Guides
Tattoo studio daily run sheet: desk and artist tasks from opening to closing
A tattoo studio daily run sheet: opening, before and after each client, between clients, and closing, with desk, artist, and sterilization tasks.
What to take away
- The daily SOP is a run sheet, not a policy. It says what is done at opening, before each client, between clients, and at closing, and who does it.
- The artist's list and the desk's list are different lists. In a rental studio the artist's list is the renter's own, and the studio's list is the room.
- The per-client and between-client sections are what an inspector watches. The opening and closing sections are what keep the log complete.
Opening
Desk:
- Today's calendar checkedevery session has a deposit recorded; any without is called before the artist arrives.
- Consent and age-verification forms printed or queued for each session.
- Card reader, booking system, and messages open; overnight inquiries answered within the studio's reply time.
- Waiting area clean, portfolio display working, required signage in place.
Sterilization zone owner:
- Autoclave run started if anything is reprocessed, indicators in, entry begun in the log; or single-use stock counted against the day's sessions.
- Sharps containers checked for fill, replaced if needed.
- Sinks stocked with soap and disposable towels.
Artist:
- Station inspectedchair and surfaces intact, power supply and lamp working, sharps container within reach.
- Day's designs and stencils prepared; ink and single-use supplies pulled for the first session.
Before each client
Desk:
- Client greeted at the stated arrival time; consent and age verification completed and checked for every field the health department requires.
- Deposit confirmed against the session; balance and touch-up terms restated.
Artist:
- Hands washed; station set up on fresh barrier film; machine bagged, clip cord sleeved.
- Single-use needles or cartridges, grips, ink caps, and rinse cups opened in front of the client.
- Ink lot noted if the studio records lots. The FDA's U.S. Food and Drug Administration: Tattoos, Temporary Tattoos and Permanent Makeup page explains that inks are regulated as cosmetics and how adverse reactions are reported; a lot record is what makes a report specific.
- Stencil placed and approved by the client in the mirror before any work starts.
During the session
Artist:
- Gloves changed at the points the studio's procedure specifies.
- Breaks taken at the client's tolerance, not the clock; a session that ends early is recorded as complete for the day, not as a failure.
- Nothing carried from the stationsharps into the station's container, waste into the station's bin.
Desk:
- Next client's arrival prepared; walk-ins outside the published window offered a booking rather than the chair.
Between clients
Artist:
- Sharps disposed at the station; barrier film, bags, and sleeves removed; single-use items to waste.
- Surfaces disinfected with the product and contact time the procedure states; chair and arm rests included.
- Reprocessable items, if any, to the dirty side of the sterilization zone and nowhere else.
- Station reset on fresh film only when the next client is confirmed.
Sterilization zone owner:
- Dirty items cleaned, pouched with indicators, and queued; cycle logged when run.
This section covers the studio's exposure control. If the studio employs staff with reasonably anticipated exposure, OSHA's bloodborne pathogens standard may apply.
The agency's interpretation letter on a barber shop, Occupational Safety and Health Administration: Bloodborne Pathogens Standard in a Barber Shop, shows how OSHA decides whether a small employer is covered. Ask what applies to this studio's staffing and write the answer here.
After each client
Artist:
- Written aftercare handed over and acknowledged on the form; touch-up terms restated.
- Next sitting booked before the client leaves, deposit rule applied.
- Session recordeddesign, placement, sat length against booked length, supplies used.
Desk:
- Balance collected and recorded against the deposit. This ledger is the income record the Internal Revenue Service: What kind of records should I keep? page describes, and it also shows which policy applied to the client.
- Review request sent if the studio does that, following its own rule on how.
Closing
Desk:
- Deposits and balances reconciled against the calendar; tomorrow's sessions checked for deposits.
- Inquiries answered or queued with a reply time; the waiting list updated with any forfeited slot.
- Consent forms filed in order.
Sterilization zone owner:
- Final cycle logged; log signed; sharps and waste checked; test kit run if today is its day.
- Stock counted for tomorrow.
Artist:
- Station broken down and disinfected; machine and power supply stored; nothing left on the surface.
- Touch-up requests from the day noted with the original session reference.
Owner, weekly:
- The log read for gaps; the calendar checked for turnover blocks that were skipped; the scheduling rules reviewed against the week's late starts.
Where the sheet comes from
The run sheet is the operations and workflow guide reduced to a day. Its station is the one the equipment and setup guide describes, and the items it names appear on the opening-day equipment checklist.
The rules it cites, on disinfection products, contact times, consent fields, and test schedules, come from the state or county health department and the licensing body, never from this page.
Common questions
Who owns the sheet in a rental studio?
The studio owns the opening, closing, and sterilization-zone lines. Each renter owns their own station lines, and the rental agreement should say the studio's between-client procedure applies to every chair in the room.
Should the sheet be signed?
The log entries are signed. The run sheet is a habit, and a signed run sheet is paperwork nobody reads. Sign the log, read the sheet.
What if a step cannot be done in the time?
Then the calendar is wrong, not the step. Lengthen the turnover block and fix the station layout; do not shorten the disinfection.
How often should the sheet change?
When the health department's rule changes, when a station is added, or when the weekly read shows a step being skipped. Date each version.
