Adding New Staff Members

10 minutes

Tutorial 4.1: Adding New Staff Members

Introduction

Adding staff members to Luminate allows you to manage your team, track their appointments and transactions, assign them to the roster, and calculate their compensation. This tutorial walks you through creating a complete staff profile with contact details, role assignment, staff level, and compensation settings.

Who this is for: Owner, Admin What you'll learn:

Create a new staff profile
Set contact details and employment information
Assign a role (Admin, Manager, Staff, Receptionist)
Configure compensation type (Hourly, Salary Only, Commission Only, Salary + Commission)
Set staff level for tiered pricing
Configure leave allowance and working days
Control roster and appointment visibility

Time to complete: 10 minutes

Prerequisites

Logged in as Owner or Admin
Have the new staff member's details ready (name, email, phone)
Know their role and compensation structure

Step-by-Step Instructions

Step 1: Access Staff Management

Click Staff in the sidebar
The staff list displays current team members
Click the Add Staff Member button in the top-right corner

The "Add Staff Member" form opens with nine sections.

Step 2: Enter Personal Information

The first section captures contact details:

Field	Required	Description
First Name	Yes	Given name
Last Name	Yes	Surname
Email	Yes	Work email address
Mobile Number	No	Phone with country code selector

Entering Mobile Numbers:

Click the country flag to select the correct country code
Enter the phone number without leading zero
Example: For UK number 07700 900123, select UK (+44) and enter "7700900123"

Step 3: Assign a Role

The Role section determines system permissions:

Role	Description
Admin	Full system access except billing management
Manager	Operations access - roster, appointments, reports
Staff	Own schedule, assigned appointments, transactions
Receptionist	All schedules, bookings, customers, transactions (no services)

Select the appropriate role from the dropdown. The role controls what the staff member can see and do when they log in.

Note: Receptionists are administrative staff who cannot be assigned to provide services. They won't appear in appointment booking staff selections.

Step 4: Configure Scheduling Settings

The Scheduling section controls roster visibility and staff level:

Show on Roster & Appointments toggle: Controls whether this staff member appears on the roster schedule, in appointment booking dropdowns, and in the public online booking staff picker.

Enabled (default for most roles): Staff member appears on the roster, can be scheduled for shifts, can be assigned to appointments, and is offered as a bookable stylist on the public online booking portal
Disabled (default for Receptionists): Staff member is hidden from the roster, internal appointment selections, and the public online booking staff picker

Use cases for disabling this toggle:

Receptionists and administrative staff who don't provide services
Salon owners who don't take appointments themselves
Managers who handle the floor but aren't on the chair
Staff who are temporarily unavailable for scheduling

Note: Disabling this toggle does NOT delete existing shifts or appointments. They remain in the system — the staff member is simply hidden from future scheduling and from the online booking picker. This is also how you control whether a Manager-role staff member appears as bookable online: leave the toggle on if they take appointments, switch it off if they don't.

Staff Level (if configured): If your salon has staff levels set up, select from available levels (e.g., Junior, Senior, Director). Staff level affects pricing - services can have different prices per level. If you don't see this option, your salon doesn't have staff levels configured yet. See Tutorial 4.3.

Step 5: Set Employment Details

Enter the hire date:

Click the Hire Date field
Select the date from the calendar
This is used for tenure tracking and reporting

Step 6: Configure Compensation

The Compensation section adapts based on the type you select:

Compensation Type Selector: Choose how this staff member is paid:

Type	Description
Hourly	Paid per hour worked
Salary Only	Fixed annual salary
Commission Only	Earnings from commission on services/products
Salary + Commission	Base salary plus tiered commission

For Hourly:

Enter Hourly Rate (e.g., 15.00)

For Salary Only:

Enter Annual Salary (e.g., 30000.00)

For Commission Only:

Enter Service Commission Override (%) for a flat rate on all service revenue
OR leave blank to use per-service rates
Enter Fallback Service Commission Rate (%) for services without their own rate

For Salary + Commission:

Enter Annual Salary
Configure Commission Tiers (percentage earned at different revenue thresholds)

Earns Product Commission toggle: At the bottom of the Compensation section, you'll find the Earns Product Commission toggle:

Enabled: Staff member earns commission on product sales using each product's commission rate
Disabled (default): Staff member does not earn commission on product sales

Products without a commission rate configured will not generate commission regardless of this setting.

Step 7: Choose Which Services This Person Offers

By default, every staff member is available for every active service — both on the calendar and in the public online booking portal. You can narrow this on a per-staff basis using the Services Offered In-Salon and Services Offered Online sections.

Services Offered In-Salon:

This grid controls which services the staff member can be assigned to on the internal calendar. By default every service is selected.

Untick a service to stop the staff member being booked for it on the calendar
The counter shows how many of the salon's services they currently offer
Receptionists and other staff cannot create a calendar booking pairing this person with a service that's been unticked here — the system will block it

Services Offered Online:

This grid controls which services this staff member appears for in the public booking portal. By default every service that's available online is selected.

Untick a service to hide the staff member as an option for that service in the booking portal
Customers picking that service in the portal will simply not see this staff member in the stylist list
Services that are disabled at the salon level (in Salon Settings → Online Booking → Bookable Services) appear here greyed out — you can't override the salon-level setting from the staff page
If you untick every service, a warning appears: this staff member won't appear at all in the public booking portal

Common patterns:

A junior stylist who only does cuts and blowdries online but the full menu in-salon — leave everything ticked under "In-Salon", untick the colour and treatment services under "Online"
A specialist who only does balayage — untick everything except balayage in both grids
A stylist returning from leave who is not taking online bookings yet — untick all services under "Online", leave "In-Salon" fully ticked

These two grids are independent: a service ticked in-salon but unticked online means the staff member will be assignable to that service on the calendar but won't appear for it in the public portal.

