From enquiry to quote in a nail salon: template and pricing

What to take away

• The quote is not a document you write after the enquiry. It is the service menu, priced, and it should exist before the phone rings.
• Price the service, not the hour. Chair time is the cost you are covering, and it is set by the service you chose to sell.
• Every line on the quote should be a line the technician can point to on the client's own nails.
• Removal, repair and art are separate charges, not favors folded into the base price.
• Confirm the current rule with your state board on anything a quote touches that is regulated, including consent forms.

The quote is the service menu

A client asks what a full set costs. The answer is not one number, because a full set is not one service. Natural nail care, gel polish, builder gel, acrylic and a structured manicure take different times at the table and use different product.

Write the menu first. Each line needs a service name, the time it holds the chair, what is included, and what costs extra. The quote is that menu with the client's choices marked.

A quote built this way survives the follow-up question, because the answer is already on the page.

What sets the price

Chair time is the unit. If a service holds the chair for T minutes and running that chair costs C per minute, the price floor is T times C. Substitute your own T and C.

What matters is whether menu prices clear that floor over a week. That is the arithmetic in nail salon profit margins and break-even points.

Two services can hold the chair the same length and deserve different prices. Acrylic takes product and a longer cure. Builder gel takes fewer minutes and more skill. Price the skill, or you will train your clients to buy the cheap one.

Fields that earn their place

• Client and contact, plus who is allowed to change the booking.
• Service, named exactly as it appears on the menu.
• Time held, so the desk can see the gap it is filling.
• Length, shape and finish, because these are what the client will judge.
• Product line, so a substitution is a conversation and not a surprise.
• Extras quoted separately: removal of existing product, repair per nail, art per nail, French, chrome.
• Add-ons that change the appointment length: soak-off, cuticle work, a second color.
• Deposit taken, and what it is applied to.
• Rebooking window, offered before the client leaves the chair.
• Anything the salon declines, with the referral.

That last field is not a formality. When a client presents a nail or skin condition, the salon does not diagnose or treat it. The record shows what was observed, that service was declined, and that the client was referred to a physician or podiatrist. Confirm the current rule with your state board on what that record must contain.

Pricing approaches and what each one costs you

Approach	Where it fits	What it costs
Flat price per service	A menu clients can read and compare	A long appointment eats the margin on a short one
Price by time at the table	Work whose length is unknown until it starts	The client watches the clock
Tiered by product line	A client choosing between gel and acrylic	Tiers drift from what the technician actually does
Membership or prepaid visits	A regular client who books on a cadence	Unused visits feel like a bad deal to the buyer
Price by the technician	A senior technician with a full book	Two prices for one menu, and the desk has to explain it

Walk-ins, no-shows and the deposit

A walk-in mix and a booked mix need different quotes. Walk-ins need a short menu with three or four prices the desk can say out loud. Booked clients can be quoted the full service with extras. A walk-in menu with three prices still needs a chair-hour target behind it, which is the core of nail salon pricing.

The deposit is what makes a booked quote hold. Set it as a share of the service, state it on the quote, and say what happens when someone arrives late or not at all. Whatever you write, it has to be the same rule you apply at the desk.

Records and claims

Keep the quote, the deposit record and the completed service together. The IRS recordkeeping guidance describes what a system has to show, and a quote that never becomes a receipt shows nothing.

If the menu advertises a result, the FTC advertising guide applies to the claim the same way it applies to any other ad. The BLS occupational summary for manicurists and pedicurists describes the work a quote is pricing, including consultation, product application, sanitation and retail.

Common questions

Should the quote list a total or a range?

A total for the service as described, plus named extras. A range invites the client to hear the low number and hold you to it.

How do I quote a service I have not timed yet?

Time it three times on three clients and use the longest. A quote built on your best day will not survive your busiest one.

Where does retail go on the quote?

After the service, as a separate line with its own price. Folded into the service, it stops being a sale and becomes a discount.

What if the client asks for something not on the menu?

Quote it as a custom service with its own time and price, or decline it. A verbal yes at the table is how a menu stops meaning anything.