A deposit asks your customer to pay part of the price online when they book, and the rest at the appointment. You decide how much: a percentage of the booking, or a fixed amount that's the same for every booking. You also decide who pays it: every customer, or only new ones. Find out everything you need to know about deposits below, from switching them on to refunding one.
How do I connect an online payment provider?
You can only ask for a deposit once an online payment provider is connected. Until then, the online payment settings ask you to enable one first.
Go to 'Settings' → 'General' → 'Integrations' and switch on your provider.
You can use Mollie or Salonized/Treatwell Pay Online (Adyen).
How do I ask for a deposit?
Go to 'Settings' → 'Online Bookings' and open 'Online payments'.
Tick 'Enable online payments or deposits'.
Choose 'Deposit required'. It's the middle of the three options, between 'Full payment optional' and 'Full payment required'.
Enter the deposit in 'Deposit amount', and use the switch next to the field to choose a percentage or a fixed amount.
Under 'Require online payments from', choose 'All customers' or 'New customers only'.
Optionally, choose which appointments need a deposit under 'Apply to'.
Optionally, enter 'Online payment transaction costs'.
Switching on online payments switches off appointment requests, because a booking that's paid for can't wait for your approval. The page tells you when this happens, and you can undo it from that message.
Should I choose a percentage or a fixed amount?
The switch next to 'Deposit amount' gives you two ways to set the deposit:
A percentage grows with the booking: a longer or more expensive booking means a bigger deposit. You can enter anything from 1 to 100 percent. The first time you choose 'Deposit required', the field starts at 10 percent.
A fixed amount is the same for every booking, however many services your customer books. If a booking costs less than your fixed amount, your customer pays the booking price online and never more.
When you flip the switch, the number stays the same: 10 percent becomes a fixed amount of 10, and the other way around. Check the amount before you save.
Who has to pay a deposit?
Under 'Require online payments from' you choose 'All customers' or 'New customers only'. The same choice also applies when you ask for full payment instead of a deposit.
A customer counts as new when they don't have an earlier appointment with you that actually took place. An appointment marked as a no-show doesn't count, so a customer whose only past visit was a no-show pays a deposit again.
The app recognises your customer by the email address they book with. If no customer with that email address exists yet, the booking creates a new one, and that customer pays a deposit.
Can I ask for a deposit for some appointments only?
Yes, if your subscription includes it. Under 'Apply to' you choose one of three options:
'All appointments': every online booking needs a deposit.
'Appointments over a certain price': enter a 'Minimum appointment price'. The price after any discount counts.
'Appointments over a certain duration': enter a 'Minimum appointment duration' in minutes. Buffer time doesn't count.
Your customer books anything below your limit without paying a deposit.
How do I add transaction costs to the deposit?
In 'Online payment transaction costs' you can enter an amount that your customer pays on top of the deposit. It's added to the deposit whether that's a percentage or a fixed amount. Leave the field empty if you don't want to pass costs on.
Your online payment provider charges you its usual transaction fees, just as it does for any other online payment.
What does my customer see when they book?
Before paying, your customer sees a price breakdown in the order summary of the booking widget:
the total price of the booking
the deposit to pay now
the remaining amount to pay at the appointment
Once your customer has paid, the appointment is confirmed and your customer receives a receipt for the deposit by email, plus a booking confirmation if you send those.
How is the deposit calculated?
Several services: the deposit is based on the total price of the booking, not per service.
Discounts and gift cards: the deposit is based on what's left to pay after any discount or gift card. A fixed deposit is never more than that.
Transaction costs: these are added on top of the deposit.
Price changes after booking: the invoice keeps the prices from the moment your customer paid, so the remaining amount doesn't change if you update a service price later.
When does my customer book without paying a deposit?
The booking plus transaction costs is below the minimum amount your payment provider accepts. The note under 'Online payment transaction costs' tells you this minimum.
The appointment is below the price or duration you set under 'Apply to'.
You ask new customers only, and your customer has been to your salon before.
How do I check out the remaining amount?
The deposit and any transaction costs are already registered with the appointment, so at the appointment you only settle what's left:
Open the appointment in the calendar.
Click the 'Checkout' (shopping cart) button.
Click 'Continue' at the bottom right.
Select the payment method for the remaining amount.
Click 'Complete invoice'.
Which VAT rate applies to the deposit?
Until the appointment is checked out, your register treats the deposit as a booking fee. The receipt your customer gets for the deposit shows a single 'Booking fee' line, with VAT at your default VAT rate: the rate you've set with 'Use as default' under 'Settings' → 'VAT rates'. The VAT rates of the booked services don't apply to the deposit yet.
When you check out the remaining amount, the booking fee is reversed. The final receipt shows the services at their own VAT rates, with the booking fee as a negative line at the same default rate. That way the deposit comes off what your customer still owes, and the VAT for the whole appointment follows the services.
Does an appointment never get checked out, for example after a no-show? Then the booking fee isn't reversed, and the deposit stays a booking fee at your default VAT rate.
If you issue an invoice for the appointment, the booking fee is reversed as well: an invoice only shows the services, at their own VAT rates.
Where do I find deposits in my reports?
Deposits are paid online, so your reports count them with your other online payments: under 'Online' in the 'Payment methods' overview, and in the 'Online' column of the daily and monthly reports.
How do I refund a deposit?
You pay a deposit back through your payment provider: in your Mollie account, or for Salonized Pay Online through our support team. The app doesn't send money back to your customer by itself.
When you delete an appointment that has a deposit, the app asks whether you want to refund it. If you do, the app records the refund. You still pay your customer back through your provider.
The transaction costs your customer paid aren't refunded: the app leaves them out of the refund.
What happens to the deposit after a no-show, a cancellation or a new time?
No-show: marking an appointment as a no-show doesn't refund the deposit.
Cancelled online by your customer: the appointment is cancelled, and the deposit stays paid. Nothing is refunded automatically.
Rescheduled: the deposit stays with the appointment. A new time doesn't change or refund it.
Want to refund a deposit in one of these cases? Follow the steps above. Contact our support team if you have any questions.