I talked to four working tattoo artists before I built this. Two were solos, two worked in small collectives. All four said some version of the same thing: "I'd pay for something that handles deposits and aftercare, but I'm not paying $80/month for a subscription with features I don't need."
inkbook is what I built for them.
What It Does
Six things:
- Bookings with deposits. Per-artist calendar. Deposit tracking via Stripe or Square. Deposit retention rules when a client flakes — the $100 non-refundable deposit actually sticks, with a policy document the client signed at booking.
- Client files. History of consults, previous tattoos with photos, allergies, skin response notes, what aftercare worked and what didn't. Release forms signed once, attached to every appointment after.
- Release forms. PDF release + medical release + photo consent. E-signed on an iPad at check-in. Stored encrypted against the client record.
- Aftercare flow. Day-1, day-3, day-7, day-14 automated check-ins via SMS or email. Template per style (color vs blackwork vs fine-line vs realism). Client replies feed back into the client file.
- Commissions + cuts. Per-artist booth rent, commission %, or flat fee. Monthly statement per artist with line-item breakdown. Stripe Connect payout if you want it automated.
- No cloud PII. Flask + SQLite. Client medical disclosures stay on your studio's server. No "tattoo booking SaaS" holding sensitive forms in someone else's cloud.
Why the Medical-Release Storage Matters
A tattoo release form has medical disclosures on it. Allergies, medications, conditions that affect healing, sometimes HIV/HBV status. That data has legal weight. It has privacy weight. Most tattoo SaaS tools store it on their servers, which means their breach is your liability exposure.
inkbook stores it locally on your studio's machine. Encrypted at rest with a key that never leaves your box. If someone breaks into your shop and steals the laptop, you have a different problem. If Amazon's s3 has a leak, it's not your data they leak.
The Hosted Pro tier does run on managed infrastructure, but with a per-customer encryption key and a BAA-style arrangement. Not every customer wants hosting; the ones who host locally get it for free, forever.
The Aftercare Flow
This is the feature most artists ask for by name. After each appointment, the system schedules four automated messages: day 1 ("how does it feel? redness normal?"), day 3 ("peeling yet? don't pick"), day 7 ("healing check-in"), day 14 ("looks good? send a photo?").
Each message is templated per style. Fine-line heals differently than color realism. Blackwork has different peak-redness windows than watercolor. The template reflects that.
The client replies via SMS or email. Responses get attached to their file. If they reply "hey something looks weird" on day 3, the artist gets a notification. If they reply "perfect thanks," it gets logged but doesn't bother anyone.
My best client-retention data from the artists I've worked with: aftercare follow-up correlates strongly with repeat bookings. Clients feel taken care of; they come back. It's not cynical; it's just what happens when you don't abandon people after they've paid.
The Build
Flask + SQLite. About 2,100 lines of custom code. WeasyPrint for release form PDFs. Stripe webhooks for deposit handling. Twilio for SMS aftercare. Pillow for the previous-work gallery. iPad-friendly e-signature via SignaturePad.js.
git clone https://github.com/Dangercorn-Enterprises/inkbook.git
cd inkbook
pip install -r requirements.txt
echo "AUTH_PASSWORD=shoppassword" >> .env
echo "STRIPE_API_KEY=sk_test_..." >> .env
python app.py
# → http://localhost:8660Pricing
- Self-host: $0. All features. Single shop, single machine.
- Hosted Pro: $29/mo. Managed, unlimited artists + clients, Stripe/Square deposits, SMS aftercare, photo backup.
- Collective: $99/mo. Multi-location, apprentice workflow with sign-off, Instagram booking-bio link, liability-insurance export pack.
The Collective tier is priced per-studio, not per-artist. A shop with 6 artists pays $99. A shop with 2 pays $99. The commercial tattoo SaaS options charge per-artist and it adds up fast; this doesn't.
Who It's For
Single-artist studios, small collectives (2-8 artists), and the "apprentice + two mentors" shop. Not for giant convention-floor operations — they need something bigger. Not for artists who only do guest spots — they don't need the infrastructure. In between, this fits.
The difference between running a tattoo business and running a busy Instagram account is operational discipline. Most artists don't need more talent; they need the scaffolding to not drop balls.
Related
coachboard for the client-file parallel (coaches ship the same problem differently). shiftfill for studios with front-desk / shop-managers on shifts. childmilestone if you care about the "private data stays on your laptop" thing (same philosophy, different audience).
Repo: github.com/Dangercorn-Enterprises/inkbook. If you're running a shop and you try it, hit me back with what's wrong. The aftercare templates especially need studio-practitioner review.
What's On the Roadmap
Three things artists keep asking for that are next up:
Touch-up scheduling. Many tattoos need a free or discounted touch-up at 6-12 weeks. inkbook should auto-schedule those reminders and offer a "book touch-up" link in the day-30 aftercare message.
Reference image management. Per-client reference images organized for the next session, with side-by-side compare against in-progress photos. Studios are using shared Google Drives for this; we can do better.
Walk-in queue. A QR code by the front desk that walk-ins scan to join the queue. Each artist sees their own queue. Reduces front-desk friction during convention or weekend rushes.