Your internet is unreliable
Your connection drops often enough that online software would get in the way of running the studio.
REV23 Desktop for Windows
REV23 Desktop is still here.
Studios still rely on Desktop, and we continue to support it. But if you are choosing software today, REV23 is the better choice for almost every studio.
Already use Desktop?
When Desktop still makes sense
You may still have a good reason to choose Desktop.
If one of these sounds familiar, Desktop may still be worth considering.
Your data must stay at the studio
Your studio records need to stay on a computer inside the building.
You are comfortable managing Windows PCs
You or someone at the studio is comfortable looking after the main PC, network, backups, updates, and getting things running again when something goes wrong.
If you would rather focus on running your studio than taking care of computers, networks, and backups, choose REV23.
Explore REV23Why Desktop is different
Desktop was built for the studio of its time.
REV23 Desktop began life as Tattoo Management Studio. Longtime users, and plenty of tattooers who have been in the industry for a while, will remember the name. It was built before the iPhone and iPad, and before “the cloud” was everyday language. Windows PCs at the front desk were the center of the studio, so that is what we built for.
Over the years, it grew into deep software for that kind of studio. Then the world changed. People wanted to work from anywhere, use phones and tablets, and let clients book and enter their own information before they arrived. Stretching a system built around one main PC to do all of that became slow, complicated, and fragile. Building REV23 for the web was the way forward.
Clients and forms
Profiles, medical history, notes, photos, service history, and signed release forms.
Calendar and front desk
Appointments, deposits, waiting clients, services in progress, and day-to-day front-desk work.
Point of sale
Services, retail, taxes, tips, discounts, refunds, card payments, and gift cards.
Payroll and reports
Commissions, payroll, time clock, staff permissions, sales, taxes, and studio reports.
Inventory
Retail stock, reorder points, purchase orders, vendors, and barcode scanning.
A studio-wide Windows system
The main PC holds the data. Other Windows PCs in the studio connect to it.
REV23 or REV23 Desktop?
The first question: who takes care of the computers?
Both can run a studio. The big difference is how much technology you want to take care of yourself.
Our recommendation
REV23
Start here unless you have a strong reason to keep everything on a Windows PC at the studio.
REV23 Desktop (Windows)
Choose Desktop only if keeping the system local is something you truly need.
Where you can work
REV23
On the web, a phone, or a tablet, from almost anywhere.
REV23 Desktop (Windows)
On Windows PCs connected to your studio.
Where your data lives
REV23
REV23 stores it and handles the backups for you.
REV23 Desktop (Windows)
On the main PC at your studio. You are responsible for the backups.
Working away from the studio
REV23
Sign in wherever you have a reliable internet connection.
REV23 Desktop (Windows)
Someone has to set up a VPN. It takes IT help and is often too slow for everyday use.
Entering client information
REV23
Clients enter their own details when they book and complete forms. Your staff does not have to type everything in again.
REV23 Desktop (Windows)
Front desk staff create the appointment and enter the client information into Desktop.
Signing release forms
REV23
Clients sign on their own phone. You can also put a studio iPad, an Android tablet, or an artist's own phone into kiosk mode and hand that over instead. There is no signature hardware to buy.
REV23 Desktop (Windows)
Signature capture requires a Wacom STU-540 signature pad connected to the PC. Every client signs on that one pad at the front desk.
Capturing a photo ID
REV23
Photograph the license with the camera on the phone or tablet already in hand. REV23 crops and straightens the image for you.
REV23 Desktop (Windows)
Scanning a license requires a TWAIN-compatible scanner connected to the PC. That is one more piece of hardware at the front desk.
Reading a license barcode
REV23
The iOS and Android apps read the AAMVA barcode with that same camera, so the client details fill themselves in.
REV23 Desktop (Windows)
Optional, and it does save real typing. Reading the AAMVA barcode needs a Honeywell Xenon XP 1950 handheld reader, on top of the scanner.
Who takes care of it
REV23
We handle the software, servers, backups, and updates.
REV23 Desktop (Windows)
You take care of the Windows PCs, studio network, backups, and getting everything running again when something breaks.
New features
REV23
REV23 is where new features and connections to other services are going.
REV23 Desktop (Windows)
We still support Desktop and keep it working, but our new work is going into REV23.
Appointment reminder text messages
REV23
Included with REV23 at no extra cost. There is no separate texting service for your studio to set up or pay for.
REV23 Desktop (Windows)
No longer available.
Before you buy Desktop
What you take on with Desktop.
Desktop keeps your studio data on a PC in the building. That also makes you responsible for the computer, network, backups, and getting everything running again when something breaks.
One PC holds your studio data
Desktop keeps your studio records on one main Windows PC. If that computer or the studio network has a problem, everyone loses access.
Working somewhere else is difficult
Using Desktop away from the studio means having an IT professional set up a private connection called a VPN. Even then, it can be slow. Opening your router to the internet is not a safe shortcut.
You are in charge of backups
You need to create them, check them, and keep a current copy somewhere outside the studio. A backup drive next to the main PC can be lost in the same incident.
No appointment reminder texts
Email-to-SMS stopped working, so we had to remove it. Phone carriers then changed the rules for business texting, making the remaining option impractical to keep working from Desktop. Appointment reminder texts are no longer available.
Windows PCs only
Desktop needs a Windows PC with an Intel or AMD processor. It does not run on Macs, phones, tablets, Windows on ARM, or Snapdragon-based Surface devices.
Support continues
We still support Desktop and keep it working with Windows.
What the main PC needs
Other PCs in the studio can usually get by with the minimum.
- Operating system
- Windows 11 64-bit required
- Processor
- Recent Intel Core 7, Core Ultra 7, or AMD Ryzen 7 recommended; recent Intel Core 5, Core Ultra 5, or AMD Ryzen 5 minimum
- Memory
- 32 GB or more recommended; 16 GB minimum
- Storage
- 1 TB or larger SSD recommended; 512 GB SSD minimum
- Backup
- 2 TB or larger external drive recommended for the main PC
- Signature pad
- Wacom STU-540 required for signature capture; the older STU-530 still works but is being phased out
- ID scanner
- Any TWAIN-compatible scanner, required to scan a driver's license or other photo ID
- Barcode reader
- Optional; Honeywell Xenon XP 1950 handheld reader for AAMVA barcode data entry
Signature capture needs hardware
Desktop signs on a Wacom STU-540.
Release forms are signed at the front desk on a signature pad wired to the main PC, and Desktop cannot capture a signature without one. REV23 no longer stocks these pads, so you buy one direct from estore.wacom.com or another authorized Wacom dealer.
Desktop pricing
Desktop still the right fit?
These plans are for REV23 Desktop, the Windows application. They do not include REV23, mobile access, or online backups.
Desktop is subscription-only. Your subscription helps us keep it working with current versions of Windows and covers installation, recovery, moving licenses, and troubleshooting.
REV23 Desktop for Windows
Monthly Subscription
$99.99
per month, billed automatically
- Install on two (2) PCs
- Priority support
- Automatic recurring billing
- Add additional PC installs for $9.99 ea
REV23 Desktop for Windows
Prepaid Subscription
$1,199.88
12 months, paid in advance
- Prepay for 12-months
- Install on two (2) PCs
- Priority support
- Requires annual renewal
14-day free trial
Still considering Desktop? Try it first.
Download REV23 Desktop and use it free for 14 days before choosing a plan. See how the calendar, front desk, and local setup fit the way your studio works.
Start the free trialWindows 11 PC required.
Current release v26.1.2.1504 · March 30, 2026