How to price salon services

Scope and limits

This guide and C01 are U.S.-baseline business-planning resources. They are not accounting, tax, legal, payroll, employment-classification, or investment advice.

• SBA supports break-even and contribution-margin concepts but does not select a salon price, margin, utilization rate, capacity assumption, or service mix. [G05-C01, G05-C07; S02]
• IRS materials support keeping records and separating certain tax and revenue concepts, but they do not supply a service-pricing formula or determine state and local taxability. [G05-C06; S05, S06, S14]
• BLS wage observations describe wage-and-salary jobs within their stated scope. They are not owner earnings, self-employed economics, a local offer, total employer cost, or a calculator default. [G05-C04; S09, S10, S11]
• Federal employer and compensation sources show that payroll cost can extend beyond cash wages and that commission, tips, and service charges cannot be treated as one generic percentage. The applicable plan still requires current federal, state, and local review. [G05-C04, G05-C05; S08, S11, S12, S13, S14]
• Sales tax collected for a government is not operating revenue or margin in this model. Taxability, rate, display, collection, and filing require a current official jurisdiction source. [G05-C06; S06, S14]

Every number labeled EDITORIAL_SCENARIO below is invented solely to demonstrate arithmetic. It is not an industry average, observed salon result, quote, forecast, recommendation, or evidence of what any service should cost.

1. Start with one service definition

Do not start with a price. Start with an exact service record that says what the client receives and what operational block the service consumes.

Service-definition record

Capacity minutes

capacity_minutes
= hands_on_service_minutes
+ required_consultation_minutes
+ setup_cleanup_minutes
+ expected_rework_minutes

expected_rework_minutes may be calculated as:

expected_rework_minutes
= documented_rework_rate × average_rework_capacity_minutes

Both formulas are EDITORIAL_METHODS. No official source selects the components or the allowance. Rework must not be hidden: if expected rework consumes provider time or product, the worksheet shows it once and only once. [G05-C08; no official source selects a rework allowance]

Service-specific setup and cleanup belong in the service block. General opening, closing, training, meetings, facility cleaning, and administrative time belong in the monthly capacity worksheet. Do not count the same minutes in both places. [EDITORIAL_METHOD; G05-C08; no official source selects this allocation]

2. Separate paid, productive, and realistically saleable time

These three quantities answer different questions:

1. Paid minutes are all minutes for which an employee or other compensated provider creates a business obligation under the actual plan.
2. Productive capacity minutes are minutes operationally available for appointment blocks after removing documented nonservice obligations.
3. Realistic monthly saleable minutes are the selected pricing denominator after the operator also accounts for recurring unavailable or unfilled capacity that the business has chosen to make the model recover.

The definitions and deductions are EDITORIAL_METHODS; no source in the ledger supplies a salon utilization percentage or saleable-minute target. Actual timecards, schedules, completed services, closures, no-shows, and operating records should replace guesses. [G05-C08; no official source selects utilization]

Monthly capacity worksheet

scheduled_staffed_minutes
- paid_break_minutes
- training_and_meeting_minutes
- general_admin_minutes
- general_cleaning_and_maintenance_minutes
- planned_closure_or_unavailable_minutes
= productive_capacity_minutes

productive_capacity_minutes
- selected_recurring_unfilled_or_unrecovered_minutes
= realistic_monthly_saleable_minutes

Controls:

• Service-specific consultations and turnaround remain inside each appointment block; do not subtract them again here.
• No-show or late-cancellation time appears once. If it reduces the saleable-minute denominator, do not add a second no-show allowance to service cost.
• Use the same location, provider group, and month definition for the fixed-cost numerator and the capacity denominator.
• For a new business without operating history, show multiple labeled scenarios and replace them with observed data as soon as available.
• Never use 0 or a nominal one-minute substitute to force a calculation. A missing or zero saleable-minute denominator blocks the result.

