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Staff Levels and Experience Tiers

10 minutes

Tutorial 4.3: Staff Levels and Experience Tiers

Introduction

Staff levels allow you to organise team members by experience and set different prices for services based on who performs them. A haircut with a Junior stylist might cost £35, while the same service with a Director costs £60. This tutorial shows you how to configure staff levels and set level-based service pricing.

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

  • Configure staff levels in salon settings
  • Add custom staff levels
  • Assign staff members to levels
  • Set level-specific service pricing
  • Reorder and manage levels

Time to complete: 10 minutes

Prerequisites

  • Logged in as Owner or Admin
  • Complete Tutorial 4.1 (Adding New Staff Members)
  • Some services already created (see Section 7 tutorials)

Step-by-Step Instructions

Step 1: Access Staff Level Settings

Staff levels are configured in your salon settings:

  1. Click the salon name in the header to open the salon dropdown
  2. Click Salon Settings to open salon settings
  3. Click the Staff Settings tab
  4. Click the Levels sub-tab

You'll see a list of existing staff levels, ordered from lowest to highest experience.

Step 2: Understand System Levels

Luminate includes three default system levels:

Level Colour Typical Use
Junior Green Entry-level staff, trainees, newly qualified
Senior Blue Experienced staff, 3+ years qualified
Director Purple Most experienced, master stylists, salon leaders

System levels:

  • Cannot be deleted
  • Can be renamed
  • Can have their colour changed
  • Can be deactivated if not needed

Step 3: Add a Custom Level

If the default three levels don't suit your salon structure:

  1. Click Add Custom Level below the existing levels
  2. Enter a Level Name (e.g., "Apprentice", "Master", "Art Director")
  3. Choose a Color from the colour picker
  4. Click Add Level

The new level appears at the bottom of the list. You can reorder it afterwards.

Example custom structures:

Two-tier salon:

  • Stylist (rename Senior)
  • Senior Stylist (rename Director)
  • Deactivate Junior

Four-tier salon:

  • Apprentice (custom)
  • Junior (system)
  • Senior (system)
  • Director (system)

Step 4: Reorder Staff Levels

The order of levels affects how they display throughout the system:

  1. Find the level you want to move
  2. Click the up chevron to move it higher (toward junior end)
  3. Click the down chevron to move it lower (toward senior end)

Order matters:

  • Levels should flow from least to most experienced
  • This order is used in dropdowns and display throughout the system

Step 5: Edit an Existing Level

To modify a staff level:

  1. Find the level in the list
  2. Click the Edit (pencil) icon
  3. Update the Level Name or Color
  4. Click the tick icon to save, or X icon to cancel

Note: Deactivating levels is managed separately from the inline edit. Currently, levels can be active or inactive, affecting whether they appear in staff profile dropdowns. Staff already assigned to a level keep their assignment even if the level becomes inactive.

Step 6: Delete a Custom Level

Custom levels can be deleted if no staff are assigned:

  1. Find the custom level (marked without "System" label)
  2. Click the Delete (trash) icon
  3. Confirm deletion

Cannot delete if:

  • The level is a system level (Junior, Senior, Director)
  • Staff members are currently assigned to this level

To delete a level with staff:

  1. First reassign those staff to a different level
  2. Then delete the empty level

Step 7: Assign a Staff Member to a Level

Once levels are configured, assign staff to them:

  1. Navigate to Staff in the sidebar
  2. Click on a staff member
  3. Click Edit
  4. Find the Staff Level section
  5. Select a level from the dropdown
  6. Click Save

Staff without a level:

  • If no level is assigned, the staff member uses base service pricing
  • They won't appear in level-filtered appointment searches
  • Consider assigning all service-providing staff to a level

Step 8: Set Level-Specific Service Pricing

The main purpose of staff levels is differentiated pricing. Configure this on each service:

  1. Navigate to Services in the sidebar
  2. Click on a service to edit it
  3. Find the Pricing & Duration section (the level pricing table appears here if staff levels exist)

The pricing table shows:

Level Price Duration Commission
Base £45 60 min 40%
Junior £35 75 min 35%
Senior £45 60 min 40%
Director £60 60 min 45%

