For Tattoo Artists

Tattoo Booking Software for Consults and Long Sessions

Clients send their idea with the booking, you approve the requests you want to take on, and the session is held once the deposit has cleared.

Start Free Today See All Features

Approve every request

Fixed deposits through Stripe

Sessions up to 8 hours

Luka Breitig

Updated 5 October 2026

The Problem

Why do tattoo artists lose whole days to no-shows and DM bookings?

A no-show on a six-hour session is a day you can't sell twice. When bookings run through Instagram DMs there is no confirmation, no reminder and no record of what was agreed: some clients skip the consultation, others go quiet the night before. Tymeslot keeps the consultation and the session apart, lets you read each idea before you accept it, and takes the deposit before the date is held. Confirmations and reminders go out without you.

Why a tattoo diary needs more than a calendar link

Many schedulers assume a 30-minute meeting that anyone can book. A tattoo session is four to eight hours, needs a design you have agreed to draw, and should not exist until money is down. So artists fall back on DMs, a bank transfer for the deposit and a spreadsheet of who has paid.

Tymeslot covers that path in one place. A short consultation is free and open to anyone. Sessions can require your approval, so a request for a style you don't do never reaches your diary, and on Pro a fixed deposit is paid through your own Stripe account before the booking is confirmed. If you decline a request after the client has paid, the deposit is refunded in full.

Features

Everything Tattoo Artists need. Nothing they don't.

Scheduling features shaped around how your practice works.

📅

Consultations and Sessions Kept Apart

A short consultation and a long session are separate meeting types with their own lengths, rules and links, and sessions can run up to 8 hours.

✅

Approve Requests Before They Are Booked

Turn on approval for sessions and each booking arrives as a request with the client's idea. Accept it and it is confirmed; decline it and the slot opens again.

💳

Fixed Deposits Through Stripe

On Pro, take a fixed deposit such as €100 on a half-day session. The booking is confirmed once payment clears, and the money settles in your own Stripe account.

🔔

Prep Notes and Reminders

Write your prep notes (eat beforehand, sleep well, what to wear for the placement) into the session description, which clients read before they book. Reminder emails follow at the times you choose.

⏰

Days You Can Actually Hold

Cap full-day sessions at one a day, add a buffer for cleaning down and setting up, and require days of notice so nobody books a back piece for tomorrow.

🔐

No Ad Trackers on the Booking Page

Booking pages load no advertising trackers or third-party analytics, and the managed service stores bookings in Germany. On tymeslot.app, Google reCAPTCHA loads once a client starts the booking form, to block spam bookings. Self-host to keep them on your own server.

Before & After

See the difference

Same profession. Completely different scheduling experience.

Without Tymeslot

1 Client DMs about an idea, and the conversation runs for days

2 Session agreed informally, deposit chased by bank transfer

3 Client goes quiet the night before a 4-hour slot

With Tymeslot

1 Client books a short consultation from your Instagram bio

2 After the consult, they request a session, describe the piece and pay the deposit

3 You approve it, and the confirmation and reminders go out on their own

Use Cases

Common scheduling scenarios

How other Tattoo Artists use Tymeslot every day.

Scenario 1

How do tattoo artists manage the path from consultation to session?

A tattoo takes more than one booking. Keeping consultations and sessions as separate meeting types shows where each client is, and stops anyone booking a full day before you have talked.

Create a 30-minute "Design consultation", free, in the studio or by video, open to anyone on your page.
Create private session types (half day, full day) that do not appear on your public page; send their link after the consultation.
Add booking questions (a Pro feature on the managed service) for the idea, placement and size, and a link to reference images.
Turn on approval for the sessions, so each request waits for you to accept it.

Result: Every session in your diary has had a consultation, an idea you agreed to, and a deposit behind it.

Scenario 2

How do tattoo artists prevent no-shows on long sessions?

A no-show on a half-day session is half a day's income gone. A deposit and good reminders close off the easy ways out.

On Pro, set a fixed deposit on each session type, such as €100 for a half day and €200 for a full day.
Put your prep notes in the session description, so the client reads them before paying the deposit.
Set reminder emails 3 days and 1 day before, enough time for the client to rest, eat and plan the day.
Write your deposit and rescheduling terms in the session description; Tymeslot does not enforce a cancellation deadline for you.

Result: Clients arrive rested and prepared, with money already down on the day.