All five controls are EDITORIAL_METHODS. [G05-C08; no official source selects the capacity policy]

3. Choose one provider-compensation mode

The current C01 implementation accepts both an hourly labor target and a commission rate. That can count the same provider compensation twice. The revised methodology requires the user to choose one primary provider-compensation mode. [G05-C04, G05-C05, G05-C08; S08, S11, S13; mode design is editorial]

Mode A — HOURLY_LOADED

Use this mode when provider compensation is represented as a cost per realistically saleable provider hour. Set provider commission share to zero.

monthly_provider_labor_obligation
= cash_wages_or_selected_owner_labor_cost
+ employer_payroll_tax_cost
+ unemployment_and_workers_compensation_cost
+ benefits_and_paid_leave_cost
+ other_documented_employer_labor_cost

fully_loaded_hourly_labor_input
= monthly_provider_labor_obligation
÷ realistic_monthly_provider_saleable_hours

direct_provider_labor
= capacity_minutes ÷ 60
× fully_loaded_hourly_labor_input

IRS and BLS sources support the boundary that employer labor cost can extend beyond cash wages; they do not establish a universal burden rate or salon multiplier. Enter actual documented obligations and obtain qualified review. [G05-C04; S08, S11]

For an owner-provided service, enter a deliberate owner-labor or replacement-labor cost rather than silently using zero. That is an EDITORIAL_INPUT, not a legal entitlement, tax classification, draw, guaranteed payment, salary determination, or official benchmark. Owner draws, distributions, income taxes, and business profit remain separate from this service-labor input. [G05-C04, G05-C08; S09, S10 show why employee wage data do not establish owner compensation; no official source selects owner labor]

Mode B — REVENUE_SHARE

Use this mode when the provider's primary service compensation is a documented percentage of the calculator's defined pre-tax collected service revenue. Set direct provider labor in the numerator to zero.

compensation_share
= provider_commission_share
+ commission_linked_employer_burden_share

commission_linked_employer_burden_share contains only employer costs that the reviewed plan can validly model as a percentage of commissionable revenue. Fixed, hourly, minimum-guarantee, overtime, paid nonservice time, or other nonproportional obligations belong in a separately documented numerator cost—not in a guessed multiplier. There is no universal employer-burden percentage. [G05-C04, G05-C05; S08, S11, S13]

Commission pay does not by itself settle overtime, minimum wage, worker status, payroll tax, or state-law obligations. C01 must never output “compliant,” “legal,” or an employment classification. [G05-C05; S08, S13, S14]

Hybrid plans

C01 v2 should not present a hybrid provider-compensation mode until the interface can itemize each nonoverlapping component and a qualified employment/payroll reviewer has approved the contract. A hybrid plan can be modeled in the worksheet only by separating:

• fixed or hourly obligations in the numerator;
• revenue-proportional commission and commission-linked employer cost in the denominator; and
• guarantees, true-ups, overtime, paid nonservice time, bonuses, and benefits in the place required by the actual plan.

This hybrid treatment is an EDITORIAL_METHOD, not a legal conclusion. [G05-C04, G05-C05, G05-C08; S08, S11, S13]

Double-counting test

Before calculating, answer yes or no:

1. Does the loaded hourly input already include provider cash compensation?
2. Does it include employer payroll taxes, benefits, paid nonservice time, or other burden?
3. Does the commission share pay that same provider for the same service revenue?
4. Does the capacity-cost pool include labor already entered as direct labor?
5. Does a fee appear both as a fixed per-transaction amount and a percentage?
6. Does expected rework appear in time, product, refunds, or more than one of them?

