Setting up services is one of the most important steps you’ll take when getting started with Keep the Fees. Services define what your clients can book, how artists are scheduled, how pricing is handled, and how checkout flows. Done well, it gives you full control and transparency, ensuring a seamless experience for both clients and staff.
This guide will walk you through every step of adding a new service, with practical examples, best practices, and insight into how each option impacts your day-to-day studio workflow. Whether you're creating a walk-in flash tattoo or a custom multi-hour session, this article helps you set it up with confidence.
Adding services properly is essential for smooth day-to-day operations, allowing clients to book accurately, staff to price confidently, and your reports to reflect true revenue. This guide is designed to help you not just fill out fields but understand why each one matters.
Table of Contents
Accessing Your Services
Step 1: Log in to your Keep the Fees dashboard.
Step 2: Click on Your Shop in the main navigation. Drop down menu will appear.
Step 3: Select Services.
Step 4: On the right-hand side, click the Create button (+ symbol on app) to begin setting up a new service.
Step 5: Once the form opens, you’ll be asked to fill out a series of fields that determine how this service functions, from pricing and consent forms to how it's booked and shown on your calendar.
Don’t worry if you’re not sure what each field does every field is explained in detail in the next section: Service Fields Explained.
Tip: If you're adding services for multiple artists, be sure to communicate internally to maintain naming consistency (e.g., "Small Tattoo" vs. "Palm-sized Tattoo").
Service Fields Explained
Below is a breakdown of each field you'll see when creating or editing a service. These are the options that define how the service behaves in your booking flow, pricing logic, and client experience:
Service Title
This is what your clients and staff will see throughout the system, from the online booking link to internal reports.
Use clear, client-facing language like “Small Tattoo,” “Flash Special,” or “Piercing Consultation.”
Price
This is the fixed cost of the service. Use this field to set a flat rate for specific offerings, such as a flash tattoo design, piercing, or a standard session block.
Examples:
$120 for a flash piece
$400 for a half-day session
$800 for a full-day session
If you'd prefer to determine the price at the time of checkout, simply enter 0 instead. This allows flexibility when pricing varies from client to client or if the service is time-dependent and calculated using the artist's hourly rate.
Consent Form Requirement
If enabled, the system will require a signed consent form before checkout.
Best Practice:
Disable this for walk-ins so you can complete the sale quickly without delays.
Enable it for services that require documentation (such as tattoos, piercings, or anything regulated).
We recommend using the QR code feature to have clients fill this out digitally before service. This helps build their profile in the system automatically.
Learn more about Walk-In Service Setup
Use Artist’s Hourly Rate
If your artist has an hourly rate set in their profile, enabling this will override the listed price for the service and calculate cost automatically based on time booked.
When to Use:
For time-based services like hourly sessions or day rates.
Important: Make sure the artist's profile includes their hourly rate before enabling this feature. Once it's set, the system will automatically use that rate to calculate the cost of this service, saving time and reducing pricing errors.
Can Book Online
Enabling this allows clients to book the service directly through your public link. Disabling it makes the service bookable only by staff inside the dashboard.
Use Cases:
Enable for general services like consultations, flash events, or small tattoos.
Disable for large custom pieces that require manual scheduling.
Apply Sales Tax
If your shop is set up to collect sales tax (configured in your Shop Settings), this toggle determines whether it’s automatically applied to this service.
You can still override this manually at checkout.
Example: You may want tax applied to product sales but not to the tattoo itself.
Auto Approve Online Bookings
When this is enabled, client bookings go straight to the calendar without needing artist approval.
When disabled, client requests must be reviewed and approved by the artist first.
When to Enable:
Flash events
Simple services with consistent durations
When to Disable:
Custom work where the artist wants to confirm time, design, or placement first
Service Description
This is visible to clients before booking. Use this space to define expectations and reduce confusion.
Example:
Instead of “Small Tattoo,” write: “3x3 inch max, palm-sized, black linework only.”
You can also upload an image that helps clients understand what the service looks like. This increases booking confidence.
Booking Interval
This sets the spacing between time slots clients see on the booking page.
Example: If set to 15 minutes, available slots will show up as 1:00, 1:15, 1:30, etc.
Tip: If your studio runs on tight schedules, use 15-minute intervals. For more relaxed pacing, go with 30 or 60 minutes.
Service Duration
This defines how long the actual service takes. It’s the time blocked out on the artist’s calendar.
This field directly affects:
Availability shown to clients
Price (if using hourly rate)
Time management between bookings
Buffer Time After Service
This adds extra time after the booking ends. This is not visible to the client, but blocks your calendar.
Use Cases:
Cleaning up after an appointment
Taking healed photos
Preparing the next client’s stencil
Example: A 60-minute tattoo session with a 15-minute buffer will block 75 minutes total on your schedule.
Finalizing the Setup
After completing all fields:
Double-check that all information is accurate and aligns with your pricing and workflow.
Click Create Service to save (on browser) or Save button (on app).
Once you do this, a pop-up window will appear (Only On Browser). This is where you configure commission settings and deposit amounts for each artist linked to this service:
Commissions: You’ll see a list of all artists in your shop. For each artist that should be eligible to perform this service, enter their commission percentage. If an artist should not perform the service, leave their commission at 0%.
Deposits: For any artist who can perform this service, you’ll also enter the deposit amount required when a client books it. This deposit will automatically be applied when the client books through the public booking link or when the artist books the client via their calendar.
Important: The deposit amount shown here becomes the default for all external bookings. The only time you can adjust the deposit manually is when using the “Schedule Appointment” feature inside the Appointments tab or by sending an invoice manually.
In other words, whatever deposit amount you enter in this pop-up becomes the default that clients are shown when booking through your public link. This is what they’ll be asked to pay at the time of booking, whether it’s through the shop’s calendar or the artist’s booking link.
Make sure this deposit reflects your studio’s actual policies and expectations. This reduces miscommunication and ensures clients are aware of payment requirements upfront.
You can always change these settings later in the Artist Profile > Commission Settings section. View our full article on Artist Commissions.
Once you've entered the correct commission and deposit values, click Update to save and close the window.
Once you've completed these steps, your new service will be listed in the Services section of your dashboard.
Thanks for using Keep the Fees where studio operations stay simple and fee-free.