Scenario 3

How do tattoo artists stop booking too many pieces in one day?

A back piece and two sleeve sessions in one day isn't sustainable. The limits belong in the booking rules, not in your memory.

Set your working hours on the availability schedule; the page only shows sessions that fit inside them in full.
Add a 30-minute buffer after each session for cleaning down and setting up the next station.
Cap the full-day session type at one booking a day, and half days at two.
Block conventions, guest spots and days off as time off, and they disappear from the booking page.

Result: A diary you can keep, with every session getting the time and energy it needs.

Starter setup

A starter setup for Tattoo Artists

Recommended settings to start from. You can change any of them in your dashboard.

Design consultation

Duration: 30 min
Buffer: 15 min
Minimum notice: 1 day
Bookable ahead: 30 days
Payment at booking: None

Tattoo session, half day

Duration: 240 min
Buffer: 30 min
Minimum notice: 3 days
Bookable ahead: 180 days
Payment at booking: €100 deposit at booking

Tattoo session, full day

Duration: 420 min
Buffer: 30 min
Minimum notice: 3 days
Bookable ahead: 180 days
Payment at booking: €200 deposit at booking

Intake questions

Describe your idea: the subject, the style and anything it must include.
Where on the body, and roughly how big?
Is it a new piece, a cover-up or a continuation of existing work?
A link to reference images.

Keep consent forms and medical questions on paper at the studio, not in the booking form. The two session types share one availability schedule; the consultation, with shorter notice and horizon, needs its own.

Intake questions and payments at booking are part of Pro on the managed service, and free when you self-host.

How payments at booking work Add booking to your website

Compare

Tymeslot compared with Fresha, Booksy, Acuity and Calendly

Facts from each vendor's own pages, with the date we checked them.

Feature	Tymeslot	Fresha	Booksy	Acuity	Calendly
Free plan	Yes: unlimited bookings and meeting types	No: 7-day trial on the paid plans	No: 14-day trial, no card needed	No: 7-day trial, no card needed	Yes, limited to 1 event type and 1 calendar
Entry price	Pro €9/month, flat; self-hosting is free	€12.95/month, plus card fees of 1.29% + €0.20	$29.99/month + tax, plus $20/month per extra staff member	$16/month paid annually ($20 paid monthly)	$10/seat/month, billed yearly
Hosting in the EU	Yes, in Germany	Partly: data may be processed outside the UK and EEA	Not checked	No: data is stored in US data centres	No: data is stored in US data centres
Self-hosting	Yes: Docker, Cloudron or Railway	No: hosted service only	No: hosted service only	No: hosted service only	No: hosted service only
Open source	Yes, GNU AGPLv3	No: hosted service only	No: hosted service only	No: hosted service only	No: hosted service only
Booking page without third-party scripts	No ad trackers; reCAPTCHA on the booking form	Not checked	Not checked	Not checked	No: third-party scripts are referenced (Stripe, reCAPTCHA, Airbrake, Google Tag Manager)
Deposit or payment at booking	Pro or self-hosted: a fixed amount via Stripe	Yes: deposit or full prepayment, with Fresha Payments	Yes: a deposit or cancellation fee, with a card on file	Yes, on all plans: Stripe, Square, PayPal, Venmo	Paid plans only: Stripe or PayPal at booking
Custom intake questions	Pro or self-hosted: 10 question types	Yes: custom forms sent when an appointment is booked	Yes: custom forms completed at booking	Yes, on all plans: custom client forms	Yes: up to 10 questions per event type, on all plans
Signed data processing agreement	Enterprise plan only	Yes: part of the Partner Terms of Business	Not checked	Not checked	Yes: accepted with the customer terms

How to choose

What to check before you choose

Decide whether you want a marketplace listing or a booking page that is only yours.
Check the commission or fee on each booking, and on new clients in particular.
Confirm you can take a deposit at booking to cut down on no-shows.
Make sure the booking link works from your Instagram bio and your own website.
Ask who owns the client list and whether you can export it if you leave.

Compare Tymeslot's plans

ROI Calculator

How much time could you save?

Adjust to match your practice and see your potential savings.

Calculate your time savings

Drag the sliders to match your practice.

100

minutes saved per week

86.7

hours saved per year

€10,404

annual value of saved time

Integrations

Which calendar and video apps do tattoo artists use with Tymeslot?

