Salon booking software with 0% commission.

What “commission” means in salon software

When salon owners talk about booking commission, they almost always mean one thing: a marketplace fee. A platform runs a consumer app where clients browse salons. When a client finds you there and books for the first time, the platform takes a percentage of that booking as a finder’s fee. It is charged on top of your monthly subscription, not instead of it.

The fee is usually one-off per client, and repeat bookings are often free. That sounds modest until you look at the percentages, the minimums, and how often a “new” client is someone who already knew your name.

Why commission adds up faster than you expect

A £12 or £21 fee on one colour appointment does not sound like much. Three things make it bigger.

• It is charged on the booking, not your profit. A third of a first visit can be most of what that appointment makes you once products, rent and your time are paid for.
• “New” is the platform’s word, not yours. A client who saw your work on Instagram, then searched for you in a marketplace app and booked there, can count as new. Each platform has its own rules for who counts, so read them before you sign up.
• It never stops. Every month brings new clients, so every month brings a commission bill. For a salon with several chairs, it multiplies by every chair.

Studios and clinics face a version of the same thing, with commission layered on a per-location subscription. Our guide to what subscription plus commission platforms actually cost walks through how the two layers work.

What 0% commission means on ResNeo

• One flat monthly fee, from £20, whatever your booking volume
• No commission on any booking, whether the client is new or has been coming for years
• No per-booking fee, for you or for your client
• No cut of your deposits or payments: they go straight to your own Stripe account, and ResNeo does not hold booking money
• A free listing on the ResNeo marketplace, with no commission on bookings it brings you
• Every feature on every plan, so no add-on fees for reminders, deposits or client records

The fees that do not go away

Commission-free does not mean free of every fee, and you should be wary of anyone who says it does.

If clients pay by card online, a card processor handles the payment and charges for it. On ResNeo that is Stripe, and its published rate for standard UK cards is 1.5% + 20p. That fee goes to Stripe, not to ResNeo, and you would pay a processing fee with any booking software that takes cards. What ResNeo does not do is add a percentage of its own on top. On ResNeo, texts beyond your plan’s monthly allowance are 6p each. That is the full list.

When paying commission can make sense

To be fair to the marketplaces: if you are brand new, with no following and an empty diary, a marketplace that genuinely puts you in front of clients you could never reach may be worth its fee on those first bookings.

The sums change once your diary is mostly regulars and people who already know your name. Then commission is a charge on clients you found yourself. That is when a flat fee and your own booking link usually work out cheaper.

What ResNeo costs

Three flat plans, all with 0% booking commission. Standard payment provider fees may apply.

Running a salon with chair renters?

Commission hurts most when every chair is its own business. On ResNeo, each renter pays a flat fee for their own account, takes their own payments, and pays no commission, while the salon keeps one booking page for everyone. Read how chair rental salon software works, and how separate payments keep every renter’s money apart. Working on your own? See booking software for self-employed stylists.