How to calculate salon commission, with real examples
7 min read · For salon, spa and barbershop owners
Commission is how most salons, barbershops and spas in Kenya pay the people who do the work. It rewards busy stylists, keeps your wage bill in step with your sales, and — done badly — causes more arguments than anything else in the business. This guide shows how to work it out properly, with examples in Kenyan shillings.
The two ways to set a commission rate
Every commission scheme is one of two kinds, or a mix of both:
- A percentage of the service. The stylist earns, say, 40% of what the client paid. A KES 4,500 set of knotless braids earns them KES 1,800.
- A fixed amount per service. The stylist earns a flat fee each time, say KES 300 per manicure, whatever the price. Common in barbershops (“KES 100 per cut”) and for quick, low-price services.
Percentages suit services with very different prices. Fixed amounts suit services where the effort is the same whatever you charge. Many salons use both: a percentage on hair, a fixed amount on nails.
Example 1: a simple percentage
Amina is on 40%. On Saturday she does three services:
| Service | Price | Amina earns (40%) |
|---|---|---|
| Knotless braids | KES 4,500 | KES 1,800 |
| Locs retwist | KES 2,000 | KES 800 |
| Silk press | KES 2,500 | KES 1,000 |
| Total | KES 9,000 | KES 3,600 |
Example 2: a different rate for one service
You pay Joy KES 300 for every gel manicure, but 25% on pedicures because they take longer and cost more. A day with four manicures and two KES 1,800 pedicures earns her 4 × 300 + 2 × (25% of 1,800) = KES 1,200 + KES 900 = KES 2,100.
The point: a stylist can have a default rate and a different rate on particular services. Write both down, so nobody has to remember them.
Discounts: calculate on what the client actually paid
If a client gets KES 500 off a KES 4,500 service, is the commission on 4,500 or 4,000? The fair answer — and the one that protects your margin — is on what the client paid. At 40%, that's KES 1,600, not KES 1,800. Agree this rule with your team up front; it prevents the most common dispute.
When a discount is on the whole bill, share it across the services in proportion to their price. A 10% bill discount simply means every stylist on that bill earns commission on 90% of their service price.
Product costs
Some salons take product costs off before working out commission — for example, deducting the cost of braiding hair or relaxer. If you do, be consistent and put the product cost next to each service so stylists can check it. Many owners find it simpler to set a slightly lower percentage on product-heavy services instead.
Paying out: weekly, with a payslip
- Close the period. Pick a day — many salons pay every Saturday evening or Monday morning.
- List every paid service each person did since the last payout, with the price and their commission.
- Add or subtract extras: a bonus or tips on top, an advance taken during the week off.
- Pay and record the reference — the M-Pesa code, or “cash”.
- Give them a payslip listing what it covers. It ends “you owe me” conversations.
The common mistakes
- Working it out from memory or a notebook at the end of the week.
- Paying commission on services the client never paid for.
- Different rules for different people, never written down.
- No record of advances, so they're forgotten at payout.
Doing it automatically
A salon POS that records who did each service can do all of the above as the client pays: apply each stylist's rate (and any per-service rate), handle discounts fairly, and show what everyone is owed at any moment. That's exactly what BeautyFlow's commission and payslip tools do, as part of the salon management system.