Contents
- How much commission does Treatwell charge, and when?
- Why only charge for new clients?
- What counts as a new client?
- Do I pay commission on my own clients if they start using Treatwell?
- What do you actually do with the first-timer commission fee?
- I think I was charged the wrong commission. Is it possible to amend it?
- Are there any other fees?
Created after plenty of research and in-depth feedback from our salon partners, our unique commission model is designed specifically to help you build your business the brightest in the long run.
With Treatwell, you only pay a commission when we introduce a brand-new customer, or one who hasn’t booked with you in the last 12 months. For all your returning clients within the last year and any direct bookings, you won’t pay any commission at all!
We charge a small processing fee of 2% +VAT when a repeat client books via Treatwell or your ‘Book Now’ buttons. From 1st December 2020, we made some changes to this in the UK: we will no longer charge any processing fees for repeat clients who pay-at-venue, whether that’s via the client app, your book now buttons or Reserve with Google.
Watch the video above to see a breakdown of how our commission works, and for more on how you can turn first-timers into loyal clients using Treatwell, check out our guide here.
How much commission does Treatwell charge, and when do I pay?
Our model is a little different from most. Instead of a flat rate for every booking, we only ever charge you a commission fee when a new client books you via Treatwell.
That means that when a new client books you on Treatwell, we charge a commission fee of 35% (+ VAT) - but every time they come back to you, for any treatment, we don’t charge any commission at all, providing there's a record of them having had a successful booking with you in the past 12 months.
With Treatwell, the only time you’ll pay commission is if we’re bringing you a new client. You can read our definitions of new and repeat clients here.
Why only charge for new clients?
At Treatwell, we want to make sure we’re helping you build your business the best way possible.
That’s why we only charge you commission if we’re the ones bringing you in a new client. When they become a repeat customer, or you’ve found them directly, that’s a reflection on your good work - so we don’t charge.
After doing lots of research and testing different ideas out, we found that this approach led to the best results for our partners in the long term, too - and we’ve stuck to it ever since.
What counts as a new client?
A new client is someone who’s either never had an appointment with you before - or who hasn’t booked you in the last 12 months (whether directly in your salon, via the widget or on Treatwell).
So that means that if one of your own clients who normally books with you by phone decides to book online for the first time, we won’t charge you commission, providing they have been manually added into Connect as a client in your client list or via a direct appointment.
It also means that if a client books you via Treatwell or directly, and then doesn’t book again for over a year, we’d no longer consider them a repeat client - so commission would be applied.
For more information on how new and repeat customers are defined, you can have a look at this helpful and indepth article or in our Partner Terms of Business. (Clauses 2.6 and 2.7, to be exact.)
What about my own direct clients, if they start using Treatwell?
When you enter direct appointments, we won’t charge any commission at all. If one of your existing clients book with you for the first time through any of your own channels with the Booking Widget, we'll apply a 2% processing fee for prepaid bookings, and 0% if the client chooses to pay at the salon. If the client books through the marketplace, the rules above will apply.
What do you actually do with the commission fee?
We reinvest it right back into you. By charging that 35% commission on first-time clients to your salon, we’re able to keep developing new digital tools for your business and improving the powerful, personalised marketing we do to keep driving both new and loyal clients back to your salon.
I think I was charged the wrong commission. Is it possible to amend it?
We understand that commission charges can be confusing, and we're here to help clarify how they work. Our commission model has been carefully crafted to support your business, and while we’re unable to amend charges once they’ve been applied, you can always refer to our in-depth support article, How do we define new and repeat customers?, to understand why a particular commission was charged.
Are there any other fees?
We charge a small processing fee of 2% on repeat bookings – but from 1st December 2020, this processing fee was removed in the UK for all repeat clients who pay at venue.
We also charge a 2% processing fee on widget bookings paid for in advance, but if the customer uses your widget and chooses to pay at the salon when they get their appointment we don’t charge a processing fee at all!