Why not just charge what everyone else charges?

A published market rate does not know your rent, your award wages or the van you still owe money on. Two businesses can charge the same groom and one of them is losing money. Use the price index to see the market, then use this calculator to see whether that market rate actually pays you.

Home salon, shopfront or mobile. Does it change the maths?

Yes. Home trades rent for a share of the house. A shopfront adds outgoings and usually a bather. Mobile adds travel minutes, fuel and a van you have to replace. Switch the type and the fields that do not apply drop out, so they cannot quietly inflate the price.

Should I price by dog size or use one average?

Use your average across the week to find the floor. Then load larger or coated breeds above it. The calculator answers whether the book as a whole pays you, not whether a 4kg Maltese is a bargain.

Why does worn-out equipment sit in the price?

Because you will buy it again. Spreading the cost over its useful life is a replacement reserve, not a depreciation lecture. If you skip it, the next dryer, treadmill or fence comes out of the pay you thought you were taking home.

Are these figures GST inclusive?

They are whatever you type. Use the same basis on every line. If your prices include GST, enter costs the way they hit your account. Mixing a GST-inclusive price with GST-exclusive costs will understate the gap.

Is this financial advice?

No. Every figure comes from the numbers you typed. The minimum price is the point where your grooms cover operating costs, the equipment reserve, card fees and the pay you said you wanted. It is a planning tool, not tax, accounting or financial advice.

What you need to charge per groom

Rent, water, blades, the van and the pay you actually want, not a Facebook average.

Start here. Your target

What you want to earn per yearWhat the business should pay you, before tax. Super is added on the next line.

Super on that pay12% is the Australian guarantee if you pay yourself a wage. Sole traders still need to put this aside.

What you charge now per groomYour average across sizes. The Australian price index median for a small-dog full groom is about $108.

Your setup

Business type

Dogs per dayFinished grooms, not bookings in the book.

Days per week

Weeks worked per year52 minus holidays, sick days and quiet weeks. Most owners work 44 to 48.

No-show and cancellation rateBooked slots you lose and cannot refill.

% of slots

Time on each job

Hours you are on the toolsUsed to warn you when the diary does not fit in the day.

Minutes per groomHands-on time, not the slot on the calendar.

Admin minutes per dogBooking, notes, invoicing, photos.

Unpaid hours per weekBookkeeping, marketing, quoting, ordering, social.

Operating costs

Monthly lines are what you pay whether a customer turns up or not. Annual bills (permits, CPD) are labelled in the hint.

Home occupancy shareThe slice of mortgage or rent, power and council rates the salon actually uses.

InsurancePublic liability and animals in your care. Mobile add-ons belong here too.

Water, power and gasGrooming is a wet trade. A busy shopfront often spends more here than on shampoo.

Waste, laundry and sharpeningTrade waste, towels, blade sharpening runs.

Software and phoneBooking software, phone, internet.

MarketingAds, printing, photos. Zero is fine if you truly spend nothing.

Accountant and bookkeepingMonthly equivalent of the annual bill.

Cost of each groom

Consumables per dogShampoo, conditioner, water share, bandanas, treats, blades you treat as used-up.

Card and platform feesStripe, Square, Tyro and any booking-platform cut. Typically 1.6 to 2.2%.

% of sales

Equipment you will have to replace

Cost spread over useful life becomes a yearly reserve, then a slice of the price. Type $0 if you truly will not replace it.

Grooming table

Hydraulic or electric table you will replace.

Cost

Years

Dryer

Force dryer and/or cabinet. They die.

Cost

Years

Clippers, blades and scissors

The kit you cannot work without.

Cost

Years

Tub and plumbing

Home or shop. Skip if you are mobile-only.

Cost

Years

Your minimum sustainable price

$98.80

per groom, to cover costs and hit your income target

Your pricing covers your costs and your targetAt $105.00 you are roughly $6,438 a year ahead of the minimum. That is your buffer.

The diary needs 8.8 hours a day and you said you work 8.0. Something has to give: fewer grooms, longer days, or another pair of hands.

Effective hourly rate

$44.43

at your current prices

Grooms per year

1,058

23 a week after leakage

At your current prices

Annual revenue	$111,090
Card and platform fees	-$2,111
Operating costs	-$10,320
Equipment reserve	-$1,344
Variable costs	-$6,877
What you actually keep	$90,438

Profit per groom

$85.48

grooms a week to hit target

21.5

If the diary does not fill

Load	Volume	Revenue	You keep
50% of diary	529	$55,545	$39,387
75% of diary	794	$83,318	$64,913
Full diary	1,058	$111,090	$90,438

What a price rise is worth

Change	New price	Extra per year
+$5 per groom	$110.00	+$5,189
+$10 per groom	$115.00	+$10,379

Same number of grooms. Demand is usually less price-sensitive than owners expect, but test a rise on new clients before applying it across the book.

Then run the diary

Petboost is the software this calculator came from. Bookings, occupancy, packages and the record of what you actually charged.

Book a demo

Grooming software · What the market charges

How this one works

A groom that takes 90 minutes plus 15 minutes of admin is not a $95 hour. It is closer to a $50 hour once the unpaid work is in.

Water and power belong in monthly costs, not only in the $6 of shampoo. Wet trades hide the bill in the quarterly statement.

Every figure comes from the numbers you entered. The minimum is the point at which revenue covers operating costs, team wages, the equipment reserve, card fees and the pay you said you wanted, across the grooms you realistically complete in a year. It is general business information, not financial, tax or accounting advice. Last updated August 2026.

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