You've finished a brow appointment and can remember which pigment you opened, but not what that visit actually used from your supply shelf. Start with one completed appointment: list each material you used, work out its cost per usable unit, and multiply by the amount consumed. That gives you a supply cost you can compare with the next appointment and use when you restock.
Key takeaways
- Record one real service, not a hypothetical “average PMU client.”
- A pack price is a buying number. Divide it into the units you actually use before adding it to an appointment.
- Keep consumables separate from your time and studio overhead, so you know what changed when the total moves.
Start with the appointment you just completed
Pick one service you can reconstruct without guessing: for example, a brow appointment from this week. Write down the cartridge Style you opened, the pigment shades you dispensed, and the other single-use supplies that came off the shelf. Your purchase invoice tells you what you paid; the appointment record tells you what you used. You need both.
An uncomplicated record has five fields: item, purchase unit, price paid, amount used, appointment cost. It can live in a notebook or spreadsheet. The useful part is the habit of filling it out while the setup is still fresh, not the software you choose. Copy these lines for one visit:
- Cartridge: exact Style ___; pack of ___; pack price ___; cartridges opened ___; appointment cost ___.
- Pigment: exact shade/code ___; bottle volume ___; bottle price ___; amount dispensed ___; appointment cost ___.
- Other single-use item: item ___; pack size ___; pack price ___; pieces used ___; appointment cost ___. Repeat this line for each item.
- Total supplies for this appointment: ___ (add the appointment-cost amounts above).
If a shade was dispensed into a cup but left over, it still came out of the bottle for that appointment. Record the dispensed amount, including what you discarded. If you don't measure pigment by volume yet, record the shade and mark the quantity as unknown; don't turn a guess into a cost figure. You can start with the cartridge and other counted items, then improve that row when your measuring habit catches up.
Turn a pack price into a per-appointment number
For a cartridge pack, the calculation is simple: price you paid ÷ usable cartridges in the pack × cartridges opened for the appointment. The Pinky Pro RL round liner PMU cartridges currently have 10-piece and 20-piece pack choices. Use the price and pack size of the exact Style you ordered; a neighbouring Style or bundle isn't your cost basis. If you're still choosing the arrangement, settle that in the PMU needle selection guide before you build your cost sheet.
For pigment, use bottle price ÷ usable bottle volume × volume dispensed. Keep the exact shade on the row. The Brown & Coffee Blend pigment options include several brow colour directions; one generic “brown pigment” line will be hard to match to the bottle you reorder. If you offer lip work too, make a separate service record and use the shade you actually selected from the Pink, Red & Nude Blend range. A brow row and a lip row shouldn't be forced into one average.
Use the price you actually paid, with your normal treatment of tax and shipping applied consistently. The shelf price you see today may differ from the price on the order that supplied this appointment. You can update your sheet when a new pack arrives instead of retroactively changing the cost of older visits.
Compare like appointments before changing your buying list
Once you've recorded two or three visits for the same service, put them side by side. Did a different cartridge Style change the pack cost? Did you open another cartridge, dispense more pigment, or use an extra single-use item? Mark the changed row first. “Supplies cost more this week” doesn't tell you what to reorder or what to check; “this brow service opened one more cartridge than the last one” does.
This comparison can also expose a purchasing mistake. Perhaps you bought a larger pack because its total price looked attractive, but the Style isn't one you use often. Your appointment records will show whether that size actually fits the work you book. Use the same record to check how quickly a shade or cartridge Style leaves the shelf, then order by real usage rather than a fixed calendar date.
Keep three totals distinct when you review your service: materials consumed, your working time, and studio overhead. This page calculates the first. When you set a service price, all three matter, as do any follow-up visits included in that price. A low consumables total alone doesn't mean the appointment was profitable.
Make the next appointment easier to record
Save a blank copy of this five-field record for each service on your menu. After the next appointment, fill in the Style and shade codes from the packaging, then the quantities you actually opened or dispensed. Add one note if something unusual changed the setup. By the end of the week, you'll have a better buying list and a more honest starting point for reviewing your prices.
Frequently asked questions
Should I include practice materials in a client appointment cost?
Keep practice sessions on their own line or sheet. A practice skin used for training wasn't consumed during that client's visit, so adding it to one appointment would hide what the service itself used.
What if I use only part of a pigment bottle?
Divide your actual bottle cost by its usable volume, then multiply by the amount dispensed for that appointment. Record what went into the cup, including leftovers that cannot return to the bottle. If you haven't measured it, leave that quantity open until you can record it reliably.
Can this number tell me what to charge?
It gives you the materials portion of the decision. Add your working time, studio costs and any included follow-up work before you assess a service price; don't use the supply total as the entire price.