Every salon owner asks this the same way: "what percentage should I pay?" It's the wrong first question. Across my own salons I run five genuinely different commission structures, not one number applied everywhere — because a junior nail technician and a senior stylist carrying her own client book aren't the same economic problem, and paying them off the same formula either underpays one or bankrupts you paying the other.

The Five Structures, Not One Number

01
Flat retail commission. A simple percentage on retail product sold, no threshold, applied to everyone regardless of role. Industry benchmark sits in a 10-15% band — below 10% and you're under-incentivising the one revenue line most salons chronically under-sell; above 15% and you're eating into a margin line that's already thin.
02
Escalating-bonus-on-turnover. Best for junior/support roles (nail techs, hair assistants, lash techs) — a flat bonus once their own service turnover clears a multiple of their base salary (e.g. 3x, 4x, 5x, 6x). Rewards volume without exposing a junior earner to a pure-commission income swing they're not ready to carry.
03
Flat-tier bonus. A named total bonus once a stylist's own turnover crosses a threshold — not additive per tier, one number per band crossed. Works well for mid-tier stylists who need a clear, simple target rather than a running percentage.
04
Senior 50/50-above-threshold. Below a turnover floor, no commission — above it, 50% of the FULL month's turnover, not just the marginal amount. Reserved for senior/manager-tier stylists who are effectively running their chair as a business inside the business.
05
Simple 50/50, no threshold. Straight revenue share from the first dirham. The most aggressive structure — and the one real data point worth knowing: a pure-commission stylist on this exact structure still left my business for a competitor. Commission percentage alone doesn't buy loyalty. Don't assume a bigger number fixes a retention problem — it might just be funding someone else's exit.

The Real Trap

Owners over-index on the rate and under-index on what the rate is actually measuring.

Retail commission that calculates on gross including VAT, or a service commission that deducts product cost before applying the percentage vs. after — these mechanical choices move real money and get set once, then forgotten. Whichever payroll or booking platform you run, confirm exactly what base the percentage is applied to before you ever quote a number to staff — the same stated rate can pay out meaningfully differently depending on that one setting.

What This Means For You

Don't ask "what's the market rate." Ask "what problem is this role's commission structure supposed to solve" — volume from a junior, loyalty from a senior, or a clean incentive on the one revenue line (retail) almost every salon under-sells. Pick the structure for the problem, then the number follows.