How it works:

  • Base row - The default price, duration, and commission for this service
  • Level rows - Override any field for that specific level
  • Leave level fields empty to inherit from Base

To set level pricing:

  1. Edit the Base row values as your standard price
  2. For each level, enter overrides as needed
  3. Leave fields blank to use Base values
  4. Click the X button to clear all overrides for a level

Example configurations:

Simple price tier:

  • Base: £45, 60 min
  • Junior: £35 (duration inherits from Base)
  • Senior: (inherits Base price and duration)
  • Director: £60 (duration inherits from Base)

Price and time variation:

  • Base: £85, 90 min
  • Junior: £65, 120 min (takes longer)
  • Senior: £85, 90 min (inherits)
  • Director: £110, 75 min (faster)

Step 9: Understand How Level Pricing Applies

When booking an appointment:

  1. Customer selects a service
  2. Customer selects a staff member
  3. System looks up the staff member's level
  4. System finds the price for that service + level combination
  5. If no level override exists, Base price is used

Staff without a level assigned:

  • Always use the Base price for all services
  • Useful for staff who don't fit the tier structure

Common Pitfalls

"I can't delete a staff level"

Check two things:

  1. Is it a system level? System levels (Junior, Senior, Director) cannot be deleted.
  2. Are staff assigned to it? Reassign all staff to other levels before deleting.

"Staff level dropdown doesn't appear on staff profile"

This happens if all staff levels are deactivated. Go to Salon Settings → Staff Settings → Levels and ensure at least one level is active.

"Level pricing isn't showing on services"

The Level Pricing table only appears on service edit pages when active staff levels exist in your salon. Configure at least one active level first.

"Price isn't changing based on staff level"

Verify:

  1. The staff member has a level assigned
  2. The service has level-specific pricing configured
  3. You've saved both the staff profile and service changes

"I want to charge the same price but different commission"

You can override just the commission rate:

  1. Leave price and duration empty for the level
  2. Enter only the commission rate
  3. The staff member gets Base price but different commission

Tips and Best Practices

  1. Start with system levels - The three default levels suit most salons
  2. Use clear naming - Customers see level names when booking online
  3. Price strategically - Consider your market position and competition
  4. Commission should scale - Higher levels typically earn higher commission
  5. Review quarterly - Adjust pricing as staff progress between levels
  6. Don't overcomplicate - 3-4 levels is usually sufficient
  7. Communicate to customers - Explain what each tier offers

Related Tutorials

  • Tutorial 4.1: Adding New Staff Members - Assigning levels to staff
  • Tutorial 4.4: Tracking Staff Performance and Commission - Commission reporting
  • Tutorial 7.1: Creating and Managing Your Service Menu - Service configuration

Frequently Asked Questions

How many staff levels can I have?

There's no fixed limit, but 3-5 levels is practical. More levels become confusing for customers and difficult to manage.

Can I rename the system levels?

Yes. Click Edit on any system level to change its name. You might rename "Director" to "Master Stylist" or "Senior" to "Stylist".

What happens if I deactivate a level that has staff assigned?

The staff keep their level assignment. They continue to receive level-based pricing. The level just won't appear for new staff assignments.

Do customers see staff levels when booking online?

Yes. Staff levels appear when customers select a stylist, helping them understand the price difference.

Can different services have different level pricing structures?

Yes. Each service has its own level pricing table. A cut might have £10 between levels, while colour might have £30 between levels.

What if a staff member doesn't fit any level?

Leave their Staff Level unassigned. They'll use Base pricing for all services.

Can I change commission rate without changing price?

Yes. On the service level pricing table, leave price and duration blank but enter a commission rate. The price inherits from Base while commission is overridden.

Do staff see their level?

Staff can see their own profile including their level assignment. They cannot see other staff members' levels or compensation details.

How do I handle promotions between levels?

  1. Edit the staff member's profile
  2. Change their Staff Level to the new level
  3. Save changes
  4. The new level pricing applies to future bookings

Does changing a service's level pricing affect existing appointments?

No. Existing appointments keep their original pricing. Only new bookings use the updated prices.

Last Updated: January 2026