Any unexplained “yes” blocks the result. [EDITORIAL_CONTROL; G05-C08; no official source supplies this test]

4. Measure product and disposable cost per service

Use dated invoices and the business's measured protocol instead of a generic product percentage. Evidence still required for a factual amount includes the purchase unit, usable quantity, measured use, waste/rework treatment, and dated invoice. [Ledger evidence gap for G05/C01; G05-C08]

For each item:

landed_cost_per_usable_unit
= documented_landed_purchase_cost
÷ usable_units_in_purchase

expected_units_per_completed_service
= standard_measured_units
+ expected_waste_units
+ expected_rework_units

item_cost_per_service
= landed_cost_per_usable_unit
× expected_units_per_completed_service

consumables_per_service
= sum(item_cost_per_service)

These are EDITORIAL_METHODS. The invoice and product-use record supply inputs; no source in the ledger chooses a waste percentage, usable yield, or standard dose. Record freight, discounts, nonrecoverable input taxes, damaged units, mixing loss, and rebates according to the business's reviewed accounting policy. Do not add an item in both “landed cost” and a separate overhead pool. [G05-C08; no official source selects the product-cost method]

5. Classify fixed, variable, and mixed costs

Break-even work separates fixed, variable, and mixed costs when practical; a mixed cost may need to be split into its fixed and variable components. Classification can change with the contract and operating range. [G05-C02; S02]

Monthly fixed and capacity costs

The operator's documented pool may include occupancy, base utilities, software, insurance, administrative labor, ordinary maintenance, and a separately identified equipment or capital-replacement allowance. Inclusion is an EDITORIAL_INPUT; the source ledger does not select categories or amounts for a particular salon. Do not include taxes collected for government, provider labor already modeled, product already measured per service, price-linked fees, debt principal, owner draws, or any cost already assigned elsewhere. [G05-C02, G05-C06, G05-C08; S02, S06]

capacity_cost_per_minute
= monthly_fixed_and_capacity_costs
÷ realistic_monthly_saleable_minutes

allocated_capacity_cost
= capacity_minutes
× capacity_cost_per_minute

This allocation is an EDITORIAL_METHOD; SBA supports break-even concepts but not this salon-specific time allocation. [G05-C01, G05-C08; S02]

Transaction and payment fees

Split a documented fee schedule into:

• fixed_per_transaction_costs, placed in the numerator; and
• variable_payment_share, placed in the price denominator when it is calculated as a percentage of the same pre-tax collected revenue definition.

Booking fees, processor tiers, keyed rates, refunds, chargebacks, financing, membership allocation, packages, discounts, and tips may follow different rules. Use the signed terms and actual statements; do not collapse them into a generic percentage. This fee treatment is an EDITORIAL_METHOD, and current merchant/booking evidence remains required before any factual amount is published. [G05-C08; ledger evidence gap for G05/C01]

If a processor applies its percentage to an amount that includes sales tax, a voluntary tip, or another charge rather than only price_before_tax, do not use the simple variable_payment_share × price_before_tax shortcut. Model the processor's documented base explicitly and keep each tax/tip amount outside operating revenue as required by the reviewed policy. This is an EDITORIAL_METHOD; the signed fee terms and jurisdiction rules control the real inputs. [G05-C05, G05-C06, G05-C08; S06, S12, S14]

6. Calculate the unrounded pre-tax scenario

Core formula

capacity_minutes
= service_minutes
+ setup_cleanup_minutes
+ required_consultation_minutes
+ expected_rework_minutes

direct_labor
= provider_labor_under_selected_mode
+ other_nonduplicated_direct_labor

capacity_cost_per_minute
= monthly_fixed_and_capacity_costs
÷ realistic_monthly_saleable_minutes

allocated_capacity_cost
= capacity_minutes × capacity_cost_per_minute

cost_before_price_shares
= direct_labor
+ consumables_per_service
+ allocated_capacity_cost
+ fixed_per_transaction_costs

price_share_total
= provider_commission_share
+ commission_linked_employer_burden_share
+ variable_payment_share
+ target_operating_margin

price_denominator
= 1 - price_share_total

unrounded_price_before_tax
= cost_before_price_shares ÷ price_denominator

The formula is an EDITORIAL_METHOD. No official source chooses its target margin, compensation mode, burden share, fee share, capacity assumption, rework input, or price. [G05-C08; no official source selects these inputs]

Denominator rule — never silently floor the result

The current implementation uses max(0.10, 1 - commission - margin). That means an entered denominator below 10% is silently replaced with 10%, and the tests preserve that behavior. The revised contract must not do this.

