Working document
The custom tattoo intake sheet template
A one page sheet you fill in for every custom inquiry, so nothing about size, placement, budget or terms is still vague when you start drawing.
Free resources
Resources for tattoo artists and small studio owners
The practical shelf: two free calculators, three honest tool comparisons, a working intake sheet template and the full Ink and Ledger article archive.
Everything on this page is built for the person who both tattoos and runs the business. That means the numbers behind a chair hour, the paperwork an inspector asks for, the terms that survive a chargeback, and the questions that turn a vague message into a piece you can actually draw.
Start with whichever problem is costing you the most this month. If it is money, run the deposit calculator. If it is time, run the unpaid hours planner. If it is the inbox, take the intake sheet template and use it on the next ten inquiries that come in.
Free tools
Free calculators for tattoo artists and studio owners
Two working calculators built on the numbers that decide whether custom tattoo bookings pay: money lost to empty chair time, and hours lost to messages and drawing.
Comparisons
How StencilIntake compares with tattoo booking tools
Most tattoo booking tools are built to sell a time slot, while StencilIntake is built to screen a custom commission before you ever open the calendar.
Main guide
How to Run a Custom Tattoo Consultation That Ends in a Deposit
It settles how a custom tattoo consultation should run from the first vague message to a signed deposit and a stencil plan you can actually draw from.
Magazine
Ink and Ledger
Craft, money and compliance for US tattoo artists and small studio owners taking custom commissions.
About
Who writes all of this
The author page behind Ink and Ledger, covering who writes the chair hour, deposit and body art permit guides here and why they lean on studio paperwork rather than general small business advice.
Keep the tattoo intake sheet, then watch it run
The calculators, the custom tattoo intake sheet and the whole Ink and Ledger archive stay free with no account attached, and plenty of artists use nothing else. When you would rather have the placement questions, the price band, the deposit and the aftercare handoff happening on their own than sitting in a template you have to remember, book a demo and we will wire your studio wording in on the call.