A PMU business has the highest ticket of the five and the smallest number of appointments. That combination makes the money simple to model and easy to mismanage. Here is the plan on one page.

Startup costs, in the right order

Licensing first, because it gates everything else (details in the license guide):

• Tattoo Artist license, $60, renewed every year.
• If the studio is yours: Tattoo Establishment license $200, Biomedical Waste Generator permit $85, inspection readiness, and a waste pickup contract.
• Local business tax receipt.

Then the business:

• LLC ($125 in Florida) and the free EIN.
• Machine, cartridges, pigments, numbing, mapping tools; the Beginner's course kit gets you started, your first months of clients tell you what to reorder.
• PMU-specific professional liability insurance.
• The room: a chair or room rental in a licensed studio to start, or your own space that can pass inspection.
• Consent, aftercare and photo-release forms, printed or digital.
• Operating cash for a few months while the book fills.

Pricing and the deposit policy

PMU appointments run two to three hours and the ticket is several hundred dollars. Two decisions to make before your first booking:

1. Price each service (brows, lip blush, eyeliner) and the touch-up separately, and publish them.
2. Deposit policy. Take a deposit at booking, credit it to the service, and state in writing what happens on a reschedule inside 48 hours and on a no-show. A blocked afternoon that does not show is the most expensive thing that happens in a PMU business.

The merchant account question

Card processors sort businesses by category, and some put permanent makeup in the tattoo bucket, which they treat as higher risk. Be exact about what you do when you apply for the account. An application that says "beauty services" and a transaction history full of $600 tickets can get an account frozen with your deposits inside it. Set up one processor honestly, and know a second you could switch to.

Running the money

• Business checking account in the LLC's name, opened with the EIN. Deposits and payouts land there, never in personal checking. What the bank asks for is in the bank account guide.
• Deposits are money you owe until the appointment happens. Track them per client so a refund never surprises you.
• Inventory (pigments and cartridges) is a real cost of goods; count it quarterly.
• Annual renewals (artist license every year, establishment and waste permit on their cycles) go on a calendar with the money set aside.
• The service is not subject to Florida sales tax; retail aftercare is. Register with the Department of Revenue before you sell the first jar.

The one number

Add up your monthly fixed costs: room, insurance, loan or savings payback on the kit, software, license renewals spread over twelve months. Divide by your average ticket after supplies. That is how many procedures a month the business needs before you earn a dollar. In PMU that number is usually small, which is exactly why a no-show policy matters so much.

This is general information, not financial or legal advice. Confirm fees with the Florida Department of Health and tax treatment with the Florida Department of Revenue.

Pristine Beauty Academy PMU graduates can ask Admissions about the advanced course and about job placement at Pristine Spas while they build a client list.

FAQ

Questions people ask

How much does it cost to start a permanent makeup business in Florida?

Budget the Tattoo Artist license ($60, yearly), and if the studio is yours the establishment license ($200), the biomedical waste permit ($85), inspection readiness and a waste pickup contract; then machine, cartridges and pigments, PMU-specific liability insurance, a room, consent and aftercare supplies, and a few months of operating cash.

Should a PMU artist take deposits?

Yes. A deposit at booking, credited to the service, is standard for a high-ticket appointment that blocks two to three hours. Publish the deposit, reschedule and no-show terms before you take the first one, and hold deposits in the business account as money owed until the appointment happens.

Do payment processors allow permanent makeup businesses?

Most do, but some classify PMU as a tattoo business and treat it as higher risk. Tell the processor exactly what you do when you apply so the account is not frozen later, and keep a second option ready.

Is permanent makeup taxable in Florida?

The service is not subject to Florida sales tax. Aftercare products you sell at retail are, which means registering with the Florida Department of Revenue if you sell them.