Most med spas aren’t losing money because of low bookings. The real issue is often hidden product waste. Serums, boosters, masks, and other back bar treatments are frequently overused, given away, or forgotten when billing clients. These small oversights can cost your business thousands every single month.
In this week’s training, Katlin Cauffman breaks down exactly how med spas can take back control of product usage, prevent unnecessary loss, and protect their bottom line.
Why Tracking Product Use is Crucial
If your providers are using products during treatments without logging them or billing the client, your profit is disappearing right in front of you.
Think about this: If just one Hydrafacial booster isn’t billed each day, that could result in $1,500 to $2,000 lost in monthly revenue. That’s just one item.
Now consider:
Boosters used but not invoiced
Microneedling serums applied without cost awareness
Peels opened “just in case” and thrown away
Jelly masks or LED treatments given as extras without tracking
Without clear systems, these habits quietly chip away at profitability.
Case Study: One Med Spa’s $7,800 Monthly Loss
A high-volume med spa in Texas was generating over $150,000 per month, but their profit margin was below 10 percent. After an audit, Katlin discovered that their staff routinely added peels, masks, and boosters during services without charging clients.
There was no system in place to track how many products were used versus sold. Inventory was replenished every month, but no one was watching how much was actually going out the door.
After introducing treatment logs, staff education, and weekly inventory checks, the results were clear:
Waste dropped by 68 percent
Hydrafacial profitability increased by 24 percent
Monthly savings reached $7,800
Step-by-Step: Build a Product Control System That Works
Here’s the process Diamond Accelerator recommends:
1. Create a Daily Product Usage Log
Every provider should track what is used on each client. This includes:
Client name
Provider name
Treatment type
Products used (booster, peel, serum, mask)
Whether the product was billed
Lot numbers (if needed)
This can be done using a spreadsheet, your EMR, or even a printed form.
2. Assign Weekly Audits
Designate a team member to:
Count all used and unused back bar items
Compare products pulled to treatments performed
Spot discrepancies and flag unbilled items
3. Educate the Team
Most providers are not aware of how much products actually cost. Without that awareness, it’s easy to overuse expensive supplies.
Tools to help:
Printed cost cards inside drawers or treatment rooms
Sticker labels showing the price per item
Team training on the cost of every serum, booster, and mask
When your staff understands the financial impact, they are more likely to stay within guidelines and reduce waste.
What to Track Starting This Week
Focus first on the most common areas of product loss:
Hydrafacial boosters
Microneedling serums (PRP, exosomes, PDRN)
Peels from brands like VI, Skinbetter, and PCA
Jelly masks or LED add-ons
Any product that is opened but not tracked or billed
Also be aware of products used for staff treatments. Staff usage should be pre-approved and logged, with products stored separately from client inventory.
How to Handle Staff Treatments
Staff treatments should not come out of your client inventory. Instead, create a quarterly request form and allot a set number of treatments or a retail value cap for each team member.
Store staff-use products in a separate drawer or fridge space. Make sure the provider stays on the clock, but the person receiving the treatment clocks out. This keeps labor costs accurate and avoids blurred lines in product tracking.
Time to Audit and Act
Ask yourself:
When was the last time your team audited treatment products used versus treatments billed?
Do your providers know the cost per product used during a facial or microneedling session?
Who on your team is responsible for counting inventory and spotting inconsistencies?
If you can’t answer these with confidence, it’s time to take action.
Turn Tracking Into Profit
By tracking treatment products, assigning accountability, and training your team, you can significantly improve your profitability without increasing bookings.
Start by identifying where product waste is happening, and take simple steps to prevent it. Your bottom line will thank you.
Get Help Implementing Systems That Work
At Diamond Accelerator, we help med spa owners put the right systems in place to grow profitably and sustainably.
✔ Med Spa Consulting Services
✔ Marketing That Fills Your Schedule
✔ Lead Generation + Scheduling Support
