Salon commission splits: 60/40, 50/50 and 70/30

Which number is whose?

A “60/40 split” does not say who gets the 60. Barbershops usually quote the barber’s share first, so 60/40 means the barber keeps 60%. Many salons quote it the other way round. Write it as a sentence in the plan — “the stylist is paid 45% of commissionable service sales” — and the question never comes up.

What each split pays on a $7,000 month

A stylist who performs $7,000 of services in a month, with no product charge:

Employee stylists are most often on 40% to 50%. Splits of 60% and above are more common for senior barbers and for stylists who bring their own clients and handle more of their own costs.

What the salon’s share has to pay for

The salon’s side is not profit. It pays for the chair, the product used on clients, card fees, the front desk, booking software, marketing — and, for employees, the employer’s payroll taxes on the stylist’s pay (at least 7.65% for Social Security and Medicare, before unemployment taxes). Here is the same $7,000 month at two splits, assuming 3% card fees and product costing 8% of service sales:

Moving from 45% to 60% costs this salon about $1,130 a month for one stylist. That can be the right call for someone with a full book, but it has to be decided against the salon’s real costs, not the rate down the street. Put your own numbers into the commission split calculator.

Product charges come off before the split

Some salons take a product (back-bar) charge off service sales before applying the split. On a 60/40 split with a 5% product charge and 10% on $900 of retail:

A product charge is easiest to defend when it reflects what product actually costs, applies to everyone the same way and appears as its own line on the pay statement. Rules on deductions from pay vary by state, so check yours.

Retail is a separate rate

Retail is rarely split the same way as services, because the salon has already paid for the product. Around 10% is common, sometimes rising with volume. The retail commission guide compares the options.

Splits that rise with sales

Instead of one split, many salons step it up as a stylist’s book fills — for example 40% to $4,000, 45% to $6,000 and 50% above. Decide whether each rate applies only to the sales in its band or to the whole month once reached; the difference is large. The tiered commission calculator shows both.

Minimum wage still applies

A commissioned employee still has to earn at least minimum wage for the hours worked. In a slow week, a split alone can fall short, so many salons pay the higher of hourly pay and commission. The commission vs hourly guide covers the options.

Split or booth rent?

With booth rent the stylist pays a fixed weekly amount and keeps their service revenue, usually as an independent business that sets its own prices and hours. Whether renting pays the stylist more depends on how much they sell; the booth rent vs commission calculator finds the break-even.

Making a split work

• Put it in writing — whose share, what comes off first, retail, tiers. See the commission agreement guide.
• Show it during the month, so a stylist can see what they have earned before payday.
• Itemise the statement: sales, product charge, split, retail, total.

CommissionBoard calculates each person’s split from your POS report and shows it on their phone as the month builds — no formulas to maintain.