Step 8: Configure Leave Settings

The Leave Settings section controls annual leave allowance and working days:

Leave Allowance Override:

Enter Leave Allowance Override (number of days)
Leave blank to use the salon default

The salon default is displayed below the field (e.g., "28 days").

Working Days: Select which days of the week this staff member typically works. This is used for calculating leave deductions - leave requests only count days the staff member is scheduled to work.

Click on day buttons (Mon, Tue, Wed, Thu, Fri, Sat, Sun) to toggle them on or off
Selected days appear highlighted
By default, the salon's default working days are used (shown as "Using salon default")
Once you customise working days, it shows "Custom" with your selections
Click Reset to salon default to revert to the salon's default working days

Example: If a staff member only works Monday to Friday, deselect Saturday and Sunday. When they request a week's leave that spans a weekend, only 5 days will be deducted from their allowance instead of 7.

Step 9: Add Additional Information (Optional)

The final section captures supplementary details:

Qualifications: Record certifications, training, and specialisations.

NVQ Level 3 Hairdressing
Balayage Specialist Certification (2023)
L'Oréal Colour Expert

Notes: Internal notes about the staff member.

Available for overtime on Saturdays
Prefers not to work bank holidays

Active checkbox:

Checked (default): Staff member appears in lists and can be assigned to appointments
Unchecked: Staff member is hidden but records are preserved

Step 10: Save the Staff Member

Review all entered information
Click Create Staff Member
You're redirected to the staff member's profile page
A success message confirms the staff member was created

After Creating a Staff Member

Once the profile is created, you can:

Create a login account - From the profile page, click Create Login Account (see Tutorial 4.2)
Add to roster - Create shifts in the Roster section
Assign to appointments - They'll appear in staff selection dropdowns

Common Pitfalls

"Email address is already taken"

Each staff member in your salon must have a unique email address. Check if this person already exists in your staff list.

"The compensation fields I expect aren't showing"

Different fields appear based on the Compensation Type selected. Change the compensation type to see the relevant fields.

"Staff member doesn't appear in appointment booking"

Check three things:

The staff member is marked as Active
The Show on Roster & Appointments toggle is enabled (in the Scheduling section)
The role is not Receptionist (receptionists don't provide services by default)

"Staff member doesn't appear on the roster"

The staff member likely has the Show on Roster & Appointments toggle disabled. Edit their profile and enable this toggle in the Scheduling section to show them on the roster.

"Commission isn't calculating correctly"

For Commission Only staff, if no commission rate is set on the service AND no fallback rate is set on the staff member, commission will be zero. Set either service-level rates or a staff fallback rate.

Tips and Best Practices

Start with the correct role - It's easier to increase permissions than reduce them
Use accurate hire dates - This affects leave calculations and tenure reporting
Set compensation accurately - Changes only affect future transactions, not historical records
Record qualifications - Helps when assigning services and scheduling training
Keep notes updated - Record availability preferences and special circumstances
Don't delete, deactivate - When staff leave, uncheck Active instead of deleting to preserve history

Frequently Asked Questions

Can I add staff without giving them system login?

Yes. Create the staff profile without creating a login account. You'll manage their appointments and roster for them. Add login access later if needed.

Can staff see other staff members' commission rates?

No. Staff members can only see their own compensation details. Only Owners and Admins can view all rates.

What's the difference between Hourly and Commission Only?

Hourly: Paid based on hours worked, tracked in payroll
Commission Only: Earnings are a percentage of services/products sold

How do I handle contractors or freelancers?

Create them as staff with Commission Only compensation. They'll appear in reports and can be assigned to appointments.

Can I change compensation type after creation?

Yes. Edit the staff profile and change the compensation type. Historical transactions remain unchanged.

What happens to appointments if I deactivate a staff member?

Existing appointments remain unchanged. The staff member won't appear for new bookings but their historical data is preserved.

Can staff edit their own profile?

Staff can view their profile but cannot edit compensation or role. Only Owners and Admins can modify staff profiles.

What does the "Show on Roster & Appointments" toggle do?

Found in the Scheduling section, this toggle controls whether a staff member appears on the roster schedule, in appointment booking dropdowns, and in the public online booking staff picker. When disabled, the staff member is hidden from all of these areas but their existing shifts and appointments remain in the system. By default, receptionists have this disabled because they don't provide services. This is also the single lever that controls whether a Manager-role staff member appears as bookable online.

I'm a salon owner who doesn't take appointments. Should I disable the toggle?

Yes. If you have a staff profile but don't want to appear on the roster or be bookable for appointments, disable the Show on Roster & Appointments toggle in the Scheduling section of your profile.

What are Working Days used for?

Working Days in the Leave Settings section determine which days count towards leave deductions. If a staff member only works Monday to Friday, weekend days won't be deducted from their leave allowance when they request time off.

Does everyone need to earn product commission?

No. The Earns Product Commission toggle is disabled by default. Enable it only for staff who should earn commission on product sales. Each product must also have a commission rate configured for the staff member to earn from it.

Last Updated: May 2026