Sunday evening with the diary and a calculator
Your salon has four groomers. Two are employed on a day rate plus commission above a threshold; one is on straight commission; one is self-employed and rents a table. Every week, someone goes through the diary, works out which groomer did each dog, and matches it to the till takings.
It never matches. A dog booked with one groomer was actually done by another because of a sickness swap. A de-matting extra was charged but not written in the diary. A bath-only was done by the bather but charged as a groom. A shampoo sold at the desk should earn the groomer a small commission, or not, depending on who sold it.
The spreadsheet takes hours. Groomers query their pay. The self-employed groomer's table rent is sometimes forgotten.
Everyone trusts that it is roughly right, and nobody can prove it.
When a groomer leaves and asks for a breakdown of their final month, or a new groomer joins on a different arrangement, the spreadsheet gets another column and another special case, and the person who built it becomes the only one who can run it.
The diary, the till and the pay rules are separate
The diary shows who a dog was booked with. The till shows what was paid. Your commission rules exist in a document or in your head. Nothing joins them.
- The groomer who actually did the dog is not recorded when it changes on the day.
- Extras and add-ons are charged at the till but not linked to a groomer.
- Different pay arrangements need different calculations.
- Product sales commission is tracked on paper, if at all.
- Refunds and discounts are not reflected in commission.
Hours of admin and pay queries
The cost is admin time every week, pay errors that upset staff, and disputes you cannot settle without going back through the diary. Groomers who feel their pay is not transparent are more likely to leave, and good groomers are hard to replace.
How we build commission reporting
- At checkout, the bill records the groomer who did the dog, pre-filled from the booking and changed with a tap if someone else did it. Extras and bather work are assigned too.
- Product sales record the member of staff who sold them.
- Your pay rules are set per groomer: day rate, commission rates on services, extras and products, thresholds, and table rent for self-employed groomers.
- Refunds and discounts are applied to the right groomer's figures according to your rules.
- Each week, a statement per groomer shows every dog groomed, what was paid, the commission calculated and any deductions.
- Figures can be exported to your payroll provider or accounting software, such as Xero, and self-employed groomers can receive a statement to invoice against.
| Pay question | Today | With commission reporting |
|---|---|---|
| Who groomed this dog? | The diary, maybe wrong | Recorded at checkout |
| Were extras included? | Missed | Linked to the groomer |
| Shampoo sales commission | Paper tally | Recorded per sale |
| Table rent | Sometimes forgotten | Deducted on the statement |
Employment status, pay rates and tax treatment are for you and your accountant to decide. We apply the rules you give us and show the working.
Pay day without the spreadsheet
On Monday morning, each groomer's statement is ready. They can see every dog they did and what it earned. Queries are answered by pointing at a line. The manager spends a few minutes checking instead of an evening calculating, and the self-employed groomer's rent and invoice match.
Is commission a weekly headache?
- Commission is worked out from the diary and a spreadsheet.
- The diary and till takings rarely match.
- Groomers query their pay regularly.
- Product sales commission is tracked on paper.
- Table rent for self-employed groomers is handled separately.