How to calculate the real cost of a service

Many beauty professionals set prices by market average or gut feeling. A more precise approach starts with real cost, then adds the margin you want.

What makes up a service's cost

• Direct materials — everything used to deliver that specific service
• Quantity used — not the price of the whole product, but how much one service actually consumes
• Time — the longer a service takes, the more it costs indirectly

The most common mistake

The most common mistake is costing the whole product instead of what's actually used. If a bottle of gel costs €15 and lasts 30 services, one service uses about €0.50 of gel — not €15.

Why this matters

Once you know the real cost, pricing stops being a guess. You can see exactly what you need to charge to be profitable — and what's left above that.

CULTUS lets you assign materials and quantities to each service, so cost is calculated automatically instead of estimated by eye.