A strong commission structure is at the heart of every well-run studio and configuring it correctly from the start saves you time, reduces confusion, and ensures fairness across your team. Whether your artists are paid hourly, work on booth rental, or operate on commission, Keep the Fees allows you to set clear, customizable payout rules for every situation.
This guide will walk you through every step of the commission setup process from assigning hourly rates and deposit rules to applying per-service and category-based commissions. It also covers one of the most common support questions: how to manage commission settings from directly inside each artist’s profile.
Table of Contents
Important Requirements Before You Begin
You will not be able to set commissions unless you’ve already:
Added the artist to your shop
Created services in the system
Uploaded your inventory
Once those are done, all available services and products will automatically populate under the Commission Settings section of the artist’s profile.
If you previously added commission settings while creating services or inventory, you can still update or override them directly from here.
Accessing Commission Settings
Step 1: From the Dashboard, click on Your Shop
Step 2: Click the Artist Tab to expand the drop-down menu
Step 3: Select the artist you’d like to configure and click Edit
Step 4: Click the Commission Settings tab above their profile picture
Commission Settings Panel Overview
This is where you configure key financial settings tied to the artist.
Hourly Rate
Input the artist’s hourly rate here. This value is used any time a service has 'Use Hourly Rate' enabled.
Example: If a “Sleeve Tattoo” service is set to use the hourly rate and the artist charges $200/hr, a 4-hour appointment will automatically calculate to $800 at checkout.
Booth Rental
Enter the artist’s booth rental fee (if applicable). This field is for internal reference only and is not used to calculate commissions or payment.
Deposit Commission
This is the percentage of the deposit the artist receives if a client no-shows or cancels and the deposit is forfeited.
Example: If the deposit is $100 and this field is set to 50%, the artist receives $50 from the forfeited deposit.
Pay Deposit on Collection
When toggled on, this allows the artist to be paid as soon as the client pays their deposit.
When enabled, a drop-down will appear with two options:
Deposit Commission – Pays out only if the deposit is forfeited (based on the setting above)
Service Commission – Pays out the deposit using the same percentage as the main service commission
Can Void Payments
If enabled, this gives the artist the ability to refund or void their own transactions from their dashboard.
Example: If a client cancels in accordance with the artist’s policy, the artist can process a refund themselves without needing manager approval.
If turned off, only the shop owner or manager will have refund/void permissions.
Service & Product Overrides
All Service Override: This field lets you apply one flat commission percentage to all services assigned to the artist.
All Product Override: Same concept, but applies to all retail/inventory items.
These are ideal for quick setup or shops that use uniform commission rates.
Understanding the Commission Table
The table shows every service and product in your system. (if in app, scroll down to see all services and products once you are in the commission settings)
Column 1 – Service/Product
This shows every individual service or item in your system.
Column 2 – Category
Used for products only. Categories are configured in your Inventory tab. View Inventory Setup Guide
Column 3 – Available
Toggle on to make this artist eligible to perform or sell the listed service/product. If unchecked, the artist:
Cannot check out that item
Will not receive commissions for it
Will not see the service/product in their dashboard
Column 4 – Commission
Enter or edit the percentage of the service or product the artist will earn. This controls their payout from each sale or appointment.
Column 5 – Deposit (Services Only)
Set the default deposit amount for each service. This amount shows up across the booking links and client invoices for the selected artist.
If you don’t require a deposit, leave this field at 0.
Reminder: Once you've made changes, click Save Changes. We recommend clicking it twice to ensure your settings are fully applied.
Category Tab Setup
Clicking on Categories will take you to the Category Tab, where you can quickly configure commission settings by entire product groups. This is especially useful when artists sell merchandise or when you want to assign bulk aftercare product commissions efficiently.
The Category Tab allows you to bulk-assign commissions based on product category.
You must first create categories in the Inventory section of the dashboard.
This is useful when:
You want to give an artist commission for all aftercare or merchandise products
You sell artist-specific merch (e.g., shirts, stickers, prints)
Column 1 – Category Name
This column shows every product category that you've created in your inventory settings. Categories might include things like Aftercare, Studio Merchandise, or Artist-Branded Items. You must have these categories set up in your Inventory tab first in order for them to appear here.
Column 2 – Sync Commission
When this toggle is turned on, you're telling the system that the artist should receive a commission for every item within that category. This saves time and ensures consistency, especially when multiple items fall under a shared category like Aftercare or Merch.
Column 3 – Available
This checkbox must be turned on after Sync Commission is enabled. Think of it like a final confirmation. If this is unchecked, even with Sync Commission turned on, the artist will not be eligible to check out or earn commissions for products in that category. Both must be on for it to work.
Column 4 – Commission
Here’s where you enter the commission percentage the artist should receive for all items within that category. This is especially useful when artists are selling their own branded merchandise or when you want to reward product upsells like aftercare or add-ons.
Example: If you assign 15% to the Aftercare category, the artist will earn 15% on every item in that category—from ointments to saline solution, without having to configure each product one by one.
Example: If you set Aftercare to 15%, the artist earns 15% on everything in that category—from ointments to saline spray.
As always, when you’re done, hit Save Changes (twice is best practice).
Setting up commissions may seem like a small step, but it plays a major role in streamlining your financial operations, maintaining transparency, and keeping your artists motivated. Whether you're managing a team on commission, booth rent, or hourly, Keep the Fees gives you the flexibility to tailor everything to your exact structure.
Once you've configured everything, your artists will have real-time clarity on how they're compensated, and your shop will benefit from fewer errors, better reporting, and smoother checkouts.
If you need additional help or have questions as you build out your artist profiles, don’t hesitate to explore our Help Center or reach out through in-app chat. We’re here to support you every step of the way.