Personal Care
Calculating commissions is complex. We manage sliding scales and product bonuses so paychecks are always right.
The Talent Business
A salon or spa is a talent business. Your stylists and technicians are the primary source of income. Paying them accurately and transparently is crucial for retention. The revenue model mixes service income, retail sales, and sometimes booth rentals.
Complexity arises from compensation. Calculating commissions based on sliding scales, tiered rates, or product bonuses can easily lead to paycheck errors. A mistake here destroys trust faster than anything else in the business.
Who This Covers
Who This Covers
Hair salons, barbershops, day spas, massage therapists, and esthetician practices. Any business relying on appointments, retail sales, and complex employee/contractor pay structures.
The Friction
The Friction
Tracking product sales commissions versus service commissions is messy. Ensuring correct W-2 classification for staff versus 1099 classification for booth renters is also a frequent audit risk.
The Paycheck Problem
Payroll is the largest headache for owners. Commissions must be calculated and verified against daily sales reports. We build a clear audit trail that shows exactly how every dollar of a stylist’s paycheck was calculated.
Inventory tracking is also vital. The retail products you sell are taxable. The supplies you use for services (color, wax, toner) are Cost of Goods Sold. Separating these ensures your profit margins and tax filings are correct.
Accurate Commissions
Accurate Commissions
We manage all tiered and sliding-scale pay structures. This ensures that the compensation is calculated correctly every pay period and provides the reports needed to resolve any staff questions instantly.
Booth Rental Income
Booth Rental Income
Managing booth rental income requires diligence. We track rental fees and reconcile them against the services and products sold by the renter. This keeps the accounting clean for both parties.
Common Problems
The biggest leak is often inventory. Waste, loss, and unauthorized product use can destroy profitability. If you are not tracking product cost against service revenue, your profit margin will shrink without you knowing why.
Another issue is the co-mingling of funds. Stylists accepting payments via Venmo or personal accounts creates huge tax problems. We set up systems to ensure all transactions run through the business entity.
Lost Product Cost
Lost Product Cost
The cost of the color and chemicals used in a service often gets misclassified. This artificially inflates the margin on a service, leading to underpricing the work and overpaying taxes.
Worker Misclassification
Worker Misclassification
Treating employees as booth renters to avoid payroll taxes is a severe liability. If an auditor determines the business controls the staff schedule, the owner is liable for back taxes and penalties.
What Changes
Staff retention improves because the paycheck is predictable and accurate. Disputes over commission checks disappear. You can focus on scheduling and service quality knowing the back-end administration is solid.
Profitability becomes clear. You know the true cost of a service, allowing you to price work correctly and make decisions about which product lines to keep and which to drop.
Time Savings
Time Savings
The owner stops spending half a day every two weeks manually calculating commissions on a spreadsheet. Payroll runs automatically based on accurate sales data.
Inventory Control
Inventory Control
By tracking product usage and retail sales, you spot waste immediately. This cuts down on unnecessary ordering and ensures products aren’t disappearing from the shelf.
Full-Charge Bookkeeping for Mid-Mo's Businesses
The Next Step:
Get Your Quote
Tell us what you're dealing with. We'll listen, ask a few questions, and give you a straightforward price that meets your expectations.
