Chairs, suites, and retail — profitable by station.

Booth renters who are really employees. This is the single largest exposure in the industry. If you set schedules, prices, or supply the product, a state agency may see an employee regardless of what the agreement says. We review the arrangement and document it properly — before an audit does it for you.

Tips handled informally. Cash and card tips are reportable wages with withholding obligations. Clean tip reporting protects the business and the stylist, and it is straightforward once the process exists.

Retail product taxed wrong. Products are almost always taxable; services usually are not. Mixed tickets need to separate them, and back-bar supplies used in service follow different rules than product sold at the counter.

Med spas with an extra layer. Injectables and medical aesthetics bring licensing, medical-director, and often ownership-structure requirements on top of ordinary salon compliance. Structure that early, with counsel.

Revenue per available hour is the salon equivalent of occupancy. A station empty on a Tuesday afternoon costs the same rent as a full one, and scheduling — not price — is usually the fastest lever on it.

Service versus retail mix. Retail carries different margin, different tax treatment, and different labor cost than service. Tracked separately, it often turns out to be the most profitable square footage in the building; blended together, it hides both problems and opportunities.

Product cost per service (back bar). Color, extensions, and treatment supplies used in service are a cost of goods that most salons never measure per ticket. Doing so frequently reveals that specific services price below their true cost.

Compensation structure drives everything downstream. Commission, hourly-plus, and booth rent each produce different incentives, different tax and classification exposure, and different retention. Choosing deliberately — and documenting it — is the single most consequential decision in this industry.