Portland, Oregon
Running a nail studio in Portland? Know how many clients pay for today.
Free. No sign-up.
Labor is set to the $16.80 Portland metro minimum wage: two people for 8 hours is $268.80. The $50 average service is only an example. Change any number.
Rent, insurance, subscriptions, loan payments
What you pay staff on a normal day
What one customer spends, on average
Food and drink cost as a % of the check
30 = open every day. 26 = closed one day a week. 22 = closed two.
Customers to break even today
21 customers
That is $1,050 in sales.
Your costs today$730
$462 fixed + $269 labor
Each customer contributes
$35.00
What is left after cost of goods
We divide your monthly fixed costs by the 26 days you open. Then we add one day of labor cost. Each customer covers only what is left after cost of goods. That is why the number is higher than your costs divided by the average sale.
What you type stays in your browser unless you press Email me this result.
The free fix
The free fix, from KANJIN (kanjin.app), a digital stamp card and back office for small shops: Free break-even tracker.
Know each day if the studio covered its costs
Type the figures from the calculator above into the free back office once. Each day's sales then show whether the studio made its target. Print the page and tape it by the back door, so every shift knows the number.
Free plan, no time limit. No card needed.
Short answer
How many clients does my Portland nail studio need each day to cover its costs?
Add up one day of rent and wages, divide it by what each client leaves after polish, gel and supplies, and round up. At the $16.80 Portland metro minimum wage, two techs on an 8-hour shift cost $268.80 before the first set.
Your day is mostly paid for before you open
Rent, the chairs, the lamps and the people on the schedule cost the same on a quiet Monday and a busy Saturday.
So one number matters most. How many clients do you need before the day stops losing money?
Type your own rent, wages and average service into the calculator above. The answer is your daily target.
Portland's wage is higher than the state's
Since July 1, 2026, the minimum wage inside the Portland metro area is $16.80 an hour.
The standard Oregon rate is $15.55. Check which one covers your studio's address.
Two people for 8 hours is $268.80 at the Portland rate and $248.80 at the standard rate.
Sick time is paid at 6 staff in Portland
Oregon workers earn at least 1 hour of sick time for every 30 hours worked, up to 40 hours a year.
It is paid sick time when an employer has 10 or more Oregon employees, or 6 or more with a location in Portland.
Add a little to your daily labor for those hours, so a sick day does not break your target.
No sales tax, so your price is the price
Oregon has no general sales tax. What you charge is what the client pays, before any tip.
That makes your prices easy to compare. A regular who books one more time a month is the cheapest way to raise the number.
How to work out your nail studio's daily break-even in Portland
- Add up one day of fixed costs.
Take your monthly rent, insurance and bills, and divide by the days you open.
- Pick the right wage.
Inside the Portland metro area: at least $16.80 an hour. Elsewhere in Oregon: at least $15.55, or the rate for your area.
- Find what one client leaves.
Your average service price, minus the polish, gel, nail tips and files it uses.
- Divide and round up.
The day's costs divided by what one client leaves. That is how many clients you need to cover the day.
The local numbers, with sources
- Portland metro minimum wage
- $16.80 an hour from July 1, 2026, to June 30, 2027
- Source: Oregon Bureau of Labor and Industries, Minimum wage, checked 2026-11-10.
- Oregon sick time
- At least 1 hour per 30 hours worked, up to 40 hours a year; paid at 10 or more Oregon employees, or 6 or more with a Portland location
- Source: Oregon Bureau of Labor and Industries, Sick time, checked 2026-11-10.
- Oregon sales tax
- No sales tax: Oregon has no general sales or use tax
- Source: Oregon Department of Revenue, Sales tax, checked 2026-11-10.
Common questions
What is the minimum wage in Portland, Oregon now?
$16.80 an hour inside the Portland metro area from July 1, 2026, to June 30, 2027. The standard Oregon rate is $15.55.
Do Portland nail techs get paid sick time?
They earn at least 1 hour for every 30 hours worked, up to 40 hours a year. It is paid when the employer has 6 or more employees and a Portland location, or 10 or more in Oregon.
How do I work out how many clients I need?
Divide one day of fixed costs and wages by what one average service leaves after polish, gel and supplies. Round up. That is how many clients you need each day.
Does the break-even tracker cost anything?
No. It is part of the free KANJIN back office, with no time limit. Type your costs once, and your target is there each time you sign in, on any device.
Do it for your own shop, free
Set your daily target once. Each day’s sales show whether you made it.
Type each day’s sales and supplier costs, and see how the week went in one chart.