How to set up and track staff commissions in your salon

You've just hired your first assistant. Or you're running a 5-stylist floor. Either way, you need to know who's doing what, and what everyone has earned.

This guide shows you how to add your team in Miali, how to structure commissions so they're fair and easy to explain, and how to stay organized as you grow.

One thing up front, so there are no surprises: Miali estimates each person's commission from the work they've done. It doesn't work out wages and it doesn't pay your staff. You still pay people the way you do now (M-Pesa, bank transfer, cash). What changes is that the number you pay from is on screen instead of in a notebook.

Adding your team to Miali

Team members are part of the Business plan ($10 a month for up to 5 bookable team members).

1. Add each person from your dashboard.
2. Add a photo. Use a clear, professional photo for each person. A client choosing between three names with no faces will usually just pick the first one.
3. List their specialties. Say exactly what each stylist is great at (for example "Colour", "Fades", "Locs"). Clients see the photo and specialties when they pick who to book.
4. Set their working hours. Each person has their own hours, so clients only see times when that person is actually in.
5. Set their commission rate. Enter each person's percentage. More on choosing it below.

Team members don't get their own logins. You manage the calendar and record the work. Once your team is set up, clients can pick who they want on your booking page, or choose "Anyone available."

How commission estimates work in Miali

Working out payouts shouldn't take you all Sunday evening.

• Set rates: Give each team member a commission percentage (for example, 60% for a senior stylist, 40% for a junior).
• Automatic estimate: Miali takes the revenue from each person's completed appointments and multiplies it by their rate. That's their estimated commission.
• Reports: See each person's revenue and estimated commission side by side. It cuts down the "did I get paid for that?" conversation.

Treat the estimate as your starting point, not the final payslip. If you take off product fees, pay tips separately, or give bonuses, you apply those yourself.

A worked example: one month, three stylists

Numbers make this easier to picture. Say your salon has three stylists and these are their completed services for the month:

• Senior stylist at 60%: $4,000 in services. Commission: $4,000 × 60% = $2,400.
• Mid-level stylist at 50%: $3,000 in services. Commission: $3,000 × 50% = $1,500.
• Junior stylist at 40%: $1,500 in services. Commission: $1,500 × 40% = $600.

Total revenue: $8,500. Total commissions: $4,500. The salon keeps $4,000, and that has to cover rent, products, utilities, software, and your own pay.

That last line is the one owners forget. A 60% rate sounds generous, and it is, but only if the 40% left over covers what it costs to keep the lights on. Run your own numbers before you promise anyone a rate.

If you charge a product fee

Many salons take a product or backbar fee before working out commission. Say you take 10% off the top for product on the senior stylist's work:

• $4,000 minus a 10% product fee = $3,600.
• $3,600 × 60% = $2,160.

That's $240 less than the straight calculation. Miali's estimate uses straight revenue × rate, so if your policy includes a product fee, do that step yourself and tell your team clearly how it works.

If you use tiered commission

Some owners pay more as a stylist brings in more. For example: 40% on the first $2,000 a month, 50% on everything above it. A stylist who does $3,000:

• First $2,000 × 40% = $800.
• Next $1,000 × 50% = $500.
• Total: $1,300.

Miali uses one rate per person, so it won't split tiers for you. Either work out the tiered amount yourself from the revenue figure, or update someone's rate when they move up a level.

How to choose a fair commission rate

There's no single right answer, but these questions get you most of the way:

• Who pays for products? If the salon supplies everything, the rate is usually lower than if stylists bring their own.
• Who brings the clients? A stylist with a big personal following is worth more to you than one filling slots from your walk-ins and marketing.
• What does the chair cost you? Add up monthly rent, utilities, and supplies, divide by the number of chairs, and make sure each chair's share is covered after commission.
• What does the local market pay? Ask around. If you're well below what nearby salons offer, your best people will leave.

Write the rate down, agree it with each person, and put it in Miali so the estimate matches what you both agreed.

A simple weekly payout routine

Pick a day and stick to it:

1. Check the calendar is complete. Every appointment that happened should be completed with the right team member and the right price. Walk-ins taken at the desk should be in the calendar too.
2. Open your reports and note each person's revenue and estimated commission.
3. Apply your adjustments: product fees, tips, advances, bonuses.
4. Pay using whatever method you already use.
5. Share the numbers with each stylist. Showing them the same figures you're looking at builds trust fast.

The biggest source of payout arguments isn't the maths. It's appointments that were never recorded, or recorded under the wrong name. Fix that at step 1 and most arguments go away.

Keeping a shared calendar straight

With more people, the calendar is where things fall apart. A few habits help:

• Let clients choose their stylist online. Regulars book their person directly, and you don't have to play middleman in the DMs.
• Record walk-ins as they happen. Add them from the dashboard straight away, under the stylist who did the work, so nothing is missed at payout time.
• Set realistic service durations. If a silk press really takes 90 minutes, don't list it as 60. Tight durations push every appointment after it later.
• Turn on reminders. WhatsApp reminders go out 24 hours before by default (you can set 1 to 72 hours), and Miali sends a second one 2 hours before. Fewer no-shows means fewer empty hours for your team. Our guide to automated reminders covers the settings.

Pro tips for running a team

1. Agree the rules once: Put your commission rates, product fee, and tip policy in writing so nobody has to remember a conversation.
2. Clear specialties: Use each person's specialties to show who does what. "Senior colourist" or "Braids and locs" tells a new client exactly who to book.
3. Keep working hours current: When someone changes their days, update their hours so clients don't book them when they're off.
4. Review the numbers together: A five-minute monthly chat over the reports, about what's booking well and what isn't, is more useful than any lecture.

Common commission mistakes

• Promising a rate before doing the maths. Work out what the salon keeps first.
• Changing rates without telling anyone. Agree changes in writing, then update Miali.
• Paying from memory. If it isn't in the calendar, it didn't happen. That rule protects you and your staff.
• Treating the estimate as final. It's revenue × rate. Your deductions and bonuses are still yours to apply.

FAQ

Does Miali pay my staff? No. Miali shows an estimated commission for each team member based on their completed appointments and their rate. You pay them yourself, however you normally do.

Can my staff log in to see their own numbers? No. Team members don't have their own logins. Share their figures with them from your reports.

Can each stylist have a different rate? Yes. You set a commission percentage for each person.

Which plan do I need for a team? The Business plan, $10 a month, covers up to 5 bookable team members with unlimited bookings. See pricing for the full comparison.

What if a client pays a deposit? The deposit goes straight to you (Miali never holds money). For commission, what matters is the full price of the completed service, which is what the estimate uses.

Can clients book a specific stylist? Yes. Clients see each team member's name, photo, and specialties on your booking page and can pick who they want. See how it works for hair salons.

Key takeaways

• Miali estimates commission as each person's completed revenue × their rate. It doesn't work out wages or pay anyone.
• Check what the salon keeps after commission before you agree a rate.
• Apply product fees, tiers, tips, and bonuses yourself on top of the estimate.
• A complete calendar, with walk-ins recorded under the right person, prevents most payout disputes.