Proper aftercare is one of the most important parts of the client experience and your shop’s professionalism. With Keep the Fees, you can upload custom aftercare instructions and configure them to be automatically emailed to your clients as soon as their service is checked out.
This guide will walk you through how to prepare, upload, and configure your aftercare forms, as well as how to send them manually or update them anytime. Whether you’re setting up a general tattoo aftercare guide or separate instructions for specific piercings or flash events, this article covers everything you need.
Table of Contents
What is an Aftercare Form?
An aftercare form is a digital document that contains detailed instructions to help your client properly care for their new tattoo or piercing. It’s a vital part of your shop’s professionalism and hygiene protocol and helps reinforce healing best practices while reducing the risk of infection or client missteps.
In Keep the Fees, aftercare forms are linked directly to services. Once a linked service is checked out (marked as paid), the system can automatically send the aftercare form to the client’s email.
This means no one on your team has to remember to follow up manually, and your clients always walk away with clear, accessible instructions. It’s a smart way to protect your work, reduce liability, and support your clients long after they leave your studio.
Prepare Your Aftercare File
Before you can upload an aftercare form in Keep the Fees, you’ll need to have a digital version of your aftercare instructions ready to go.
Accepted file types include:
.pdf— clean, printable, universally compatible.jpgor.png— visual formats that clients can save to their phone's camera roll.docx— editable text document formats (useful for drafting)
How to Create a Digital Version:
If your shop already has printed aftercare instructions, scan or photograph them and save the file as a
.jpgor.pdf.If they live on your website, use the "Print to PDF" or "Save As PDF" feature in your browser.
You can also design a visually branded version in apps like Procreate, Canva, or Photoshop, and export it as an image file (
.jpgor.png) .
Best Practices for the File:
Use clean, easy-to-read fonts
Clearly list all products to avoid or recommended for use
Include step-by-step care instructions for the full healing timeline
Add your shop’s contact number, email, address, and social media
Mention your touch-up policy, healing guarantees, and what’s normal vs. what requires follow-up
Tip: Saving your aftercare as a .jpg makes it easy for mobile users to save it straight to their phone and refer to it during healing. This improves compliance and convenience.
Recommended Info to Include on Your Aftercare Sheet:
Step-by-step healing instructions
Recommended products to buy
Touch-up policy and timelines
Shop phone number, social media, and address
Creating an Aftercare Form
Step 1: Go to your Dashboard
Step 2: Click Forms to expand the drop-down menu
Step 3: Click Aftercare Forms
Step 4: Click Create Form (+ symbol on app)
You’ll now see a form creation screen with the following required fields:
Title: Give your form a name like “Tattoo Aftercare” or “Oral Piercing Instructions.” Note: This title is for internal use only—clients will not see it.
Services: Select all relevant services that this form applies to. For example, if you’re uploading a general tattoo aftercare file, attach it to services like “Small Tattoo,” “Custom Design,” “Flash Tattoo,” etc. You can select multiple services.
Choose File: Upload your aftercare file. This must be the file you prepared earlier (.pdf, .jpg, .png, or .docx).
Tip: If you upload a .jpg version, the client can easily save the instructions to their phone’s gallery for future reference.
Automatically Send After Service Rendered: When this is toggled on, the system will automatically email your aftercare form to the client immediately after checkout, no extra clicks needed.
We highly recommend enabling this, so every client gets aftercare instructions without having to remember to send it manually. It acts as a safety net to ensure no client walks out without guidance.
If you leave this off, you will need to send forms manually.
Step 5: Click Create Form. This finalizes the upload and links the form to the selected services. From here, you’ll be able to configure advanced options!
Form Settings & Options
Send
If a client says they didn’t receive the email or if they ask for aftercare instructions again later, you can resend the form manually Here
Here’s how:
Click Send After Form
Enter the client’s email in the pop-up window
Click Send
This sends a one-time email containing the file.
Download
You can download any uploaded aftercare form for shop use. This is helpful if:
A client wants a physical copy
You want to keep printed instructions at your front desk
A health inspector asks to see your written aftercare procedures
Click Download next to the form to save a copy locally.
Delete an Outdated Form
If you’ve updated your aftercare instructions, you can delete the older version.
Click Delete next to the form you want to remove.
Note: This does not remove forms that were already sent, those remain in the client’s email. It only prevents that file from being sent out going forward.
Edit an Aftercare Form
If you need to update an existing aftercare form:
Click Edit
A pop-up will appear with the editable fields:
Title: Change the internal name
Services: Add or remove services linked to the form
Automatically Send: Enable or disable automatic delivery
Click Save Changes
When prompted with Success!, click OK
Your edits will take effect immediately!
Best Practices & Use Cases
If you have unique aftercare instructions for certain events (like Flash Friday), create separate forms and attach them to the relevant service only.
For piercing-specific aftercare, consider making separate forms for different areas (e.g., “Oral Piercing Aftercare” vs. “Navel Piercing Aftercare”).
Always include your studio’s contact info and social links on the form. This adds professionalism and makes it easier for clients to get in touch if they have questions.
Once your aftercare form is uploaded, it works quietly in the background to reinforce healing guidance, improve compliance, and keep clients connected with your shop.
Need to update or troubleshoot a form? Head back to Forms > Aftercare Forms or contact support through the in-app chat.