A service price list is a promise about two things: what a client gets, and what they pay. Most small service businesses set prices by looking at the shop down the road. A better starting point is your own time, your product cost and the hourly figure your business actually needs.
Find the price your time needs with the free Service Price Calculator.
Work out what an hour must earn
Before you price any service, decide what each working hour must bring in after card fees. It has to cover rent or booth fees, insurance, the supplies you don't itemise, tax, and your own pay. If you need $60 an hour and you're fully booked 30 hours a week, that's $1,800 a week of service revenue.
Price each service from time and product
For every service, add the minutes it takes to a buffer for clean-up and turnover, convert to hours, multiply by your hourly target and add the product cost. Then allow for card fees. A 50-minute cut with a 10-minute buffer, $4 of product and a $60 target comes to about $66 before rounding. If you charge $55 today, that service is quietly paying you less than you think.
Round to clean numbers
Published prices should be easy to read: round up to the nearest $5 for most services. "From" prices work for services that vary with length or thickness, provided the menu says what changes the price.
Use add-ons and packages
Add-ons (toner, a deep-conditioning treatment, a nail-art upgrade) raise the average ticket without a long consultation. Packages combine two or three services at a modest discount (5-15%) so clients book more at once. The free Package & Bundle Discount Calculator shows the saving and what you give up.
Raise prices with notice
When the numbers say a service is underpriced, tell clients early: give the date, the reason in one sentence and the new prices, and honour existing bookings. Most clients accept a clear increase; surprises at the till are what cause complaints.
Publish one clear menu
Group services by category, show the time and the price, and put your booking and cancellation policy on the same page. The Service Pricing & Menu Planner calculates every price from your numbers, and the Service Menu & Price List Templates give you the menu, the price-increase notice and the policy.
This guide is general information, not financial advice. Example figures are illustrative.