Why service duration matters so much
A schedule is only as accurate as the durations written into it. If your menu says a manicure takes an hour but it really takes an hour and twenty minutes, the third client of the day is already waiting and the master is rushing. If a duration is too long, the day fills with small empty gaps nobody can book into.
In many salons the durations were set on opening day, "roughly", and nobody has checked them since. Meanwhile masters, materials and services change. The good news is that this can be fixed in a few weeks.
Measure for a week or two instead of guessing
The simplest way to get the right duration is to measure it. For one or two weeks, have each master note the real start and end of their main services. A sheet of paper or a note on the phone is enough:
- when the client sat down;
- when the work was finished;
- when the chair or table was ready for the next client.
After a few measurements, take the usual value, not the fastest one. If eight out of ten manicures take 70 to 80 minutes, the service is 80 minutes, even if on a good day you can finish in 60.
Include what happens before and after the work
The most common mistake is counting only the work itself. A client takes up the master's time for longer than that:
- Before: a greeting, a short talk about the result they want, choosing a colour or shape.
- During: drying, waiting, photos for your page.
- After: payment, booking the next visit, cleaning the tools and resetting the station.
If none of this is in the duration, it still happens, just on the next client's time. The most reliable approach is to build the prep and cleanup minutes straight into the service's duration.
Different masters, different durations
An experienced master may do the same colour much faster than a colleague who just joined. If you give everyone the same number, one is always running late and the other is always waiting. It's fairer to set each master's own duration and review it as they get faster. For a new master, leave extra time at first, as we describe in our article on a new master's first weeks.
Clients can differ too. Long or thick hair, a first visit or a complex design all take more time. If the difference is consistently large, it's better to create a separate service than to hope you'll "somehow manage". For example, "Colour, short hair" and "Colour, long hair", or a fill versus a new set, as covered in this article.
Combined services
When a client books several services in one visit, the time doesn't always simply add up. Sometimes parts overlap, for example the cleanup is done once, and sometimes switching from one service to the next adds a few minutes. Check your most common combinations against a few real visits. If the sum is right, good. If not, adjust the individual durations so that together they match reality.
Connect duration to price
Once you know the real durations, you'll often find that some services are long but cheap, while others are short and pay well. That's not a reason to change prices right away, but it is a reason to take a calm look at your menu. We explain how to work out the cost of a visit from its duration in our article on pricing a new service.
Review every few months
Durations aren't set once and for all. Build a simple habit:
- Every few months, ask the masters which services often run late or finish early.
- Measure only those services again for a week.
- Update the durations and tell the team.
A good sign is when the day ends on time and masters get their breaks because they were planned, not by chance.