Salon Management
Salon Management
This domain tests day-to-day operations, pricing, stock control, staffing, health and safety, marketing and legal compliance. The exam rewards practical arithmetic and documented systems.
Core rules
- Know your costs: product cost per service, labour, rent, utilities, insurance and marketing. Price for margin, not just to match a competitor.
- Keep a booking system, cancellation policy, client records, consent forms and incident log. Staff rota must match demand and legal working hours.
- Stock control: rotate with FIFO, check expiry, record usage, reorder at par level, lock chemicals.
- Health and safety: risk assessment, fire exits, electrical checks, SDS folder, first aid, waste disposal and insurance.
- Marketing: consent-based photos, accurate claims, clear pricing and online reviews. Measure inquiries, conversion, rebooking and retail attachment.
Worked example
A facial uses ₹80 of product, 45 minutes of therapist time at ₹300 per hour (₹225), and room overhead of ₹95. Total cost = ₹400. To make a 20% margin on price, price = cost / (1 − 0.20) = ₹400 / 0.8 = ₹500. If you simply add 20% to cost you get ₹480, which is a 16.7% margin, not 20%.
Traps
- Pricing only from competitor menus.
- Forgetting overhead and staff time.
- No written cancellation or consent policy.
- Using client photos without consent.
- Stock not rotated and products expiring.