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Stop paying commission on your own clients

24 July 2026 · BookThru

For years the pitch was simple: the booking software was free, and you only “paid” when the marketplace sent you a new client. That trade looks reasonable right up until you run the numbers on a busy month.

The numbers most salons never add up

Say the marketplace sends you 20 new clients in a month, each booking a £60 first visit. At a 20% new-client commission that’s £240 — for that month alone. Add the subscription the platform now charges on top, plus card fees, and you’re comfortably past £250 a month. On clients you then have to pay commission on again if they rebook through the same marketplace.

Meanwhile your regulars — the people who’d book you no matter what — are often flowing through the same system. Every percentage point there is pure leakage.

Why flat pricing wins

Flat pricing breaks the link between your success and your software bill. Whether you take 20 bookings or 2,000, the price is the same. That means:

• Every extra booking is margin, not a bigger invoice.
• Your busiest months are your most profitable, not your most expensive.
• New clients are yours to keep — to remarket to, to rebook, to export.

The marketplace model is designed so the marketplace gets paid every time you do. Flat pricing is designed so you keep what you earn.

“But switching is a hassle”

It usually is — which is exactly why we do it for you. Send us your current setup and we import your services, staff, opening hours and client list, normally live within 24 hours. You approve a booking page already branded to match your website, share the link, and carry on.

The maths isn’t close. If you’re paying commission on your own clients, moving to flat pricing pays for itself in the first busy week.