A $45 spray tan is not $45 of profit and it is not $45 minus solution either. Four things come out of every session — solution, disposables, the card processor's slice, and whatever the room or the drive costs — and only the fourth one changes when you go mobile.
A $60 express session nets $47.50 once $5.60 of solution, $2.10 of disposables, a 3% card fee and $3.00 of booth cost come out.
The example
Three service types, each with a price and the four costs that come out of it.
| A | B | C | D | E | F | G | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Service | Price | Solution | Disposables | Card % | Room/travel | Profit |
| 2 | Standard | $45.00 | $4.20 | $1.85 | 3.0% | $3.00 | $34.60 |
| 3 | Express session | $60.00 | $5.60 | $2.10 | 3.0% | $3.00 | $47.50 |
| 4 | Mobile visit | $85.00 | $6.80 | $4.50 | 3.0% | $12.00 | $59.15 |
The formula
Three flat subtractions and one percentage of the price:
How it works
Note which cost is a percentage and which are flat:
B2is what the client pays, before tips. Tips are not revenue if they pass straight to the tech.-C2is solution at your cost per session — bottle price divided by sessions per bottle, not the bottle price itself.-D2covers disposables: sticky feet, hair net, barrier cream, wipes.-B2*E2is the card fee, which is a percentage of price. That is why it must reference B2 and cannot be a flat number copied across price points.-F2is the room: booth rent per session in a salon, or the drive and setup cost on a mobile visit.
Divide profit by price for a margin percentage, and you can compare a mobile visit against a booth session on equal terms.
Try it: interactive demo
Enter the price and the four costs that come out of it.
Variations
Margin percentage
Express the same result as a percentage of price.
Sessions to cover a month of rent
Divide fixed monthly costs by profit per session.
Pitfalls & errors
Solution cost per session is the trap. A gallon is not one session — divide the container price by the sessions it actually delivers, which depends on the gun, the pressure and the client.
Mobile pricing has to carry the drive. If the travel column only holds fuel, the mobile row will look more profitable than it is; put the unpaid driving time in there too.
Do not enter the card fee as a flat dollar amount. It scales with price, so a flat entry quietly understates the cost on your expensive services and overstates it on the cheap ones.
Practice workbook
Frequently asked questions
Should the tech's pay come out here?
Why separate room cost from the other two?
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