Software for tattoo artists: from consult to signed consent

A large piece starts in Instagram DMs, gets priced at a consult, is drawn in two or three versions and tattooed in five-hour sessions a month apart. The risk sits at the edges: the client who holds a Saturday without a deposit and doesn't show, the design that "wasn't what I asked for" because nobody approved it in writing, and the paper release that gets wet at the station.

From the idea to the last session

1. The client fills out your "Tell me your idea" form: placement, size in inches, color or black and gray, budget. Pick "cover-up" and it asks what's being covered. References come by email or DM, because forms don't take files.
2. When they submit, they go on to book a 30-minute "Consult" on your booking page, free or paid and credited toward the piece.
3. For a piece that takes several sessions, send a proposal with the design fee, each session and the touch-up as lines, and the deposit as a percentage.
4. Upload the sketch to the client's portal. They pin comments on the spot they want changed or approve the version with their name. Each new sketch is a version (up to 50), and the approved one is locked, so there's no argument on session day.
5. Send a single-use link for the "5-hour session" with charge to book: a fixed deposit credited to the last session, for example $200. Turn the cancellation refund off to make it non-refundable, or refund only when the client cancels 72 hours or more ahead, and write the policy in the meeting description.
6. Before the session, the consent and release goes out through E-Signatures. Where your state lets a minor be tattooed with a parent's consent, add the parent as a second signer, in order.
7. An hour after the session, the follow-up email sends your aftercare instructions and a link to book the next session or the touch-up.

A typical week

• Tuesday: three new idea forms. One is a cover-up, so you book the consult for Thursday.
• Wednesday: you upload version 2 of a Japanese sleeve and the client pins the wave he wants bigger.
• Thursday: he approves version 3 and books his first five-hour session with a $200 deposit.
• Friday: a six-hour session. The consent came back signed the night before, with the audit trail.
• Saturday: you log needles, cartridges, ink, film and your booth rent at the shop in Expenses, each with a receipt.

All 13 tools, one by one

A tattoo artist uses more of the tools than a salon does, because every large piece is a project with a design, an approval and several sessions:

• Link in Bio: your Instagram bio opens a page with the idea form, your guest-spot dates, the consult booking page and your aftercare PDF.
• Short Links: a short link and QR code for your booth at a tattoo convention; you see how many people scanned it that weekend.
• Forms: the "Tell me your idea" form with placement, size, color and budget, plus conditional questions for cover-ups and large pieces.
• Scheduling: the consult and sessions of 2, 5 or 8 hours with a deposit, single-use links for each session of a piece, and bookings up to 365 days ahead for when your books open.
• Proposals: the quote for a sleeve or a back piece by session, with the touch-up included and the deposit as a percentage.
• E-Signatures: the consent and release before every piece, signed on a phone with a certificate. Solo includes 15 signature requests a month and Team 50, so count your sessions before you pick a plan.
• Document Tracking: the aftercare sheet as a PDF; you can see whether the client opened it once they got home.
• Screen Recording: it records a computer screen. If you draw on a tablet connected to your computer, use it to explain sketch changes in a video instead of a call.
• Notes & Boards: a board of pieces by stage (idea, sketch, approved, in sessions, touch-up) and notes for each long project.
• Time Tracking: if you charge by the hour, the timer logs the hours on each piece and they go onto the invoice as line items.
• Invoicing: the balance on a piece or a session, with a card pay link. What you take at the shop on your own card reader doesn't go through SoloWOS.
• Expenses: needles, cartridges, ink, film, gloves and the shop's booth rent, with receipts, so you see what each month left you.
• Automations: a client who missed a session gets a link to rebook, and a signed consent creates a task on your board to prep the stencil.

