Salon Commission Calculator
Stylist, therapist and barber pay: commission tiers, back-bar, tips and chair rent.
Try before you buy.
- Free preview: the pay for the period in full, with the first rows of the breakdown, team or comparison (up to 3) and the first step of the working; every other figure hidden.
- Locked until you unlock it: download and copy.
- Unlock: Pro pass, ₹179 for 30 days or ₹79 for 1 week, a one-time payment that never renews. Unlock: Pro pass, $5.99 for 30 days or $2.99 for 1 week, a one-time payment that never renews.
Ways to unlock shows how to get the full result.
Printing this result is locked in the free preview.
How the pay adds up
How this was calculated
Locked in the free preview. Opens the ways to unlock this result.
Locked in the free preview. Batch runs unlock with a pass.
Locked in the free preview. Query results unlock with a pass.
Results are estimates for general information and planning, not financial advice. Banks and institutions may calculate differently (rounding, fees, rate changes). Confirm figures with your lender or a qualified adviser before deciding.
How this tool is checked
- Sources
-
This guide cites 2 sources:
- Tests
- 8 automated tests check its results.
- Found an error?
- Report a problem or write to support@mysmartcopilot.com, with what you entered and the result you expected.
About the Salon Commission Calculator
Work out what a hair stylist, barber, nail technician, beautician or spa therapist earns for a week or a month. Service commission can be one rate or tiers — paid only on the sales above each tier’s start, or at the rate of the tier reached on the whole amount — worked out by the same engine as the Sales Commission Calculator. A product (back-bar) charge comes off service sales first, retail sales earn their own rate, tips are added in full, and an hourly guarantee pays hours × rate whenever that is more than the commission.
The result shows the pay, the salon’s share of the sales and its labour cost %, for one person or a whole team table; Booth rent compares renting a chair with working on commission at the same sales and finds the sales at which both pay the same. Without a pass the free preview shows the pay in full with the first rows and the first step of the working; the other figures, the copy and the CSV need a Pro pass.
How to use it
- Choose One person, Team or Booth rent vs commission, the pay period and the currency.
- Set the service commission: one rate, or Tiers with the sales each tier starts at, and whether a tier’s rate is paid on the sales inside it or on all of them.
- Add the product (back-bar) charge your salon takes off service sales, if any, and the retail commission rate. Under More set an hourly guarantee, a minimum hourly wage to check against, or a card-fee share taken off card tips where the law allows it.
- Type the period’s service sales and retail sales (after discounts, without tax), the tips and the hours — one row per person for a team, or the chair rent and a renter’s own costs for booth rent.
- Read the pay, the salon’s share and the labour cost. The summary copy and the CSV download open with a Pro pass or after unlocking this result.
Examples
Service sales 6,000 · product charge 10% · retail sales 500 at 10% · tips 200
Commission base 5,400 × 40% = 2,160 · retail 50 · tips 200 → pay 2,410 Salon’s share 4,290 · labour cost 34%
Above each tier: 5,000 × 35% + 2,000 × 45% = 2,650 On the whole amount: 7,000 × 45% = 3,150
Commission 2,210
160 × 15 = 2,400 is higher → top-up 190, wages 2,400
Service sales 6,000 · renter’s products 10% · card fees 2% · other costs 100
Renter keeps 3,980, commission pays 2,400 → renting pays 1,580 more Both pay the same at 2,708.33 of service sales
Common uses
- Working out each stylist’s pay at the end of the week or month from the till’s sales report.
- Checking whether a commission plan with tiers pays more than a flat rate at a stylist’s usual sales.
- Deciding whether to rent a chair or stay on commission, and at what sales renting starts to pay.
- Seeing the labour cost % of the whole team before changing rates or the back-bar charge.
Tiers: above each threshold or on the whole amount
With tiers of 35% up to 5,000 and 45% above, the two ways of paying give very different pay on 7,000 of service sales:
- Only above each threshold (marginal): 35% of the first 5,000 + 45% of the next 2,000 = 2,650.
- On the whole amount (retroactive): reaching the 45% tier pays 45% on everything = 3,150.
A tier starts at its amount: 5,000 already earns the 45% rate on the whole amount. Under the first kind the calculator says how much more in sales reaches the next tier.
Product (back-bar) charges
Many salons take a product charge off service sales before commission, to cover the colour, developer and other products used on clients: a percentage (10% of 6,000 is 600, leaving 5,400 to work commission on) or a fixed amount per period. The charge is never more than the sales. Retail sales are not touched by it: they earn the retail rate on their own.
The hourly guarantee and minimum wage
With an hourly guarantee the salon pays whichever is higher: the commission, or the hours worked × the guaranteed rate. The difference is shown as a top-up.
In the US the Fair Labor Standards Act sets the federal minimum wage at $7.25 an hour, and some states set more (minimum wage). Type the minimum wage that applies to you under More, and the calculator flags pay from the salon (commission and top-up, tips left out) that works out below it per hour. Whether tips may count towards the minimum (a tip credit) depends on the rules for tipped employees: see Fact Sheet #15 for the US.
Tips
Tips are the worker’s: they are added to the pay in full and never earn commission. In the US the Department of Labor says an employer may not keep any part of an employee’s tips, and may take off card tips no more than the card company’s fee on them (Fact Sheet #15); some states have more protective rules on card tips, and other countries have rules of their own. Leave the card-fee share at 0 unless your law and your agreement allow it.
Booth rent against commission
A booth (chair) renter keeps all the service sales but pays the rent and their own products, card fees and other costs, and keeps only the profit on the products they sell. The comparison takes the same sales, tips and hours on both sides, and finds the service sales at which renting and commission pay the same: below that, the side named pays more. The salon’s side shows the rent it would get against its share of the sales on commission. Self-employment taxes, insurance and holiday pay differ between the two and are not included.
Limitations
- Sales are taken as you type them for one period: refunds, redos and discounts must already be taken off.
- Income tax, social security, holiday pay and other deductions from pay are not included.
- The minimum-wage check compares the salon’s own pay per hour with the rate you enter; it is not a legal assessment.
Privacy
On this device: nothing is sent
Everything happens in your browser. What you enter or open here is not uploaded or stored by MySmartCoPilot.
Frequently asked questions
What do I get without a pass?
Without a pass, Salon Commission Calculator shows the pay for the period in full, with the first rows of the breakdown, team or comparison (up to 3) and the first step of the working; every other figure hidden. Until you unlock it, the result can’t be downloaded or copied. A Pro, Premium or Ultimate pass, a one-time payment that never renews, unlocks the full result. The pricing page lists the passes and their prices.
How do I calculate a stylist’s commission?
Take the service sales for the period, take off any product (back-bar) charge, and multiply by the commission rate: 6,000 − 600 = 5,400 × 40% = 2,160. Add the retail commission and the tips for the pay.
What is a back-bar charge?
A charge some salons take off a stylist’s service sales before commission, for the products used on clients (colour, developer, treatments). It is set by the salon: a percentage of service sales or a fixed amount.
What does “commission or hourly, whichever is higher” mean?
The salon works out both — the commission, and the hours worked × the guaranteed hourly rate — and pays the higher one. When the hourly amount is higher, the difference is paid as a top-up.
Is booth rent better than commission?
It depends on the sales. Renting pays more once the sales are high enough to cover the rent and the renter’s own costs; below that, commission pays more. The calculator finds that point for your numbers.
What does the labour cost % show?
The salon’s pay (commission and any top-up, without tips) as a percentage of the service and retail sales: 2,210 of 6,500 is 34%. It shows how much of the sales goes on pay.