Perfectly price your colour services
There was a time when you’d have to telephone a salon to ask for their price list, now the internet has made it much easier. While researching the menus of other salons to create your own price list may feel like a good day’s work, it pays to proceed with caution. Every salon has variable costs so what works for one won’t necessarily work for another.
Knowing your true running costs is the only way to ensure you’re pricing your services the right way for your salon and it ensures you're making a fair profit on every service, every time.
Here are five factors to consider when pricing your colour services (and Sherlock, peeking at other salon menus isn’t one of them!):
There’s a big difference between mixing up 40 grams of colour for a root touch-up versus a full tube - and the difference is in your costs and profit margins. It’s essential to allocate a product allowance to every colour service on your menu - not sure how? Get our FREE set by step guide HERE.
In the meantime, a quick way to establish your inventory spend is to take your monthly invoice and divide it by 30 - this will give you your average daily product costs.
What does it cost to keep your lights on, literally? Calculate your power, rent, POS system, insurance, taxes - or you can include all the extras like client costs (such as magazines, beverages, marketing), repairs, maintenance & rubbish, training & education. When you have your total costs for a month, it’s easy to divide it into days or even hours, so you have a real grasp on your expenses.
Paying your team is one of your largest salon expenses. This means taking account of everyone, including your apprentices, assistants and receptionists (who we’re sure you pay too!). Whatsmore, it’s not just salary baselines but commissions, bonuses and incentives that need to be factored in.
To ensure your other costs are covered and your salon operates with a healthy profit margin, we recommend that your employee costs should be approximately 35 - 40% of your total turnover.
You wouldn’t open a salon and not tell anyone about it but without branding, a website and social media presence, your business is a secret. Dynamic marketing and engagement are essential to attracting new clients and maintaining salon loyalty. A budget of between 3 to 7% of your annual turnover ensures you’re still making a profit.
How many hours on average is your salon open? This figure will enable you to calculate how much you need to charge per hour to not only cover costs but also to make a profit.
