Why I made SetBook

I kept everything in a notebook. Every client, every price, every “I will write it down later”. By Sunday the notebook was a mess and I still could not answer the only question that mattered: did this week actually make me money?

The notes were all there. The answer was not.

A full set took two hours and about €8 of product. A volume lash set took two and a half and closer to €18. I was charging roughly the same for both, and wondering why some weeks felt so much harder for the same money.

Once I actually subtracted materials and travel, two of my services were barely worth doing at the price I had set. I had been busy, not profitable — which is a horrible thing to realise two years in.

I thought I charged €45 a set. On some of them I was earning closer to €23 an hour, and under €20 on others. Nobody warns you that a long appointment at a good price can pay worse than a short one at a lower price.

Tax was the other surprise. Set nothing aside for a year and the bill arrives all at once, in the month you can least afford it.

One screen for today. One form that takes twenty seconds with one hand. A number after costs, every time, without doing arithmetic in my head between clients.

Then I added the parts I kept wishing existed: a calculator that tells me what to charge, photos so I remember what I did last time, a note of who keeps cancelling, and a running total of what to set aside for tax.

I am not trying to build a company. This is a tool I use on my own clients, and it seemed daft to keep it to myself. There is no subscription because I do not want to run one, and there is no booking system because I do not want your clients in my database.

If it earns its keep, a one-off €12 covers the servers and unlocks everything. If it does not, use the free version for as long as you like. I would rather you had the numbers than not.