Connects to the tools you already use. No extra setup.

Google Calendar

Outlook

Google Meet

Zoom

CalDAV

Connect Google Calendar How calendar sync works Self-host Tymeslot

Pricing

Start free, upgrade when you're ready

Core scheduling is always free. No credit card required.

Free

€0 / month

Unlimited bookings and meeting types
Calendar sync (Google, Outlook, CalDAV)
Auto video rooms (Meet, Teams, Zoom, Jitsi, Nextcloud Talk and more)
Booking page at tymeslot.app/you
Email reminders & notifications
Both booking themes and website embeds

Pro

€9 / month

Everything in Free
Custom booking questions for intake
Payments at booking via your own Stripe account
Remove Tymeslot branding from booking pages
Booking analytics and automation

Start free, no credit card required

See full pricing, including free self-hosting

Booking Themes

See Tymeslot in action

Try both booking themes live - no account needed.

Quill

Professional Glassmorphism

Try Live Demo

Rhythm

Immersive Experience

Try Live Demo

FAQ

Frequently Asked Questions

Is Tymeslot GDPR compliant for tattoo studios?

A client's tattoo idea, placement and contact details stay out of ad networks on a studio's Tymeslot booking page, which loads no advertising trackers or third-party analytics and is hosted in Germany. On tymeslot.app, Google reCAPTCHA loads once a client starts filling in the booking form, to block spam bookings; a self-hosted instance runs it only if you configure it. Consent forms and medical questions involve health data, so keep them out of the booking form and in your studio records. Free and Pro come without a signed data processing agreement, which is an Enterprise plan feature. A studio that wants every booking on its own server can self-host Tymeslot.

Can tattoo artists approve a booking before it is confirmed?

Yes, tattoo artists can turn on approval for a Tymeslot meeting type, so each session booking arrives as a request you accept or decline. The client describes the piece in the booking questions, and you decide whether to take it on. If the session has a deposit, the client pays first and you are asked once the payment has cleared; decline it, or let the request lapse, and the deposit is refunded in full.

How do tattoo artists take deposits with Tymeslot?

Tattoo artists on Tymeslot Pro can set a fixed deposit on each session type, for example €100 for a half day, paid through Stripe before the booking is confirmed. The money settles in your own Stripe account, and the managed service adds a 0.5% platform fee to Stripe's fees. Tymeslot charges one fixed amount per booking, so for a piece over several sittings, each sitting is booked and deposited separately. It does not apply a non-refundable rule for you: state your deposit terms in the session description.

How does Tymeslot compare with Booksy or Fresha for tattoo artists?

Booksy and Fresha are paid salon platforms with marketplaces, while Tymeslot is tattoo booking software with a free plan, an approval step for session requests and hosting in Germany. Booksy's US pricing page lists a 14-day trial and $29.99 a month, and its custom forms are completed at booking, as Tymeslot's booking questions are on Pro. Fresha lists a 7-day trial, and its data protection terms allow processing outside the UK and EEA. Choose Tymeslot if your clients come through your own Instagram and you want to vet each request.

Can a tattoo studio self-host Tymeslot?

Tattoo studios can self-host Tymeslot with Docker, Cloudron or Railway and keep client ideas, reference links and bookings on their own server. The self-hosted version is free and open source under the GNU AGPLv3, with deposits, approval and every other feature included and no platform fee. You look after the server, updates and backups.

Is there a free plan for tattoo artists?

Yes, tattoo artists can use Tymeslot's free plan for free consultations and sessions of up to 8 hours, with approval of every session request, private session links, unlimited bookings, calendar sync and reminder emails. Taking a deposit before a session is confirmed needs Pro (€9/month), which also adds booking questions for the idea, placement and size, booking analytics and automation, and removes Tymeslot branding. Self-hosting is free with every feature, deposits included.

Which calendars and video tools work with Tymeslot for tattoo artists?

Tymeslot syncs tattoo artists' bookings with Google Calendar, Outlook, Apple iCloud and other CalDAV calendars, so a guest spot or convention in your calendar blocks those days on the booking page. Remote consultations can get a Google Meet, Zoom or Jitsi link when the client books, useful for clients travelling in for a piece. Clients only see that a time is taken.

Moving from another booking tool? See how Tymeslot compares with Calendly, Cal.com and others

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