Minimum age, consent and health questions

Each state sets its own minimum age for tattoos, and the rules differ a lot. Two examples:

• California: tattooing, or offering to tattoo, anyone under 18 is a misdemeanor (Penal Code section 653). A parent's consent doesn't change that.
• Florida: no tattoos for anyone under 16 unless it's for medical or dental reasons by a licensed professional. A 16- or 17-year-old needs a parent or guardian present, notarized written consent on the state's form, proof of guardianship and photo IDs (Florida Statutes section 381.00787).
• Anywhere else, check your state's statute and the health department that licenses artists and shops where you work.

California also spells out the paperwork: before the procedure, the client reads, completes and signs an informed consent form and a health questionnaire covering things like pregnancy, diabetes, bleeding disorders and medications, and the questionnaire is confidential (Health and Safety Code section 119303). Other states and counties publish their own forms. In SoloWOS:

• Put the health questions in the consent PDF that gets signed, not in the idea form or the booking questions, and keep them to what your state's form asks.
• E-Signatures keeps the signed PDF with a certificate and an audit trail with the time, IP address and device of each signer. Upload your form once to Document Tracking and start each signature request from it.
• An e-signature isn't a notarization. Where your state asks for notarized consent, as Florida does for minors, get it notarized.
• SoloWOS doesn't check ages or IDs. Look at a government photo ID in person and keep the records your state asks for.

Tips and taxes

• Tips: the IRS list of occupations for the "no tax on tips" deduction includes tattoo artists and piercers. For 2025 through 2028, voluntary tips paid in cash or by card can be deducted up to $25,000. If you're self-employed, the deduction can't exceed the net income of the business, it phases out above $150,000 of modified adjusted gross income ($300,000 on a joint return), and it only covers federal income tax: self-employment tax still applies. Ask your tax preparer whether you qualify and how to claim it.
• Form 1099-K: payment apps and online marketplaces send one when you pass $20,000 and 200 transactions in a year, but card payments are reported whatever the total. All income is taxable, cash included, whether or not a form arrives.

This is general information, not legal advice. Rules vary by state; check yours with a lawyer or your licensing board.

SoloWOS, Booksy or Fresha: which fits

Booksy and Fresha are appointment apps for salons and studios, with a profile in their own marketplace. Both take deposits and send consent forms. SoloWOS has no marketplace; where it does more is before the session: the idea form, the quote by session and the written approval of the design.

Choose Booksy or Fresha if:

• You want new clients to find you inside a booking app, on top of your Instagram.
• You work in a shop with several artists and want a different deposit per artist or per service.
• You want the consent form to go out by itself at booking. In SoloWOS each consent is a signature request you create.

Choose SoloWOS if:

• Your large pieces start with an idea, a consult and two or three sketches, and you want the client to approve the final version in writing.
• You quote sleeves and back pieces by session, with the deposit as a percentage.
• You want the consent as a signed PDF with a certificate and an audit trail.

Prices and features checked between October 17 and 23, 2026 on each company's site.

Start with these three

Scheduling for the long session and its deposit, E-Signatures for the consent and release, and the client portal for design approval. The idea form and the quote by session come in with your first large piece.

Free tools that help

• Freelance rate calculator for your hourly session rate.
• Project cost calculator to turn the hours on a sleeve into a price per session.
• Time card calculator to add up drawing and session hours on a piece.
• Payment fee calculator to see what a $200 deposit nets after Stripe's fee.
• QR code generator for your convention booth.

What SoloWOS won't do for a tattoo artist

• No gallery and no storage for full-resolution designs: approval is one file per version (PNG, JPG, WebP or PDF up to 25 MB).
• A booking lasts 8 hours at most, so a two-day session is two bookings.
• No consent template that sends itself at booking: each consent is a signature request you create, and it counts toward your plan.
• No age or ID checks and no notarization.
• Reminders go by email, not SMS.
• SoloWOS doesn't file taxes, issue 1099s or collect sales tax for you. Invoicing sends the invoice with a pay link (card through your Stripe account) and your other payment details; your accountant or tax software handles the rest.