reception person or the control system adapt the duration. Solaryx enforces the delay between sessions, the maximum duration per skin type and the minimum age at booking and at the till, for online bookings, counter sales and walk-ins. When the delay is not met, staff see the date of the last session, and the salon chooses whether the counter refuses the sale or warns and asks for a reason; the kiosk and an unattended register always refuse. The register refuses to start a bed for a customer whose phototype assessment is not signed.
Before starting, the bed itself checks with the server, so a session recorded at another till is never missed.
What records can you show at an inspection?
The decree asks the salon to keep available the signed customer documents, the results of the quarterly checks, the supporting documents for dosing by skin type, for the half dose of the first exposure and for the 48 and 24 hour intervals, and the manufacturer's instructions.
With a timer, the proof of the intervals is whatever the salon wrote down. When the control system applies the rule, its log is the evidence: for each session, Solaryx keeps the skin type used, the maximum duration, the delay rule and the delay measured, and shows them on screen. The text does not say how detailed that log must be or how long to keep it, so the SPF Économie is the authority to ask if you need certainty.
The signed documents no longer need a shoebox either. The phototype assessment is signed and timestamped online, and the eID reader fills in name, date of birth, address and card number from the chip.
What changes for your staff?
Software does not replace the reception person. Every reception person must have passed the training set by their Community, and the interview with the customer before the first session stays mandatory, even in an automated centre.
What changes is the load on memory. Nobody reads a duration off a chart, looks up a date in a card index or remembers who came yesterday. Each customer has one card, handed over in person: issuing a new card stops the old one, with a trace of who gave it, where and when.
Timer or software: a side-by-side view
| Topic | Reception timer | Management software |
|---|---|---|
| Time on the bed | What is keyed in | The time sold |
| Link to the sale | None | The sale starts the bed |
| Delay, age, skin type | Checked by staff | Checked at booking, at the till and before the bed starts |
| Proof per session | Paper notes | Session log on screen |
| Bed status | Walk and look | Free, running or cooling down, at the till |
What does the switch cost?
Solaryx is our product, so here are its own figures. The setup is € 4,000 per site, one time, with installation, training and the bed controllers included. The subscription runs from € 100 per month per site, excluding VAT, with no long-term commitment. Installing the relay boxes takes about half a day, and the beds you already own stay in place.
See how Solaryx starts and stops the beds
Read how the Belgian rules are built into Solaryx
Frequently asked questions
Can I keep my beds and just replace the timer?
Yes. The relay box connects to the bed with two wires, on the same input as a reception timer or a coin box. Ergoline and megaSun are supported; for other brands we check the model before installation.
Does software replace the reception person?
No. The decree still requires a trained reception person and an interview before the first session. Software takes the counting and the checking off their memory.
What happens if the internet goes down?
The safety rules (delays, age, skin type) are still enforced offline, and sessions and open orders resume after a power cut.
Is a session log accepted as proof at an inspection?
When the control system applies the rule, its log is the evidence, but the text does not set the level of detail or a retention period. Ask the SPF Économie if you need a firm answer for your salon.