Set the studio's split, override it per artist, and track what each artist is owed — commission, booth rent or a hybrid of both.
Linebook records how each payment splits between the shop and the artist — so Finances always shows what the shop earned and what every artist is owed. It's a clean record for you to settle by; Linebook never moves the money.
The studio default
Settings → Payments → Shop cut sets your studio-wide split. 50 means a 50/50 split — the shop keeps 50%, the artist keeps 50%. Every artist inherits this unless you give them their own rate.
Per-artist pay models
Open an artist under Settings → Team and choose how they're paid:
CommissionThe shop takes a % of their tattoo revenue. Set a custom rate (an apprentice higher, a senior lower) or leave it blank to use the studio default.
Booth rentThe artist rents their chair for a flat weekly or monthly fee and keeps 100% of their tattoo revenue.
HybridA reduced chair rent plus a (usually smaller) commission — both apply.
Three pay models — who keeps what
ShopArtist
Commissionshop takes a % of tattoo revenue
Booth rentflat chair rent · artist keeps 100%
artist 100% + flat rent to shop
Hybridreduced rent + a smaller commission
shop 22%
artist 78% + reduced rent
Tipsalways 100% to the artist · never cut
Percentages are illustrative. Sits under "Per-artist pay models" — the split bars make commission vs booth vs hybrid concrete.
Tips, materials & card fees
Tips are always 100% to the artist — never cut.
Materials fee: an optional flat per-artist fee, taken off the tattoo balance before the split (for supplies the shop provides).
Card fees: optionally net card processing fees off the top before the split (Settings → Payments), so the artist shares the cost of card payments.
Who holds the money
The "artist collects their own payments" toggle sets the direction. If the shop collects (the default), the shop owes the artist their payout. If the artist collects — cash in their pocket or their own terminal — they owe the shop its cut. Booth renters always collect their own.
Who holds the money → who owes whom
Shop collects · default
Shoppays outArtist
Money lands with the shop, so the shop owes the artist their payout.
Artist collects · booth renters always
Artistowes cutShop
Cash in pocket or own terminal, so the artist owes the shop its cut.
The "artist collects their own payments" toggle just flips the arrow — this makes the Settlement column's direction obvious.
Recording rent & the settlement
Record a rent payment from Payments → Record a payment → Rent, against the artist's chair.
Finances shows each artist's gross, what the shop earns (commission + materials + rent), and a Settlement column — "pay out $X" when you owe them, or "owes shop $Y" when they owe you.
The split is snapshotted on each payment, so changing a rate never rewrites past reports. It all exports to CSV for your accountant.
Rates can step with earnings: give an artist tiers — say 50% until they've grossed $5,000 in the period, then 60% past it — and the settlement applies whichever band they've reached. No tiers set means the flat rate, exactly as before.
NoteLinebook records the split; it doesn't move money. Card deposits still land 100% in your own processor account — the cut is what you reconcile by, not an automated transfer.