Setting a deposit for online bookings is a clever way to reduce no-shows while ensuring both your time and your customers' commitment are valued. By requiring an upfront payment via the booking widget, you create a professional standard that protects your revenue. This article explains how to set up and manage these deposits effortlessly, from activation to the final invoice.
How do I set up online deposits?
Enabling deposits is quick and easy in Salonized. Here’s how you can activate the feature in just a few steps:
Step 1: Enable an online payment integration
To start accepting deposits for online bookings, you'll first need to set up a payment integration. This is the essential first step that allows you to personalise your deposit settings and choose how your customers pay.
Enable the integration from Settings > General > Integrations in Salonized.
You can use Mollie or Salonized Pay Online (Adyen).
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Step 2: Edit the online payment settings
To manage the online payment settings:
Navigate to Settings > Online Bookings > Online Payments.
Check the ‘Enable online payments or deposits’ box to personalise the rest of the settings.
If you want to set a deposit, select the bottom option (customers are required to pay a percentage).
Step 3: Set up the deposit
Once the integration is active, you can define the specific rules for who pays and how much. This includes targeting specific customer groups and adding fees.
Specify the percentage: Enter the percentage of the service price to be paid online (e.g., 15%) in the "percentage" field.
Note: With Salonized’s Pro subscriptions, deposits can be configured conditionally based on the appointment duration or price
Choose the target audience: Decide if this percentage must be paid in advance by all customers or only by new customers. A customer is considered new if:
There are no past appointments for this customer in the calendar, OR
There is a past appointment, but it is marked as a no-show.
This is determined based on the email address used for the online booking.
Set transaction fees (optional): choose whether you want to charge transaction fees, which are added to the deposit amount.
Example: If you set a 15% deposit with a €0.15 transaction fee for a €55.00 service, the total deposit would be calculated as follows: 15% of the service price (€8.25) + €0.15 transaction fee = €8.40.
Customer Booking Experience:
During online booking, clients see a full price breakdown in the booking widget order summary, including:
Total booking price
Deposit amount to pay now
The remaining amount to pay at the appointment
Once the deposit is completed, the appointment is scheduled, and the customer receives a confirmation and an invoice.
How are deposits calculated?
To keep things simple for both you and your customers, deposits are calculated based on the total value of the booking. Here is how it works in different scenarios:
Multiple services: If a customer books several services at once, the deposit is calculated based on the total booking price.
Discounts, gift cards, or vouchers: If you use a percentage-based deposit, the amount is calculated using the final booking price after any discounts or gift cards have been applied.
Price changes after booking: If a service price is updated after a booking has already been made, the remaining balance will still be calculated based on the original price at the time of the booking.
How are transaction fees applied?
To keep your booking process transparent, here is a quick breakdown of how transaction fees are handled for your online deposits:
How fees are applied: Any transaction fees you set are added directly to the deposit amount.
Who pays the fees: Online payment providers charge their standard transaction fees, just as they would with any other online payment.
Refunding fees: If you ever need to refund a deposit, the associated transaction fees are also refunded.
How do I handle the invoice for a deposit?
When someone schedules an online appointment and makes a payment, Salonized automatically creates an invoice. In this case, the invoice shows the total amount, any transaction fees, and the deposit amount paid.
When the customer arrives at the salon for the appointment, you can settle the remaining balance.
Click on the appointment in the calendar.
Click the ‘Checkout’ (shopping cart) button.
Click ‘Checkout’ again.
Click ‘Continue’ at the bottom-right.
Select the correct payment method.
Click ‘Complete invoice’ to conclude the checkout.
How do I track deposit payments in my reports?
To keep your accounting simple, deposit payments are grouped with your other online transactions. You can find them in Reports > Payment method > Online.
How do I handle deposit refunds?
Refunding deposits depends on the online payment provider used:
Mollie: Refunds are processed directly via the partner’s Mollie account.
Salonized Pay Online (Adyen): Refunds must be requested via Salonized Support.
What happens to the deposit in the event of a no-show or a modified booking?
No-shows: There are no automatic refunds for no-shows. For further information, contact our support team.
Cancellations or rescheduling: If an appointment is cancelled or rescheduled, the deposit remains linked to the original payment.
Rescheduling an appointment does not change or refund the deposit automatically in Salonized.