Rentablo · Free calculator
How much should you charge for a service?
Enter what you spend on supplies, how long the service takes and how much you want to earn per hour. The calculator gives you the lowest price that, split the way Rentablo does it, covers your materials, your pay and savings for the business.
How Rentablo splits it
- Supplies 20%$8
- Your pay 50%$20
- Business profit 30%$12
Your time sets the price: your pay for this service is $20, about $20 an hour.
How it's calculated
Rentablo splits every sale into three parts: supplies, your pay and your business profit. The suggested price is the lowest one that does two things at once:
- The supplies share covers the materials you use: supplies cost ÷ supplies percentage.
- Your pay share covers what you want to earn for the time the service takes: (hourly earnings × minutes ÷ 60) ÷ pay percentage.
It takes the higher of the two, rounds it up to the next dollar, and whatever is left stays as business profit.
Example with the Balanced profile (20% supplies, 50% pay, 30% profit): a service with $5 in supplies that takes 60 minutes, to earn $20 an hour. For the supplies you'd need to charge $5 ÷ 20% = $25; for your time, $20 ÷ 50% = $40. So you charge at least $40: $8 goes to supplies (enough for the $5), $20 to your pay and $12 to the business.
Before you set your price
- Count every supply, including disposables: gloves, cotton, towels, files or capes. If a product lasts for several services, divide its price by the number of services it covers.
- Count the whole time: preparing, serving and cleaning up.
- Check what similar businesses charge in your area. If your price is far below, you may be undercharging.
- Charge the travel fee separately: it covers transportation and depends on the distance.
- If the price seems high for your clients, review how much time and supplies the service takes or try another profile.
More details and examples in the guide how to price your services.
Frequently asked questions
How do I work out how much to charge for a service?
Divide what you spend on supplies by the supplies percentage, divide what you want to earn for the service's time by the pay percentage, and charge at least the higher of the two. Whatever is left stays as business profit. With the Balanced profile, the percentages are 20% supplies, 50% pay and 30% profit.
What counts as supplies?
The materials used up in each service: polish, gels, lashes, dyes, wax, washing products and disposables like gloves or cotton. If a product lasts for several services, divide its price by the number of services it covers.
How much should I earn per hour?
It depends on your city, your experience and your expenses. One way to work it out: divide what you need to earn per month by the hours you spend with clients that month. If you need $3,000 and work with clients 120 hours, your target is $25 an hour.
Should the travel fee be part of the price?
It's better to charge it separately, because it covers transportation and depends on the distance. In Rentablo the travel fee is recorded separately on each sale and isn't split.
How often should I review my prices?
When your supplies go up, when a service takes longer than you expected or when the business profit isn't enough to replace equipment. Reviewing them every few months is a good habit.
Keep track with Rentablo. Once you have your price, record each sale in the free app and Rentablo splits it between supplies, your pay and your business profit. Get it on Google Play or use it on the web. Questions? See the FAQ.