Two options artists often weigh are Inky and Acuity Scheduling. Both can help you run the business side of tattooing, but they're built from very different starting points - and the one that fits depends on whether you want a general-purpose booking tool or one purpose-built for a freelance tattoo artist.
Acuity (now part of Squarespace) is a flexible appointment scheduler known for deep intake forms, custom questions, and payment-taking on bookings. It's a strong choice if "a really configurable booking form" is what you need. It's still a scheduler, not a tool that knows anything about tattooing.
What are the advantages of Acuity?
- Highly customisable intake forms on the booking flow - you can ask anything up front.
- Deposits and full payment at booking, with good Squarespace integration.
- Mature, reliable scheduling with reminders.
How does Inky compare?
Inky bakes the right intake in by default, and wraps it in a real client + portfolio system:
- Booking asks for placement, size, references and a deposit without you building the form.
- Intake and consent forms are stored against the client and appointment, and reusable - not a one-off form per booking.
- Client records persist across sessions: past pieces, notes, aftercare.
- Your portfolio is part of the product, selling the next booking.
Acuity's strength - configuring anything - is also its weakness: you're the one who has to configure it, and the result is a booking, not a relationship.
What are the disadvantages of Acuity for tattoo artists?
No portfolio, no client 360, no consent-form workflow beyond a generic form, and no concept of a design or a session. You'll end up bolting on a separate portfolio and a notes system anyway.
Potential downsides of Inky
Inky is newer and tattoo-first, which is also its main limitation: it does not try to be a POS, a retail inventory system, or a multi-staff salon suite. If you run a large shop with a front desk, retail stock, and a dozen chairs, a broader platform may cover more ground. Inky is built for the artist who wants the boring stuff handled so they can get back to tattooing. If your real need is "a brilliant, configurable booking widget on my existing site," Acuity does that one thing very well.
Which is better for freelance tattoo artists?
There's no universal winner - it depends on what you'd rather not deal with.
Acuity Scheduling may suit artists who want:
- A deeply configurable booking form
- Deposits and payment at booking
- Reliable scheduling and reminders
Inky may suit artists who want:
- Tattoo-native intake and consent forms by default
- Client 360 and portfolio in the same tool
- Less to configure - the workflow is already tattoo-shaped
For a freelance artist who'd rather tattoo than tend to software, Inky takes more of the business off your plate - booking, clients, deposits, portfolio and consent forms in one place, built around how tattooing actually works.
