Bit of an old thread but thought i would let you know that it costs me £xx.xx for all my products, sanitizing sprays, primers etc per set of tip and overlay acrylic nails...not including paying for things like lighting etc...literally cost of good sold. I worked out my sprays etc by seeing how much was in a bottle and dividing it by how much fluid is released by the pump for example and then working out how many pumps of the spray i use on each client. Things like glue i roughly worked it out based on how many ml i used then used this to gauge how much it would cost to do a set. Sculpted Gel costs more than sculpted acrylic as the forms are more expensive and the gel itself if more expensive also, i use NSI products by the way
I hope this helps.
Its easy to just brush stuff off as 'oh its only a tiny bit of glue or whatever' but you really are right to be conscious of how much you are using and spending since it makes good business sense and i doubt you are doing it purely for fun...you want to make money doing something you enjoy so definitely keep checking your spending! I write a list of all my products and each year re-evaluate the cost of the goods i buy (and i price using standard prices not discounts since the discounts may not be applicable throughout the entire year...if they are...bonus, i made more than expected!) then do an up to date cost of good sold based on my new figures, it only takes a day in the office and is well worth it. This allows you to see increases in your costs due to inflation etc and for you to adjust your prices accordingly
You want to make profit not only take money for your time because each bit of profit can go towards new product lines or training which enables your business to maintain high standard and grow. A poor business mind will not account for business growth and may well flounder in the future and not have a good cashflow balance to bail them out of hard times if needed. I try and look at myself as a separate entity from my business when working out costs to ensure that as a person i get my wages but as a business I make a profit to allows for updates or expansion. I hope this helps.