• If price_denominator <= 0, the formula is mathematically undefined or nonpositive: block calculation.
• If 0 < price_denominator < 0.10, block calculation as an editorial safety rule and explain that price-linked shares leave less than 10% for numerator costs.
• If 0.10 <= price_denominator < 0.20, return the exact unmodified denominator with a high-sensitivity warning; do not substitute 10% or 20%.
• If price_denominator >= 0.20, calculate normally while still showing all assumptions.

The 10% block and 20% warning thresholds are EDITORIAL_CONTROLS; no official source in the ledger selects them. The essential mathematical requirement is a denominator greater than zero. [G05-C08; no official source selects a safety threshold]

7. Keep contribution separate from profit

For this worksheet:

direct_variable_cost_per_service
= direct_labor_treated_as_service_variable
+ consumables_per_service
+ fixed_per_transaction_costs
+ price × provider_commission_share
+ price × commission_linked_employer_burden_share
+ price × variable_payment_share

service_contribution_before_capacity_cost
= price_before_tax - direct_variable_cost_per_service

modeled_remainder_after_allocated_capacity_cost
= service_contribution_before_capacity_cost
- allocated_capacity_cost

Contribution is the amount remaining after the specifically defined variable costs in the model. It is not net income or cash in the bank. SBA supports contribution and break-even concepts, but the classification of a particular cost and the result remain estimates. [G05-C02, G05-C07; S02]

Do not label modeled_remainder_after_allocated_capacity_cost as “profit.” It may exclude income and self-employment taxes, debt principal, owner draws or distributions, capital purchases or replacement, timing differences, refunds, discounts, package breakage, retail economics, and costs omitted from the worksheet. target_operating_margin is a user-selected planning share of pre-tax price after included costs; it is not guaranteed accounting profit. [G05-C07, G05-C08; S02; exclusions are editorial]

Break-even cross-check

For a single consistently defined service:

contribution_per_completed_service
= collected_price_before_tax
- variable_cost_per_completed_service

break_even_completed_services
= monthly_fixed_costs
÷ contribution_per_completed_service

This follows the SBA break-even structure. Block the calculation when contribution per service is zero or negative. For mixed services, calculate separately or document a weighted contribution mix; do not assume every appointment is interchangeable. Break-even is an estimate, not proof of demand, cash flow, compliance, or profit. [G05-C01, G05-C07; S02]

8. Handle taxes, tips, service charges, discounts, and rework explicitly

Sales tax and other taxes

price_before_tax is the model's operating-revenue basis. Add, include, or display sales tax only as current jurisdiction rules require; tax collected for government is not target margin or operating revenue here. [G05-C06; S06, S14]

Do not add one generic “tax rate” to cover sales tax, payroll tax, unemployment, income tax, self-employment tax, and local obligations. Employer payroll and related labor costs belong in the reviewed labor input; owner and business income-tax planning occurs outside the service-price output. [G05-C04, G05-C06; S08, S11, S14]

Tips and service charges

Voluntary tips are excluded from the service-price formula. They must not be used to make an otherwise unsupported price appear sustainable. This exclusion is an EDITORIAL_METHOD, not a tax, accounting, wage, or worker-classification conclusion. DOL distinguishes employee tips, tip credits, service charges, and commissions within the fact sheet's stated federal scope; state rules may be more protective. [G05-C05; S12, S13, S14]

A mandatory service charge is not automatically entered as a tip. Before modeling it, document how it is disclosed, collected, recorded, taxed, and paid under current rules and the actual compensation policy. [G05-C05; S12; qualified review required]

