Barber tools › Money
How many cuts cover your chair rent
Rent comes out whether the chair is busy or not. This shows the point in the week where you stop working for the landlord and start working for yourself.
What you hand over
What a client actually leaves
Per week
To see what is left over
Rent does not change. What comes through the chair does, every week.
Know Your Chair logs seven numbers a week and turns them into utilisation, revenue per hour, and what your gaps are costing you — tracked over time instead of worked out once.
Claim a founding spot£9.99 a month, locked for the first 100 barbers.
Rent is a fixed cost, and that cuts both ways
A quiet week costs you the same rent as a busy one. That is the risk you took on when you chose rent over commission, and it is also the upside: every cut after the rent is covered is worth far more to you than it would be on a percentage.
Work in average spend, not list price
If your standard cut is £24 but half your week is £15 kids' cuts and £12 tidy-ups, your average spend is nowhere near £24 and the number of cuts you need is a lot higher than the price list suggests. Take a real week's takings, divide by the number of clients, and use that.
The share is the number to watch
How many cuts it takes matters less than what proportion of your takings the rent eats. Under a fifth is comfortable. Over a third and the chair is setting the terms rather than you — either the rent is too high for the location or the diary is too quiet for the rent.
Common questions
How many haircuts do I need to cover chair rent?
Divide your weekly rent by your average spend and round up. At £170 rent and £24 average spend that is eight cuts, which is under two a day across a five-day week.
What proportion of my takings should chair rent be?
Under a fifth is comfortable. Over a third and the chair is setting the terms rather than you, which usually means the rent is too high for the location or the diary is too quiet for the rent.
Is chair rent better than commission?
Rent is a fixed cost, so a quiet week costs you the same as a busy one. That is the risk. The upside is that every cut after the rent is covered is worth far more to you than it would be on a percentage. Rent suits a full diary; commission suits an uncertain one.
Does chair rent include products and insurance?
It varies by shop and it is worth pinning down before you sign anything. Ask specifically about products, towels, laundry, card machine fees, insurance, and whether the rent changes in your quiet months.