Pricing & Profitability – Setting Prices That Protect Your Bottom Line
In the competitive world of aesthetics, many clinics fall into the trap of setting prices too low in an attempt to attract more clients. While this might fill the diary, it often leaves clinics with slim or even negative profit margins. The truth is, pricing isn’t about undercutting competitors — it’s about knowing your numbers, understanding your value, and protecting your bottom line.
Why Pricing Matters
Your pricing strategy directly impacts profitability, growth, and sustainability. If you underprice, you’ll struggle to reinvest in your clinic, reward your team, or weather quiet periods. If you overprice without delivering perceived value, patients may choose competitors. The key is finding the balance — setting prices that cover costs, deliver healthy profit margins, and reflect the quality of care you provide.
How to Price Treatments Correctly
- Start with Cost-Based Pricing
Every treatment should be priced using a simple but vital formula:
(Product Cost + Staff Cost + Overheads) + Desired Profit Margin
• Product Cost: syringes, consumables, skincare.
• Staff Cost: practitioner time, FOH support, payroll.
• Overheads: rent, utilities, insurance, marketing.
• Profit Margin: your buffer to ensure treatments are not just breaking even but contributing to growth.
If you don’t calculate this, you risk delivering popular treatments that actually lose money.
- Factor in Perceived Value
Patients aren’t just buying the treatment — they’re buying expertise, safety, and results. A highly skilled injector with medical credentials can and should charge more than a generalist. Strong branding, luxury premises, and exceptional service also allow you to command higher prices.
Tip: If patients never question your prices, you might be undercharging.
- Review Competitor Pricing (But Don’t Race to the Bottom)
Knowing what local competitors charge provides context, but copying their pricing can be dangerous. Many clinics undercharge because they don’t understand their own costs. Instead, position your pricing around the value you deliver and the confidence of knowing your margins are protected. Understand your position in your local market.
Profitability Analysis
Even with good pricing, not all treatments will be equally profitable. A regular review helps you focus on what works best for your clinic.
• Identify your top 3 most profitable treatments. Promote these heavily through marketing and packages.
• Review or drop low-profit treatments. If a treatment requires high product costs, long practitioner time, and delivers little margin, it may not be worth offering.
• Create bundles or memberships. Subscriptions, packages, and loyalty plans help smooth cash flow and encourage repeat visits, making revenue more predictable.
Final Tips for Financial Success
• Review financials monthly. Don’t wait until year-end accounts — issues need to be spotted early.
• Educate your managers. Give them basic financial literacy so they can make smarter decisions.
• Build financial awareness into your culture. Encourage your team to understand how their actions (rebookings, product sales, no-shows) affect the clinic’s bottom line.
Final Thoughts
Pricing is more than numbers on a treatment menu — it’s a reflection of your costs, your expertise, and the value your clinic delivers. By setting prices strategically and reviewing profitability regularly, you safeguard your business against common pitfalls and build a foundation for long-term success.
At AB Aesthetic Consultant Services, we partner with a specialist finance consultant who has extensive experience as a financial controller across multiple national aesthetic groups. This expertise allows us to implement practical systems that take the uncertainty out of aesthetic clinic financial management. With the right financial structures in place, clinics can replace stress with clarity, operate with confidence, and build a secure foundation for sustainable growth.