Discounts, packages, memberships, and refunds

Use one revenue definition consistently: listed menu price is not interchangeable with expected pre-tax collected revenue. If discounts, packages, memberships, refunds, or credits materially change collections, model the actual allocation in a separate scenario and state the rule. This is an EDITORIAL_METHOD; no official source in the ledger selects an allocation. [G05-C08]

Rework

Rework can consume time, products, fee reversals, or refunds. Enter expected rework time and product once, using documented business records; test a higher case separately rather than hiding uncertainty in margin. Any rework rate is an EDITORIAL_INPUT, not an industry benchmark. [G05-C08; no official source selects a rework rate]

9. Round only after the full calculation

Retain and display the unrounded result in the audit detail. Rounding is presentation logic, not evidence of an economically correct or market-acceptable price. [G05-C08; no official source selects a rounding rule]

C01 v2 should offer:

• No rounding as the analytical default;
• optional Round up to next $1;
• optional Round up to next $5; and
• optional owner-entered increment, rejected when it is zero, negative, or not finite.

display_price
= ceiling(unrounded_price_before_tax ÷ rounding_increment)
× rounding_increment

The rounding choice must be printed beside the result. All component calculations use the unrounded value; the calculator may then recompute the component display at the rounded price so the rounding difference is visible. Every rounding option is an EDITORIAL_METHOD. [G05-C08]

10. Cost-per-service worksheet

Copy this worksheet for each service version.

A. Service time

B. Provider and other direct labor

C. Products and fees

D. Capacity costs

E. Price shares and output

F. Evidence and approval

11. EDITORIAL_SCENARIO 1 — hourly-loaded haircut arithmetic

Hypothetical planning example — not a market average, quote, price recommendation, forecast, tax calculation, or professional advice. Every amount is invented to expose the arithmetic.

Inputs

hands_on_service_minutes = 45
required_consultation_minutes = 5
setup_cleanup_minutes = 10
expected_rework_minutes = 2
capacity_minutes = 45 + 5 + 10 + 2 = 62

compensation_mode = HOURLY_LOADED
fully_loaded_hourly_labor_input = $32.00
provider_commission_share = 0%
commission_linked_employer_burden_share = 0%

monthly_fixed_and_capacity_costs = $6,000.00
realistic_monthly_saleable_minutes = 7,200
consumables_per_service = $2.94
fixed_per_transaction_costs = $0.30
variable_payment_share = 2.9%
target_operating_margin = 15.0%

Calculation

direct_labor = 62 ÷ 60 × $32.00 = $33.066666… (display $33.0667)
capacity_cost_per_minute = $6,000 ÷ 7,200 = $0.833333…
allocated_capacity_cost = 62 × ($6,000 ÷ 7,200) = $51.666666… (display $51.6667)

internal cost_before_price_shares
= $33.066666… + $2.94 + $51.666666… + $0.30
= $87.973333… (display subtotal $87.9734)

price_denominator = 1 - 0 - 0 - 0.029 - 0.15 = 0.821
unrounded_price_before_tax = $87.973333… ÷ 0.821 = $107.153877… (display $107.1539)

variable_payment_amount = $107.1539 × 0.029 = $3.1075
target_operating_margin_amount = $107.1539 × 0.15 = $16.0731
display-rounded component check = $87.9734 + $3.1075 + $16.0731 = $107.1540
unrounded component check = $107.153877… before display rounding

If the operator selects “round up to next $5,” the display would show $110; the audit result remains $107.1539. Neither number is a recommendation. The loaded labor, saleable minutes, fee, rework, target margin, and rounding choice are hypothetical editorial inputs. [G05-C04, G05-C08; S08, S11 support employer-cost categories but not these amounts]

12. EDITORIAL_SCENARIO 2 — revenue-share color appointment arithmetic

Hypothetical planning example — not a market average, quote, price recommendation, forecast, tax calculation, commission recommendation, or professional advice. Every amount and percentage is invented.

