Asks the consult questions
Placement, size, style, colour or black and grey, cover-up or fresh skin. Operator asks what your prices depend on, so you open each inquiry with the details already there.
Tattoo booking software that turns inquiries into sessions
Every inquiry starts the same way: where, how big, what style. Operator asks those questions for you, reads the reference photo, shows an estimate from your own rates, holds a date and takes the deposit, so you stay at the chair.
Free for 14 days · no card to start · keep your number
On your booking link
A custom piece estimated and held from one DM
The questions come from Operator’s tattoo question set. You decide which ones matter for your prices.
- CustomerHey, I want a fine line botanical piece. I have a reference photo.
- OperatorSend it over. Where on your body?
- CustomerForearm.
- OperatorRoughly how big?
- CustomerMedium, maybe five inches.
- OperatorIs this covering an existing tattoo?
- CustomerFresh skin.
- OperatorThanks. Here is an estimate from the shop’s rates and the dates that are open. Hold one, and the artist confirms your exact quote.
Built for tattoo artists
Why tattoo artists use Operator to take bookings
Most tattoo booking is a long DM thread before anyone talks about a date. Operator runs that thread for you and ends it with a deposit.
Reads the reference photo
Clients send the photo they have been saving. Operator reads it along with their answers, and the photo is on the inquiry in your inbox.
Estimates from your rates
The client sees an estimate built from your own rates as they answer. For custom work you review it and send the exact quote, so nothing goes out that you have not seen.
Holds a real date
Dates come from your hours and your calendar, including events already on it. The date is held while the client pays, so two people cannot take the same session.
A deposit on every session
Set a flat deposit or a percentage, per service. It is paid by card straight to your own Stripe account, and a no-show costs the client, not you.
Rewards your regulars
Clients are saved with their history. A returning-client discount can apply itself when someone comes back for their next piece.
Why it books more
What changes when Operator takes your tattoo inquiries
The consult happens before you pick up
Most of a tattoo artist’s admin is the same five questions asked in DMs, one reply at a time, between sessions. By the time you get to the answers, half the clients have booked somewhere that replied faster. Operator asks those questions the moment the client reaches out, in a conversation rather than a form, and gathers the placement, size, style and reference photo into one inquiry.
An estimate first, your quote second
Clients want to know roughly what a piece costs before they commit, and you want to see the idea before you commit to a price. Operator does both. The client sees an estimate built from your own rates as they answer, and for custom work you review the inquiry and send the exact quote. For flash, where the price is set, the client can book and pay straight away.
Deposits without the chasing
Chasing a deposit over DM is where many bookings stall. With Operator the date is held and the deposit is paid by card in the same flow, straight to your own Stripe account. A flat deposit is the norm in tattooing, and Operator supports it alongside a percentage.
The shop phone, answered
When a call comes in and every artist is tattooing, Operator answers it, asks what the caller has in mind and texts them your booking link to send a photo and pick a date. The call is in your inbox with a recording and a short summary.
You pay for what it answers
There is no per-message fee and no booking fee. Each plan includes monthly credits, and a minute of answered call is 25 credits, where one credit is one cent. If the credits ever run out, calls ring your own phone the way they did before. The line never goes dead.
Tattoo work it books
- Custom tattoo
- Flash
- Tattoo removal
Pricing
Start free. Pick a plan when it answers.
Three plans, no contract. Try Operator free for 14 days; the card is asked for only when you claim your number, and nothing is charged until the trial ends.
Starter
For a solo business or a small shop.
$49
per month · no booking fee
About 200 minutesof answered calls per month, or 500 conversations5,000 credits per month
Start your free trialPro
For a shop whose phone rings all day.
$129
per month · no booking fee
About 600 minutesof answered calls per month, or 1,500 conversations15,000 credits per month
Start your free trialScale
For a busy team, open to close.
$299
per month · no booking fee
About 1,600 minutesof answered calls per month, or 4,000 conversations40,000 credits per month
Start your free trial14-day free trial, card only when you claim your number · switch or cancel anytime
Calls you get a day6
130+
Starter
$49
5,000 credits
Pro
$129
15,000 credits
Scale
$299
40,000 credits
6 calls a day fits Pro. Answering them uses about 9,900 of its 15,000 monthly credits.
6 calls × 3 minutes × 22 working days × 25 credits a minute. Voice only: chats and texts use the same balance.
Questions from tattoo artists
Can clients send a reference photo?
Yes. Clients add a photo in the conversation. Operator reads it along with their answers, and the photo stays on the inquiry in your inbox for you to look at before you send a quote.
Do I have to approve the price for custom work?
For custom pieces, yes. The client sees an estimate from your own rates, and you review the inquiry and send the exact quote before they pay. Flash with a set price can be booked and paid directly.
What happens if a client cancels?
Clients can cancel from their own booking link. Cancel 24 hours or more before the appointment and the deposit goes back to their card. Cancel later than that and you keep the deposit, and the client is told which one applies before they confirm.
Can I put it on my website and Instagram?
Yes. You get a booking link to put in your Instagram bio, Google profile and texts, and a chat button you can add to your own website with one snippet. Every booking lands in the same inbox.
Which questions does it ask?
Operator comes with a tattoo question set. It asks the ones that change your price or the job, based on the prices you set, and you can add questions of your own in your own words. Anything that does not change the price is not asked.
Does it work in Canada?
Yes. Operator works for tattoo artists in Canada and the United States, in your own currency.
How much does it cost?
Operator is free for 14 days with no card to start. Plans start at $49 a month on Starter, which covers up to about 200 answered minutes. There is no booking fee on any plan.
Let Operator book your next session
Set up takes 5 minutes. Keep your current number.