Where do I start?

Getting Started: Setting Up Your Categories and Services 📋

Welcome to Stylist Stats! Before you start tracking your sales — whether you're entering them one by one or importing months of history in bulk — you'll want to set up your categories and services first. This quick guide will walk you through it.

Why Set Up Categories and Services First? 🤔

Think of categories and services as the foundation of your analytics. Every sale you record gets linked to a service, and every service belongs to a category. This structure helps you:

📊 See which types of services bring in the most revenue
💰 Track your commissions accurately
📈 Understand trends in your business over time

Step 1: Create Your Categories 📁

Categories group similar services together. We recommend organizing by service type rather than client demographics. Here are some examples:

✂️ Haircuts
🎨 Coloring
💇 Styling
🧴 Treatments
🛒 Retail Products

To add a category, head to Services in your sidebar, then click Manage Categories. Give each category a clear name that makes sense to you.

Step 2: Add Your Services 💼

Now it's time to add the specific services you offer. For each service, you'll enter:

• The service name (e.g., "Women's Haircut" or "Balayage")
• Your standard price
• Your commission rate (the percentage you keep)
• The category it belongs to

💡 Pro tip: If you offer different pricing for men and women, create separate services under the same category. For example, under "Haircuts" you might have:

Men's Haircut — $35
Women's Haircut — $55
Kids Haircut — $25

Planning to Import Your History? 📥

If you're using Smart Import to upload transactions from your salon software, setting up services first is essential. During the import process, you'll map your salon's service codes to the services you've created in Stylist Stats.

Here's the flow:

✅ Create your categories
✅ Add your services with correct prices and commission rates
✅ Upload your export file
✅ Map each item code to your services (or skip items you don't want to track)
✅ Import and watch your dashboard come to life!

Adding Sales Manually? ✍️

If you prefer to enter transactions one at a time, the same setup applies. When you add a new sale, you'll select from your list of services. Having them organized in categories makes it quick and easy to find what you need.

A Few Tips Before You Start 💡

• Keep category names broad and service names specific
• Set accurate commission rates — this powers your earnings reports
• You can always edit or add services later as your menu evolves

Don't overthink it! Start with your most common services and add more as needed

Ready to Go? 🚀

Head to the Services section in your sidebar and start building out your service menu. Once that's done, you'll be ready to track every cut, color, and style — and finally see the full picture of your business.