Inputs

hands_on_service_minutes = 120
required_consultation_minutes = 15
setup_cleanup_minutes = 25
expected_rework_minutes = 10
capacity_minutes = 120 + 15 + 25 + 10 = 170

compensation_mode = REVENUE_SHARE
direct_provider_labor = $0
provider_commission_share = 35%
commission_linked_employer_burden_share = 4%
other_nonduplicated_direct_labor = $5.50

monthly_fixed_and_capacity_costs = $9,000.00
realistic_monthly_saleable_minutes = 15,000
consumables_per_service = $32.40
fixed_per_transaction_costs = $0.30
variable_payment_share = 3%
target_operating_margin = 12%

The invented 4% share is not a universal employer-burden rate. A real worksheet must derive the treatment from the actual compensation plan, payroll records, and qualified review. [G05-C04, G05-C05; S08, S11, S13]

Calculation

capacity_cost_per_minute = $9,000 ÷ 15,000 = $0.60
allocated_capacity_cost = 170 × $0.60 = $102.00

cost_before_price_shares
= $5.50 + $32.40 + $102.00 + $0.30
= $140.20

price_denominator
= 1 - 0.35 - 0.04 - 0.03 - 0.12
= 0.46

unrounded_price_before_tax = $140.20 ÷ 0.46 = $304.7826

provider_commission_amount = $304.7826 × 0.35 = $106.6739
commission_linked_employer_burden = $304.7826 × 0.04 = $12.1913
variable_payment_amount = $304.7826 × 0.03 = $9.1435
target_operating_margin_amount = $304.7826 × 0.12 = $36.5739

arithmetic_check
= $140.20 + $106.6739 + $12.1913 + $9.1435 + $36.5739
= $304.7826

“Round up to next $5” would display $305; no rounding would display the locale-formatted equivalent of the unrounded result at the calculator's documented precision. Neither is a price or commission recommendation. Tips and sales tax remain outside the calculation. [G05-C05, G05-C06, G05-C08; S06, S12, S13, S14]

13. EDITORIAL_SCENARIO 3 — owner-provided nail service arithmetic

Hypothetical planning example — not a market average, quote, price recommendation, forecast, tax calculation, owner-compensation determination, or professional advice. Every amount is invented.

Inputs

hands_on_service_minutes = 60
required_consultation_minutes = 5
setup_cleanup_minutes = 15
expected_rework_minutes = 5
capacity_minutes = 60 + 5 + 15 + 5 = 85

compensation_mode = HOURLY_LOADED
selected_owner_or_replacement_labor_input = $40.00 per saleable hour
provider_commission_share = 0%
commission_linked_employer_burden_share = 0%

monthly_fixed_and_capacity_costs = $3,600.00
realistic_monthly_saleable_minutes = 6,600
consumables_per_service = $7.80
fixed_per_transaction_costs = $0.30
variable_payment_share = 2.8%
target_operating_margin = 18%

Calculation

direct_labor = 85 ÷ 60 × $40.00 = $56.6667
capacity_cost_per_minute = $3,600 ÷ 6,600 = $0.545455
allocated_capacity_cost = 85 × $0.545455 = $46.3636

cost_before_price_shares
= $56.6667 + $7.80 + $46.3636 + $0.30
= $111.1303

price_denominator = 1 - 0 - 0 - 0.028 - 0.18 = 0.792
unrounded_price_before_tax = $111.1303 ÷ 0.792 = $140.3160

variable_payment_amount = $140.3160 × 0.028 = $3.9288
target_operating_margin_amount = $140.3160 × 0.18 = $25.2569
arithmetic_check = $111.1303 + $3.9288 + $25.2569 = $140.3160

“Round up to next $5” would display $145. The $40 owner/replacement-labor input is only an editorial scenario decision; it is not a wage benchmark, tax classification, salary, draw, distribution, or recommendation. [G05-C04, G05-C08; S09, S10 do not cover self-employed owner earnings]

