Payroll Structure for having a groomer as an employee

[doghut]

I have a pet boutique and I'm adding grooming to my shop. I will be paying the groomer as an employee which means I will be paying p/r taxes, w/c insurance, etc. I want to be fair to the groomer and also be able to break even with the expenses involved.What is a fair % of grooming services and what expenses should I cover such as shampoo, etc? I will be purchasing the major equipment, tub, dryers, tables.

Sincerely appreciate your expertise

[windfall4]

I think commission wise most employees get around 50%.
As a general rule my employer provides the major equipment like you are doing and anything that gets used up...shampoo, ear cleaner, ear powder, quick stop, detangling sprays etc etc. But the groomer should provide her own clippers, brushes, blades, scissors, combs, and what not.

[ferretlov]

My employer provides equipment (4 bent up crates and a few dryers he replaced the cords on that get hot and will start a fire someday .I even have 2 fire extinguishers in the groom room just in case)and consumables I provide my tools.I get paid 50% .
But there has been some talk of 60% if I provide shampoo he wont buy it .I have had nothing but easy groom special edition for 5 months. no oatmeal no medicated nothing-he just wont but it. I bought baby shampoo for faces and ear cleaner-he didnt even offer to give me any money for it.,(cheapskate) but thst is why he doent have a groomer for longer than a month or 2.Im new without much experiance so i stay.
Kind of a little bit of a rant hidden in there sorry

[SwissNChow]

I think your percentage depends entirely on your average groom price. If your prices are cheap, 50% probably isn't enough to get you a quality groomer. If your prices are high, 50% may be a lot, especially since you are including insurance as a benefit. I would suggest you find out what the average is for your area. I strongly suggest you get the book "From Problems to Profits" which is written specifically for the grooming industry and will really help you manage grooming since that is not your experience. Managing groomers can be difficult, for the simple reason that they tend to very much have an artist's mentality.

If you definitely choose to pay with a commission system, you are probably going to have to so some combination of hourly wage + commission while you are building the business, for the simple reason that you are not going to keep a groomer if you are only paying commission while the business is building and that groomer is only being scheduled 1 or 2 dogs a day. It does take time to build the clientele and that groomer has to be able to make a living. Without motivation to stay, that groomer won't.

There are so many different ways you can structure the grooming business and each way affects profits vs expenses, so it's difficult to answer your question susinctly. "From Problems To Profits" has CHAPTERS on all of this stuff! Since you have not yet ordered your equipment and gotten started, now is the time to get that book! It will even give you a clear idea of what you actually need. Best $34 you will ever spend.

[pooh13]

In the past as an employee I was paid 60% I supplied clippers blades scissors etc .shop covered shampoo,cond,ear cleaner& powder ,table, dryers,cages..% should be based on not only on experience but skills as well.

[PawsBdd]

I want to be fair to the groomer and also be able to break even with the expenses involved.

Why do you just want to break even? If I were you I would think hard and long about your plans. JMO, grooming in not like adding a display to your shop where it will take care of it self and either sell or not, no harm no foul. It can give your store a good name or a bad one. You also have to make sure you are covered with the right insurance if a pet gets injured and remember w/c is higher for groomers than a retail clerk. Maybe you sould think of leasing out that area of your store to her. You can lease it with all the equipment and she can buy all the supplies and insurance. Make sure she has her own bus. phone and lic. This way you still get the walk in traffic and she will be more motivated to do good work and take pride. Again JMO

[SwissNChow]

Why do you just want to break even? If I were you I would think hard and long about your plans. JMO, grooming in not like adding a display to your shop where it will take care of it self and either sell or not, no harm no foul. It can give your store a good name or a bad one. You also have to make sure you are covered with the right insurance if a pet gets injured and remember w/c is higher for groomers than a retail clerk. Maybe you sould think of leasing out that area of your store to her. You can lease it with all the equipment and she can buy all the supplies and insurance. Make sure she has her own bus. phone and lic. This way you still get the walk in traffic and she will be more motivated to do good work and take pride. Again JMO

IMO, if a business goes the direction of leasing space rather than just hiring a groomer they have even less control of how that groomer affects the reputation of the existing business. The public will associate the two regardless and the public rarely understands that the grooming business inside a store has nothing to do with the business other than location. The public will assume the grooming shop is part of the business. Not to mention, if you lease space, you have no control over what they do. If you hire an employee, you can dictate how things are done, what hours are worked, and the final "product" that leaves the shop.

[bulldogmom]

Why do you just want to break even? If I were you I would think hard and long about your plans. JMO, grooming in not like adding a display to your shop where it will take care of it self and either sell or not, no harm no foul. It can give your store a good name or a bad one. You also have to make sure you are covered with the right insurance if a pet gets injured and remember w/c is higher for groomers than a retail clerk. Maybe you sould think of leasing out that area of your store to her. You can lease it with all the equipment and she can buy all the supplies and insurance. Make sure she has her own bus. phone and lic. This way you still get the walk in traffic and she will be more motivated to do good work and take pride. Again JMO

I agree. Rent the space to an IC. You'll make some rent money and hopefully it will attract customers to your boutique as well.