What is Deposit Booking?
Deposit Booking lets a guest secure an appointment by paying part of the total price upfront instead of paying the full amount at once.
You can choose whether the deposit is calculated as a percentage or a fixed amount, and whether the remaining balance should be collected before or after the appointment.
Once the deposit payment clears, the booking is confirmed. The remaining balance is tracked as an outstanding due amount that you can follow up with a payment reminder or record manually as paid.
Deposit Booking is configured separately for each calendar from the Pricing tab.
Why Do You Need It?
- Reduce booking hesitation: Guests can reserve an expensive service without paying the entire amount upfront.
- Reduce no-shows: Requiring a deposit gives guests a financial commitment to the appointment.
- Support high-value services: Deposits are useful for long sessions, shoots, full-day appointments, or services that require materials in advance.
- Track outstanding payments: Every booking clearly shows the Total, Paid, and Due amounts.
Step-by-Step Instructions
Step 1: Connect a Payment Gateway First
Go to Dashboard → Integrations and connect one of the supported payment methods:
- Stripe
- PayPal
- bKash
- On-site payment
If your calendar has a price but no payment gateway is connected, the Pricing tab displays a warning directing you to the Integrations page.
Step 2: Open the Calendar’s Pricing Tab
Go to Dashboard → Manage Calendars, open the calendar you want to configure, and select Pricing.
On One-to-One calendars, this section is called Set Pricing.
Step 3: Set the Price
Enter the regular Price and, if needed, a Discount Price.
If the calendar uses Consultation Types, the price comes from the selected consultation type instead. In that case, the standard price fields are replaced by a notice explaining that pricing is controlled by Consultation Type.
Step 4: Enable Deposit Booking
Find the Deposit Booking card on the Pricing tab and switch it on.
If your current plan does not include Deposit Booking, the card displays a lock and an upgrade prompt instead.
Step 5: Choose the Deposit Type and Value
| Deposit Type | How It Works |
|---|---|
| Percentage | The guest pays a percentage of the amount owed. The default is 30%. |
| Fixed Amount | The guest pays an exact amount in the calendar’s selected currency. |
Step 6: Choose When the Remaining Payment Is Collected
Choose one of the following collection options:
| Option | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Before Event | The remaining balance is expected before the appointment starts. |
| After Event | The remaining balance is expected after the appointment ends. |
This setting controls when the automatic balance reminder email is sent. It does not prevent or cancel the booking if the balance remains unpaid.
Changes on this tab are saved as you make them, so there is no separate Save button.
Key Functionality
How the Deposit Is Calculated
At booking time, the total price is calculated first. Any coupon discount is then deducted before the deposit rule is applied to the remaining amount.
| Deposit Type | Calculation |
|---|---|
| Percentage | Payable now = remaining amount × percentage / 100 |
| Fixed Amount | Payable now = fixed deposit amount |
The deposit cannot exceed the remaining balance. If a fixed deposit is greater than the amount owed, the guest simply pays the full remaining amount.
If the deposit calculation results in zero or less, the guest is charged the full remaining amount instead. Payment figures are rounded to two decimal places.
What the Guest Sees at Checkout
The payment page displays a clear cost breakdown containing:
- Payable Amount
- Discount
- Pay now — the deposit amount
- Remaining due — the unpaid balance
The guest pays only the Pay now amount during checkout.
When On-site payment is selected, the same deposit amount is shown as the amount the guest needs to bring.
The Booking Is Confirmed After the Deposit
Once the deposit clears, the appointment is confirmed and calendar invitations are sent.
The payment record becomes partially paid, while the outstanding balance is stored as the booking’s due amount.
Automatic Balance Reminder
When a deposit booking is confirmed, a balance payment reminder is scheduled automatically.
| Collection Setting | Reminder Timing |
|---|---|
| Before Event | 24 hours before the appointment starts |
| After Event | 24 hours after the appointment ends |
The 24-hour timing is controlled by the system-wide deposit_payment_reminder_hours setting and cannot be changed separately for each calendar.
If the calculated reminder time is already in the past, the reminder is sent immediately.
For a Before Event booking, if a last-minute booking means the reminder window would fall after the appointment has already started, the automatic reminder is skipped.
Collecting the Remaining Balance
There are two ways to manage the outstanding balance.
Send a Payment Reminder Manually
Go to Manage Bookings and open the row action menu. Select Send payment reminder.
This action only appears for bookings that are confirmed and partially paid.
Mark the Balance as Paid
Open the booking and find the Payment panel. A Mark as Paid button appears when the booking has an outstanding balance and its payment is pending or partially paid.
You can record the entire outstanding amount or a partial payment. You can also add a note, such as Paid in cash on arrival.
Each recorded payment appears in the Payment History list.
What You See on the Booking
The booking detail page includes a Payment panel showing:
- Total Amount
- Paid
- Due
- Discount
- Coupon code, when one was used
- Payment status
Below the panel, Payment History lists every transaction recorded against the booking, including its gateway, timestamp, amount, and status.
Example Deposit Calculation
Suppose a session costs $100 and the guest applies a 50% coupon. The amount remaining after the discount is $50.
With a 30% deposit:
- Original price: $100
- After 50% discount: $50
- Deposit due now: $15
- Remaining balance: $35
This is because coupons are applied before the deposit is calculated.
Prerequisites
- A plan that includes Deposit Booking.
- A connected payment gateway such as Stripe, PayPal, bKash, or On-site payment.
- A calendar with a price greater than zero, or Consultation Types with prices.
- Permission to update calendars.
Important Behavior
- Deposit settings are applied when the booking is created and stored with that booking.
- Changing the calendar’s deposit settings later does not change existing bookings.
- Coupons are applied before the deposit is calculated.
- The Before Event and After Event setting controls reminder timing only.
- An unpaid remaining balance does not automatically cancel the booking.
- There is no automatic requirement that the remaining balance must be paid before the guest attends.
- The server only allows manual payment reminders for confirmed bookings with partially paid status.
- Mark as Paid records an offline payment. It does not charge a saved card or payment method.
- The remaining balance is collected manually or outside the original automatic payment flow.
- Free bookings do not use Deposit Booking.
- If the final total after discounts is zero, no payment record is created and the deposit settings are not used.
Notes
If you require the remaining balance to be paid before the appointment, make that requirement clear in your booking confirmation or other customer communication. The Deposit Booking feature itself does not prevent a guest from attending with an outstanding balance.
Deposit Booking provides a record of the total amount, amount already paid, and amount still due, making it easier to track outstanding payments for each appointment.