Trust, fees & policies
The fine print, without the fine print.
Exactly what CREW.INK charges, how deposits and chargebacks are handled, who owns your client data, and what happens if you ever want to leave. If a question isn't answered here, ask — and it gets added.
What CREW.INK actually charges
CREW.INK charges one booking fee on deposits and every other card payment for the tattoo, with a $2.50 minimum per payment. It covers card processing, so there is no separate processing fee, and the client pays it by default. You can switch to a 50/50 split or pay it yourself. Tips are never charged and go 100% to the artist. Merch fees are a share of profit, never of the order total. Card payments reach your bank the next business day.
Free — free forever
$0/month. 9.9% booking fee, paid by the client by default. Merch fee is 30% of profit, never of the order total.
A client pays a $100 deposit: the booking fee on that payment is $9.90, added at checkout for the client. Your rate is untouched, and you pay no monthly cost. Every CREW.INK feature is included.
Plus — $39/month
$39/mo. Booking fee drops to 4.5%. Merch fee is 20% of profit. Priority support.
Rule of thumb, if you choose to pay the booking fee yourself: once your clients pay more than about $725 a month in card payments, the lower rate covers the $39 subscription. By default the client pays the fee, so the lower rate lowers their total instead. Same features as Free.
Pro — $99/month
$99/mo. Booking fee drops to 3.5%. Merch fee is 10% of profit. A direct line to the team; suggestions taken first.
Same features as Free and Plus. The lowest booking fee and first-hand contact are what you pay for — see pricing.
Full current pricing always lives at crew.ink/pricing — that page is the source of truth if anything here ever lags behind.
Deposits, chargebacks, and disputes
Card payments on CREW.INK are handled by our payment partner, which processes the card so we never store full card numbers. Card payouts go to your bank the next business day, and CREW.INK never holds your money in a home-built wallet.
When a client's bank opens a chargeback, we tell you right away and help you send evidence. This is where deposit-first booking earns its keep: a CREW.INK booking carries structured intake (subject, placement, size, references), a digital waiver, timestamps, and a written record of what the client requested and agreed to. When you contest a dispute, you submit documentation — and CREW.INK bookings generate that documentation by default.
Your deposit policy is yours to set: amount, refund terms, and reschedule rules are configured per artist and shown to clients before they pay.
Your clients are yours
The client list you build on CREW.INK belongs to you. If you ever leave, contact support and a full export of your client list and booking history will be provided. No contracts, no lock-in period, no termination fees — the product has to earn your stay every month.
"Isn't CREW.INK kind of new?"
Yes — newer than Square, Vagaro, or Fresha, and it would be silly to pretend otherwise. Here's what backs it instead of tenure: card data is handled by our payment partner rather than custom payment rails; there are no contracts and your data is exportable, so the exit cost is near zero; and the platform is built and run by a tattoo artist who still tattoos and runs his own books on it. The free plan exists so you can verify the workflow with real bookings before you commit anything at all.
The numbers from those books are public: the founder case study — about 12 hours a week back from booking DMs and a $100 deposit on every booking, with an explicit list of what CREW.INK refuses to claim.
Wondering if it's more than you need? Read Is CREW.INK overkill for solo artists? — the honest answer is sometimes yes, and that post tells you how to know.
Common questions
What fees does CREW.INK actually charge?
Free: free forever, 9.9% booking fee, 30% of merch profit. Plus: $39/month, 4.5% booking fee, 20% of merch profit, priority support. Pro: $99/month, 3.5% booking fee, 10% of merch profit, a direct line to the team. The booking fee covers card processing, has a $2.50 minimum per payment, and clients pay it by default. Tips are never charged. Every feature is on every plan.
What happens if there's a chargeback on a deposit?
We tell you right away and help you send evidence — your signed waiver, messages, and session photos — from your CREW.INK booking record.
Can I export my client data if I leave?
Yes. Contact support for a full export of your client list and booking history. No contracts, no lock-in.
Do I have to sign a contract?
No. Free is free forever, Plus and Pro are month to month, and you can leave with your data at any time.
Is CREW.INK overkill for a solo artist?
It doesn't have to be: the minimal setup is a booking link with structured intake and one deposit rule, done in an afternoon. Everything else can wait until you grow into it.