Two options artists often weigh are Inky and BookedIN. 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.
BookedIN is a booking-and-client platform aimed at service businesses generally - appointments, reminders, payments, and client notes. It's a competent, generalist tool. "Generalist" is the operative word: it's not shaped around tattooing.
What are the advantages of BookedIN?
- Appointment booking, reminders and payments in one place.
- Client notes and history - closer to a CRM than a bare scheduler.
- Built for service businesses, so the fundamentals are sound.
How does Inky compare?
Inky takes those same fundamentals and orients them around a tattoo artist:
- Booking that captures placement, size and references, plus a deposit - not a generic appointment type.
- Client notes built around art: past pieces, session notes, aftercare, references.
- A portfolio that's part of the product.
- Digital consent and intake forms, attached to clients and appointments.
BookedIN is a good "service business" tool. Inky is a tattoo tool, which means less translating your work into someone else's model.
What are the disadvantages of BookedIN for tattoo artists?
No tattoo-native booking, no portfolio, and no consent-form workflow. Client records are general-purpose rather than art-oriented, so you're still keeping "the real" notes elsewhere.
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 you serve several different trades and want one generalist tool, BookedIN covers more ground.
Which is better for freelance tattoo artists?
There's no universal winner - it depends on what you'd rather not deal with.
BookedIN may suit artists who want:
- Solid general booking, reminders and payments
- Client notes and history
- Built for service businesses broadly
Inky may suit artists who want:
- Tattoo-native booking, deposits and references
- Art-oriented client 360 and portfolio
- Consent forms as a core feature
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.
