Fixed costs are what you pay every month, whether you see many clients or few. Many nail techs only look at polish and gel and forget the rest, so they believe they are earning more than they really are.
What counts as a fixed cost
- Space: salon or chair rent; a share of home rent if you work from home.
- Utilities: electricity, water, internet, phone.
- Transport: fares, fuel, ride apps (especially for mobile services).
- Taxes and fees: business taxes, licenses, fixed card-machine fees.
- Marketing: ads, scheduling tools, business cards, packaging.
- Equipment: a monthly reserve to replace the LED lamp, drill, sterilizer, tools.
- Education: courses and training also need to fit the budget.
What usually gets left out (and shouldn’t)
- Equipment replacement: the drill will break someday. Setting a little aside each month avoids the shock.
- General disposables that cannot be attributed to a single service.
- Your own income: it is not “what is left”. It is a cost that must be in the calculation.
How to get the total
- Gather statements and receipts from the last 3 months.
- Separate business from personal. Mixing them is the most common mistake.
- Total each category and calculate the monthly average.
- Divide by hours worked to see what each hour costs. See how to do that math.
Tip: open a separate account (or even a separate “pot” in your bank app) for business money. It becomes much easier to see what is cost, what is profit and what is yours.
Why this changes your price
Every unit of fixed cost must be paid by appointments. If you ignore part of them, the price comes out low and the profit disappears. With the total in hand, move on to pricing each service.
