How do I explain my nail salon’s staff schedule and tip sharing to a buyer?

Start with the schedule. Prepare a simple chart of a typical week showing who works which shifts, who is full-time and part-time, who brings their own clients and how walk-ins are handled. Explain how time off and sick days are covered. A buyer wants to know whether the salon runs on a steady rota or on whoever happens to turn up.

Then explain tips plainly. Describe whether tips are kept by the technician, pooled, or shared with front-desk staff, and how card tips are handled. Show where the practice is written down and how staff learned it. Ask your accountant how tips should be recorded so you can describe them accurately. If the rule changed over time, say so and say why.

Be ready for questions about pay, commission and booth arrangements, since these affect whether technicians will stay. Introduce the buyer to staff only when you have agreed how and when. Staff who hear changes to tips from a new owner without warning may leave, so ask the buyer what they plan and discuss it ahead of time. Let your lawyer review how you describe pay arrangements.

Key takeaways

• Prepare a typical-week schedule showing who works when.
• Describe the tip rule in writing, including how card tips are handled.
• Be open about any change to the rule and the reason for it.
• Agree how staff will be told about changes before the new owner arrives.