Porter Review: All-in-One Tattoo Shop Software (2026)

Porter is widely considered the gold standard for tattoo shop management software. Built by a former tattoo studio owner who was frustrated with generic business tools, Porter was designed from the ground up to handle the unique workflows of a tattoo studio. But is it worth the premium price? We spent three months testing Porter in a real studio environment to find out.

What Is Porter?

Porter is a cloud-based tattoo shop management platform that combines booking, client management, consent forms, payment processing, artist scheduling, commission tracking, and business analytics into a single dashboard. Think of it as the operating system for your tattoo studio.

The platform launched in 2021 and has grown rapidly, now serving thousands of tattoo studios across the US, Canada, UK, and Australia. It’s backed by venture funding and has a dedicated development team that ships updates regularly.

Setting Up Porter

Getting started with Porter takes about 2-3 hours for a complete setup. The onboarding process walks you through:

1. Studio profile — name, address, hours, branding
2. Service menu — appointment types, durations, pricing
3. Artist profiles — bios, portfolios, individual schedules
4. Consent forms — customizable templates or build from scratch
5. Payment setup — connect Stripe or Square
6. Booking page — customize colors, layout, booking flow
7. Deposit rules — amounts, cancellation policies
8. Communication templates — confirmations, reminders, aftercare

The setup wizard is well-designed and includes video tutorials for each step. If you get stuck, Porter’s support team responds within a few hours during business hours. They also offer free onboarding calls for new Studio and Enterprise plan customers.

Core Features Deep Dive

Online Booking

Porter’s booking system is its crown jewel. The client-facing booking page is polished, professional, and optimized for conversion. Here’s what makes it stand out:

Artist Selection with Portfolios: If you have multiple artists, clients first browse each artist’s portfolio and bio before selecting who they want to book with. This is huge — it means clients have already connected with an artist’s style before making contact, leading to better matches and fewer “that’s not what I wanted” situations.

Intelligent Intake Forms: After selecting an artist and appointment type, clients fill out a detailed intake form. The form adapts based on the appointment type — a consultation form is different from a full-session form. Clients describe their tattoo idea, specify placement, upload reference images, note allergies or medical conditions, and indicate if it’s their first tattoo.

Smart Scheduling: Porter’s scheduling engine accounts for setup time, break time, and cleanup time between appointments. If a tattoo session is booked for 3 hours, Porter can automatically add 30 minutes before and after for prep and cleanup, blocking that time on the calendar. This prevents the common problem of back-to-back bookings with no breathing room.

Deposit Collection: When a client books, Porter can require a deposit via credit card. You set the deposit amount per service type — $50 for a small piece, $200 for a full-day session, whatever works for your shop. The deposit is processed immediately through Stripe or Square, and your cancellation policy is clearly displayed during checkout.

Waitlist: When an artist’s calendar is full, clients can join a waitlist. If a cancellation opens up a slot, waitlisted clients are automatically notified and can claim the spot. This keeps your chair full even when cancellations happen.

Client Management (CRM)

Porter’s client management goes far beyond basic contact storage:

Comprehensive Client Profiles: Each client profile includes contact info, complete tattoo history with your shop (every session, every piece, with photos), skin type and allergy notes, communication preferences, spending history, deposit history, consent form archive, and aftercare notes.

Client Tags and Segments: You can tag clients with custom labels — “VIP,” “Walk-in Convert,” “Referral Source,” “Flash Collector” — and create segments for targeted communication. For example, you could email all clients tagged “Traditional Style” when a guest artist specializing in traditional work visits your shop.

Client Timeline: Every interaction with a client is logged in chronological order — bookings, messages, payments, consent forms, notes, photos. This gives you complete context when a client contacts you, even if it’s been months since their last visit.

Referral Tracking: Porter tracks how clients found you (Instagram, Google, referral from another client, walk-in) and attributes revenue to acquisition channels. This data is gold for marketing decisions.

Digital Consent Forms

Porter’s consent form system is comprehensive and legally robust:

Template Library: Porter provides pre-built consent form templates that comply with common state and local regulations. You can use them as-is or customize them with your shop’s specific language.

Form Builder: If you need custom forms, Porter’s drag-and-drop form builder lets you add text fields, checkboxes, signature fields, date pickers, photo upload fields, and conditional logic (show certain questions only if a previous answer triggers them).

Digital Signatures: Clients sign on a tablet (the studio can use an iPad or Android tablet) or on their own phone via a QR code. Signatures are captured with timestamp and IP address for legal validity.

Automatic Storage: Completed consent forms are automatically linked to the client’s profile and the specific appointment. You can retrieve any consent form instantly if needed for legal or health department purposes.

Minor Consent: Porter handles the guardian consent workflow for clients under 18 — requiring guardian identification, signature, and relationship verification.

Payment Processing

Porter integrates with Stripe and Square for payments:

Deposit Management: As mentioned, deposits are collected at booking. Porter tracks all deposits and automatically applies them to the final payment.