14. Read the result before changing a menu

The calculation answers one narrow question: given the entered cost definitions and percentage shares, what unrounded pre-tax amount makes the arithmetic balance? It does not answer whether clients will buy the service, whether the service promise is competitive, whether a compensation plan is lawful, or whether cash will arrive when obligations are due. [G05-C03, G05-C05, G05-C07; S02, S04, S13]

Before a menu decision:

1. Compare the exact service definition—not merely the service name—with genuinely comparable local alternatives. [G05-C03; S04]
2. Recalculate low, base, and high cases for time, product use, rework, fees, and saleable capacity. Scenario selection is editorial. [G05-C08]
3. Test contribution and break-even using the same revenue and cost definitions. [G05-C01, G05-C02, G05-C07; S02]
4. Review employee, commission, tip, service-charge, payroll, and worker-status assumptions with a qualified professional for the jurisdiction. [G05-C04, G05-C05; S08, S11, S12, S13, S14]
5. Verify service taxability and display rules with current official state/local sources. [G05-C06; S14]
6. Record the final owner decision, effective date, affected existing bookings, communication plan, and measurement window. Those operating controls are editorial. [G05-C08]

No source in the ledger establishes that the modeled output is the “right” price or that a higher price produces higher profit. [G05-C03, G05-C07, G05-C08; S02, S04]

Vertical implementation paths

The arithmetic framework stays the same, but the service definition, time blocks, direct inputs, capacity constraints, evidence, and qualified review change by business model. These paths are planning prompts, not industry benchmarks:

Each path must use the operator's dated records and the exact service promise. A future immutable revision should connect the selected vertical path to its supporting evidence without changing the site's visual design.

17. Frequent pricing errors

1. Copying a competitor's menu. Their listed price does not prove their cost, demand, or profitability. [G05-C03; S04]
2. Treating every appointment as equal capacity. Use duration-weighted analysis or document the limitations of a weighted average. [G05-C01, G05-C08; S02; allocation is editorial]
3. Using an employee wage statistic as total labor cost or owner pay. OEWS scope and employer-cost exclusions make that conversion unsupported. [G05-C04; S09, S10, S11]
4. Entering hourly compensation and the same provider's commission. Choose one mode or itemize a reviewed hybrid without overlap. [G05-C04, G05-C05, G05-C08; S13]
5. Using only a headline wage as employer cost. Actual payroll taxes, benefits, insurance, and other obligations require records and review; no universal multiplier applies. [G05-C04; S08, S11]
6. Using all clock time as saleable time. Breaks, admin, training, maintenance, closures, and selected unfilled-capacity treatment must be visible. [G05-C08; editorial]
7. Ignoring setup, cleanup, consultation, or rework. Record each once in service time and product assumptions. [G05-C08; editorial]
8. Treating tips as a price subsidy. C01 excludes voluntary tips; wage, tip, and tax treatment still requires review. [G05-C05; S12, S14]
9. Calling collected sales tax revenue or margin. Keep it separate and verify local rules. [G05-C06; S06, S14]
10. Calling contribution or a target share profit. State included and excluded costs. [G05-C07, G05-C08; S02]
11. Hiding an impossible denominator with a floor. Block the result and repair the inputs. [G05-C08; editorial threshold]
12. Rounding before calculating components. Retain precision and apply an explicit display rule last. [G05-C08; editorial]

Related Salon.guide resources

• Salon startup costs for fixed, one-time, and working-capital inputs.
• How to write a salon business plan for capacity, demand, and cash scenarios.
• Salon equipment and supplies for equipment ownership and service-capacity inputs.
• Salon inventory and backbar management for measured product use and item-level cost evidence.
• Salon service pricing calculator for the private calculator contract described here.
• Price increase announcement template for a reviewed client-communication workflow.

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