How to price braids and salon services by length and time

Many salons set prices by looking at the salon down the road. That is a start, but it does not tell you whether you make money on a six-hour set of knotless braids. A long service ties up a chair and a stylist for most of the day. If the price only covers the hair and a little extra, the busiest stylist can be the one losing you money.

This guide shows a simple way to price any service from your own costs. Every number below is an example. Put in your own rent, bills, product costs and commission rates.

What goes into the price of a salon service?

Four things go into every service price: the products used, the time it takes, the stylist's share, and your profit. Hair attachments are a fifth cost for braids and weaves, and they are easiest to handle as a separate item on the bill.

How do you work out what one hour costs you?

Add up everything the salon pays each month that does not change with the number of clients, then divide by the hours your chairs are actually booked. That gives you a cost per booked hour, which every service must cover.

Here is an example for a three-chair salon in Madina.

• Rent: GH₵2,000 a month
• Electricity and water: GH₵900
• Data, cleaning, small repairs and money set aside for your software renewal: GH₵500
• Total running costs: GH₵3,400 a month

The salon opens 26 days a month for 9 hours, with 3 chairs. That is 702 chair-hours. Chairs are never full all day, so use the share of hours you really sell. If your diary shows chairs booked about 60% of the time, that is about 421 booked hours.

GH₵3,400 divided by 421 hours is about GH₵8 per booked hour. Use the real figure from your own diary: a salon with quiet weekdays will have a higher cost per booked hour than one that is full every day.

How do you turn costs into a price?

Add the product cost and the time cost, then divide by what is left after commission and profit. If the stylist earns 35% commission and you want 20% profit, 45% of the price is left for costs, so you divide your costs by 0.45.

Worked example: knotless braids to the middle of the back, client's hair sold separately.

• Products (gel, mousse, edge control, rubber bands): GH₵15
• Time: 6 hours x GH₵8 = GH₵48
• Costs to cover: GH₵63
• Price: GH₵63 / 0.45 = GH₵140

GH₵140

• ProductsGH₵15.00 (10.7%)
• Chair time, 6 hoursGH₵48.00 (34.3%)
• Stylist commission 35%GH₵49.00 (35%)
• Profit 20%GH₵28.00 (20%)

Source: Example figures

The stylist earns GH₵49, the costs are covered and the business keeps GH₵28. If you priced the same braids at GH₵100 to match a competitor, commission would be GH₵35, costs still GH₵63, and the salon would keep GH₵2 for six hours of a chair.

How should braids be priced by length?

Make each length its own service, with its own time and price. Longer braids take more hours and more product, so the price should rise with the time, not by a guess.

Using the same example costs (GH₵8 an hour, 35% commission, 20% profit):

Prices are rounded to an easy figure. Size matters too: small knotless take longer than medium, so give "small" and "medium" their own services if the time is very different.

• ShoulderGH₵100.00
• Mid-backGH₵140.00
• WaistGH₵185.00

Source: Example figures

Should the hair be in the price?

It is clearer to sell braiding hair as a separate item on the same bill. The client sees what the service costs and what the hair costs, a client who brings her own hair pays only for the service, and every pack sold comes off your stock.

If you prefer one all-in price, add the hair cost to the costs before you divide. Three packs at an example GH₵25 each add GH₵75 of cost, which changes the mid-back price a lot. Whichever way you choose, write it on your price list so nobody argues at the till.

Pricing nails, barbering and short services

The same method works for short services, but product cost matters more and time matters less. A gel manicure might use GH₵10 of product and an hour of time, so costs are GH₵18 and the example price is GH₵40. A haircut uses very little product, so the price is mostly time and the barber's share.

For services under an hour, round the time up to the slot you book. If a line-up takes 15 minutes but blocks a 30-minute slot in a busy diary, price the 30 minutes.

What about VAT on services?

If your salon is registered for VAT, decide whether your prices include tax. Many salons prefer prices that include tax, so the client pays the number on the board. Then the price above is before tax, and you add 20% (VAT 15%, NHIL 2.5% and GETFund 2.5%, all on the same price). In the example, a GH₵140 service becomes GH₵168 on the board.

GRA said in January 2026 that the GH₵750,000 registration threshold applies to goods only, not services. Our guide to VAT for salons and barbershops explains what that means, and you should confirm your own position with GRA.

Check your prices against real sales

A price list is a guess until you check it against what really happens. Every few months, look at three things: how long each service really took, what each stylist sold, and what the salon kept after commission and costs.

1. 1Total last month's running costs
2. 2Count the hours your chairs were booked
3. 3Work out your cost per booked hour
4. 4Recost your five most popular services
5. 5Change the prices that no longer cover costs

How MPOS helps

In MPOS each service has its own duration and price, so the diary blocks the right time for a six-hour booking and the till charges the right amount. Braiding hair, wigs and products sit on the same till with stock levels, so they go on the same bill as the service. Commission is worked out per stylist from real sales, and the sales and staff reports for any period show what each service brought in.

When you know your prices, the next questions are how to pay your stylists and how to keep hair and product stock right. For the whole picture, read the complete guide to running a salon or barbershop. If you want to set your services up properly, you can start a free trial.