How to handle a deposit for online bookings
The tool doesn’t collect deposits, but a pending booking holds the time until your payment arrives.
Payments & firm bookings
4appointments doesn’t collect a deposit at booking, because online payment isn’t available in the current plans. If you want to ask for one, you can still do it yourself, using the fact that every request is pending until you confirm it.
A client sends a request on your booking page. No payment is asked for and the request is saved as pending. The requested time is held, so nobody else can book it while you wait.
Contact the client by phone or message and say how much the deposit is and how to pay it, for example by bank transfer or another way you already use. Put the amount, the deadline and what happens if the client cancels in that message.
When the payment has reached you, open the bookings list and confirm the booking. The tool doesn’t record the deposit, so keep your own note of what was paid, and let the client know, because confirming sends them nothing.
Set a deadline that suits the system. A pending request that isn’t confirmed or rejected is cancelled automatically about an hour after the end of the requested time, so decide before then. If the client cancels with their management link, what happens to the deposit is between you and them; the tool has no refund function for this.
Key points
- ✓4appointments doesn’t collect deposits online
- ✓A pending booking holds the time while you wait for payment
- ✓You confirm the booking yourself once the money has arrived
Common questions
Can I set different deposits for different services?+
Not in the tool. You can decide your own deposit for each service and tell each client when you contact them.
Can I exempt returning clients from paying a deposit?+
Yes, because you decide case by case: just confirm their request without asking for a payment. The system makes no distinction between clients.
More guides to read
Struggling with no-shows?
Hold each request as pending, agree the deposit with the client and confirm once it’s arrived. Try 4appointments free for 12 months, no card needed.
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