Commission-free booking
Commission-free booking means no one takes a share of what the client pays you — not on the first visit or any later visit. Here’s how the model fits together, what you pay instead, and the three things the promise must include to be worth anything.
What the commission actually pays for
Commission isn’t payment for the calendar. It’s payment for matchmaking: the provider runs a marketplace, the client finds you there, and the provider takes a cut of the visit as a fee for having sent the client. That makes sense as long as the client truly came from there. It stops making sense when the same cut is taken from clients you sourced yourself — and that’s where most conflicts arise, because it’s the system that decides what counts as a new client.
What you pay instead
Without commission you’re left with two models: a flat monthly price for the salon, or a price per chair. A flat salon price is the only one that doesn’t punish growth. It stays the same in January and December, the same with one chair or four, and lets you know what the system costs per year without guessing how good the year will be. Per-chair pricing is commission with another name: the cost still tracks your capacity, only in fixed steps instead of percentages.
Three things "commission-free" must mean
Zero share of every booking. No lower rate for your own clients, no exceptions — zero, on everything. The same price no matter how many chairs. Otherwise you’ve swapped the percentage for a fee that does the same thing. No marketplace that competes with you. If the provider runs a directory, they have an economic reason to show the client another salon. That’s not malice, it’s the business model — and it doesn’t disappear just because you asked nicely.
How to check the promise
Get it in writing, in an email you can keep: "Do you charge commission or a fee on any booking, and does the price change if I add more stylists?" Then read the terms for the words "new client," "referral fee," "per stylist," and "marketplace." If they’re not there, you’re probably reading plain language. If they are, you now know what to ask about.
Timesalong takes no commission
19 kr a month for the whole salon, whatever the number of chairs. It is still in build — claim a spot now and you keep the price.
Common questions
What is a booking commission?
A percentage of what the customer pays, taken by the booking-system provider. It is usually only charged on customers the system counts as new, and the rate is typically double-digit on the first visit.
How can a system be free for the customer and commission-free for me?
By the salon paying a flat fee for the service. A calendar with a booking page and reminders costs little to run per salon; what is expensive in the marketplace model is the marketing, and that is what you pay for through commission.
Will I get fewer new customers without a marketplace?
You lose the channel, not the customers you already have. For most solo chairs, new customers come from referrals, Instagram and foot traffic—channels you control yourself. Calculate how many of those "new" customers the marketplace actually brought in before you pay for it.
Does Timesalong take commission?
No, on any booking, ever. The whole bill is 19 kr a month for the salon, whatever the number of chairs and however many hours you book. Timesalong is under construction—you can secure your spot and price now.
Other things we made
Også for deg som driver et enkeltpersonforetak.
Også for deg som driver et enkeltpersonforetak.
Også for deg som driver et enkeltpersonforetak.
Også på norsk, laget av oss.