Commissions per service, override the default rate

Most salons set a default commission rate for each staff member (e.g. "Bella gets 50% of every service she does"). But sometimes a service deserves a different rate, premium services with higher margins, products with thinner margins, or services where the staff did less of the actual work.

The Commissions tab on a service lets you override the staff default for that one service.

How service-level commissions work

The hierarchy:

1. Tenant default: the salon-wide commission rule (e.g. 0% for everyone, set globally).
2. Staff default: per-staff commission, set in the team member's profile.
3. Service override: per-service commission for one or more staff members. Wins over both above.

When an appointment is completed, Bookinda checks: does the service have a commission override for this staff member? If yes, use that. Otherwise, use the staff's default. Otherwise, use the tenant default.

Setting an override

Open the service, click the Commissions tab. You'll see a list of staff members allowed to perform this service. For each, you can:

• Leave inherit from staff default (default).
• Set a percentage override (e.g. 60%).
• Set a fixed amount override (e.g. 5,000 Ft per appointment).

Use case scenarios

Scenario 1: High-margin signature service

A salon's "Brazilian blowout" sells for 35,000 Ft and has a 70% gross margin. Bella's default is 40%. For this service specifically, the owner sets her override to 50%. Bella is more motivated to upsell this service, and the salon still keeps a healthy margin.

Scenario 2: Trainee performing a junior service

"Junior haircut" is 6,000 Ft, a trainee performs it. Trainee default commission is 30%. The owner sets the override on this service to 25% (slightly lower than full stylist commission elsewhere). Encourages trainees to graduate to higher-tier services for better take-home.

Scenario 3: Product-heavy service

"Botox-style hair treatment" includes 8,000 Ft of expensive product. The default 50% commission would eat all the profit. Override to 30% for this service compensates for product cost while keeping staff motivated.

Scenario 4: Promotional pricing without sacrificing staff pay

The salon discounts "Color refresh" from 12,000 Ft to 8,000 Ft for a winter promo. Default 40% commission means the stylist takes home less. Override to 50% temporarily so stylists don't lose income on the promo.

Tips

• Use sparingly: too many overrides become hard to track. Only override when there's a real reason (margin, product cost, promo).
• Communicate changes to staff: if you change a commission, tell the affected staff. They check their pay; surprise changes erode trust.
• Audit quarterly: pull a commission report and look for outliers. A service with very high or very low commission percentages is worth a sanity check.
• Override beats default, always: if a service has an override, the staff default is ignored, even if you change the staff default later.
• Combine with smart pricing: if you discount a service via Smart Pricing, commissions still calculate from the discounted price (unless you override).