Grooming Commission Calculator

How to calculate your grooming staff commission

First, create a table with three columns: Pet Name, Service Price, Add-Ons or Extras, and Tips.

Second, fill out the table with the dog's you completed for the day. Make sure to include what they tipped you and any extras.

Third, sum up each column and multiply your commission % accordingly.

To make things easier, we've wrapped the functionality for everything in the calculator above.

It's no secret that it's hard to find grooming talent.‍

‍We as an industry are LACKING grooming talent. The demand for pet grooming services has exploded since the great covid "pupdemic" but the supply of groomers has not caught up!

With all the shops in your area often fighting for grooming talent, you need to make sure your pay structure is competitive and rewarding.

Let’s dive into how you can make this work best for your business.

1. What Affects Groomer Pay?

‍Experience matters. This is not a new concept, but more experience deserves more pay. I know this might seem obvious, but what might not seem as obvious is how this affects your bottom line. That experienced groomer that you're paying more for can most likely: finish dogs quicker and create more positive customer experiences. Those both lend themselves to a better business at the end of the day.

Where’s your shop? Pay isn’t the same everywhere. A fancy downtown salon might pay more than a cozy shop in a small town. It’s all about what’s normal around you. Don't forget, if you want to pay more but feel like you can't - you can always raise your prices.

How do you pay? We've seen some shops offer a steady salary, others offer hourly or on commission, and some offer all of the above. Unfortunately - there's no right answer for this. You just have to make sure your incentives align with your groomers to provide the highest quality services.

For example, if you are paying hourly - your groomers are incentivized to take their time with their dogs, but they might take too much time. If you're paying commission - your groomer's are incentivized to work hard and fast to make more, but they might work too quickly and quality might suffer.

It's all a balancing act and there is no ONE answer.

Kind of shop? Big salon or a single van zipping around town? That changes things too. If you're a big salon, you might want to have some sort of generalized structure. Versus an independent van, you can be a little more flexible.

Extras. Ever go to a car wash and end up buying a wax because the sales pitch was good? It’s like that. Pay more to groomers who are great at selling that extra blueberry facial pets love.

2. Setting the Right Pay

What’s everyone else doing? You’ve got to know to stay in the game. Pay should be good enough so your groomers don’t eye the salon down the street.

Here are the grooming pay stats according to The Daily Groomer.

74% of groomers are Full-Time and expect to be paid that way, whereas 26% only groom Part-Time.

As per pay structure, 73% of groomers are paid on just commission, 20% are paid just hourly, and the remaining 7% are paid in a different way (hybrid, salary, etc.).

Regarding commission, the average commission is anywhere in the range of 45-50%.

The average hourly pay throughout the United States is somewhere between $18.25-$20.75 per hour.

3. Choosing Benefits For Your Groomers

Not just about money. Health plans, days off, saving for retirement—it’s all part of the deal. Think of it as the cherry on top that makes your offer too good to refuse. If you're asking where you can differentiate amongst other businesses, offering benefits is a great idea.

Benefits like Paid Time Off and Free Travel to Grooming Conferences are commonly offered, whereas benefits like Maternity Leave and 401k Matching are not.

4. How to Track Your Grooming Staff Pay

Some business owners track their team's pay on paper or an excel spreadsheet, but there is a much better way. The Grooming Commission Calculator above works out a groomer's commission, add-on commission, tips and any hourly pay for you.

How to Calculate your Grooming Commission

First, enter a typical groom: the average service price, the groomer's commission % on services, the average add-ons per groom and the commission % on add-ons, the average tip, and the share of tips the groomer keeps.

Second, enter the schedule: how many grooms they do per day and how many days they work per week.

Third, if you also pay an hourly rate, enter the rate and paid hours per day, and choose whether it's paid on top of commission or works as a guaranteed minimum (the groomer gets whichever is higher).

The calculator then shows the groomer's take per groom, per day and per week, plus what the salon keeps before other costs like rent, products and payroll taxes. The numbers filled in to start are examples only, so swap in your own.

5. How to Help Your Groomers Earn More

If you have groomers that want to earn more, there a few key things you can do to help.

Grow their skills. The more they know, the more they can do, the more you can charge. It’s like leveling up in a video game. We'd recommend checking out The Daily Groomer for more educational resources.

Get more clients. More happy pet owners mean more tails wagging. And that’s more cash at the end of the day. If your groomers can start bringing in more clients, give them a piece of the pie!

Add services. Like when a restaurant adds desserts to the menu, you can add pet facials, trendy cuts, teeth care! More services, more dough. Encourage your team to try upsells and incentivize them with a revenue share.

In Conclusion

So, there you go! Keep your groomers happy and your customers will be too. And your business? It’ll grow just like that well-groomed poodle prancing out of your shop.