Final Payment: At checkout, the remaining balance (after deposit) is calculated automatically. The artist or front desk processes the payment through Porter, which connects to your Stripe or Square account.

Tips: Porter includes a tip prompt during checkout, with customizable tip percentages (15%, 20%, 25%, custom). Tips are tracked separately from service revenue for accurate reporting and commission calculations.

Commission Calculation: For multi-artist shops, Porter automatically calculates each artist’s commission based on the commission structure you’ve set up. You can configure flat percentages, tiered rates (higher commission at higher revenue), or different rates for different service types.

Payout Reports: At the end of each pay period, Porter generates detailed payout reports for each artist showing gross revenue, commission amount, tips received, and any deductions.

Artist Management

For multi-artist studios, Porter provides:

Individual Artist Pages: Each artist gets their own booking page with bio, portfolio, services offered, and availability. Clients can bookmark their favorite artist’s page for easy rebooking.

Schedule Management: Each artist manages their own availability within parameters set by the shop owner. Artists can block time off, set recurring schedules, and the shop owner has an overview of all artists’ schedules.

Performance Dashboards: Artists can see their own metrics — bookings, revenue, client retention, average ticket, review scores. Shop owners see all artists’ metrics for comparison.

Reporting & Analytics

Porter’s reporting is comprehensive:

Revenue Reports: Total revenue, revenue by artist, revenue by service type, revenue by time period, average ticket value, revenue trends over time.

Booking Analytics: Total bookings, booking conversion rate (views to bookings), no-show rate, cancellation rate, average lead time (how far in advance clients book), busiest days and times.

Client Analytics: New clients vs. returning, client retention rate, average client lifetime value, top clients by revenue, acquisition channel performance.

Commission Reports: Per-artist commission calculations, tip tracking, payout summaries.

Custom Reports: Build custom reports by combining any available data points. Schedule automated report delivery via email.

Pricing

All plans include unlimited bookings, unlimited client records, consent forms, and payment processing (standard Stripe/Square processing fees apply).

Pros

• Purpose-built for tattoo shops — every feature is designed for tattoo studio workflows
• Best booking experience — clients love the portfolio browsing and intake form flow
• Excellent deposit management — dramatically reduces no-shows
• Strong commission tracking — saves hours of manual calculation for multi-artist shops
• Regular updates — new features ship monthly
• Good support — responsive team, free onboarding calls for paid plans
• Professional appearance — client-facing pages look great and build trust

Cons

• Price — at $79+/month, it’s the most expensive tattoo-specific software
• Learning curve — takes time to set up and learn all features
• Mobile app needs work — the mobile experience lags behind the desktop version
• Limited integrations — fewer third-party integrations than generic platforms like Square
• No free tier — 14-day trial only, no ongoing free plan
• Stripe/Square only — no support for other payment processors

Who Should Use Porter?

Porter is ideal for:

• Multi-artist studios with 2+ artists who need commission tracking and multi-schedule management
• Busy solo artists handling 50+ appointments/month who want to automate their workflow
• Studios that prioritize the client booking experience
• Shop owners who want comprehensive business analytics

Porter is NOT ideal for:

• Solo artists just starting out on a tight budget
• Artists who only do walk-ins (no appointments)
• Studios looking for a free or very cheap solution
• Artists who prefer minimal technology in their workflow

Porter vs. Alternatives

The Bottom Line

Porter is the best all-in-one tattoo shop management software available in 2026. Its booking system, client management, consent forms, and commission tracking are all best-in-class or close to it. The main drawback is price — at $79+/month, it’s a significant investment for a solo artist.

If you’re running a multi-artist studio and want a single platform that handles everything, Porter is the clear choice. The time saved on scheduling, commission calculations, and client management easily justifies the cost.

If you’re a solo artist or running a very small shop, consider starting with TattooPro.io ($29/mo) and upgrading to Porter when your business grows to the point where the additional features provide clear value.

Our rating: 4.7/5

Porter sets the standard for what tattoo shop management software should be. The booking experience is best-in-class, the feature set is comprehensive, and the platform continues to improve with regular updates. The only thing holding it back from a perfect score is the price and the mobile app, both of which are valid concerns for smaller operations.

Frequently Asked Questions

Is Porter worth it for a solo tattoo artist?

Porter’s Solo plan at $79/month is pricey for a solo artist compared to alternatives like TattooPro.io at $29/month. However, if you’re a busy solo artist handling 50+ appointments per month, Porter’s automation and time savings may justify the cost. For artists just starting out, a more affordable option makes sense.

Does Porter offer a free trial?

Yes, Porter offers a 14-day free trial with full access to all features. No credit card required to start. This gives you enough time to set up your shop, test the booking flow, and see if it fits your workflow before committing.

Can Porter handle walk-in clients?

Yes, Porter has a dedicated walk-in management feature. You can add walk-in clients to a queue, assign them to available artists, and process their paperwork (consent forms, payment) through the same system as appointment clients.