A deposit is the simplest way to cut no-shows on your higher-value appointments: when someone has a little skin in the game, they turn up. With deposits switched on, a customer pays a small, refundable amount to confirm their slot, and the rest is settled however you like at the salon. It works the same whether they book on your booking page or chat to your assistant, and because it runs on your own Stripe account, every cent goes to you.
Booking assistant
Almost there. This one takes a small deposit to lock it in.
Turning deposits on
1. Connect Stripe
In your dashboard, open Business setup and connect your Stripe account (it's a free, quick Stripe Express sign-up if you don't have one yet). This is how the money reaches you. Every deposit is paid into your Stripe account, never ours, so there's no commission and nothing for us to pass on.
2. Set a deposit per service
On Services & pricing, set the "Deposit to confirm" dropdown on any service and choose how much to ask for: a fixed dollar amount (say $20), a percentage of the price, or full prepay. It's opt-in per service, so you can protect your colour and big appointments while leaving a quick trim deposit-free.
3. It shows up automatically
That's it. From then on, any booking for that service shows the deposit on your booking page and in the chat, and the slot is confirmed once the deposit is paid. You don't have to do anything per booking.
In the chat and on the booking page
This is the bit that's a little different to other tools. Most platforms only take a deposit on a booking form. With Suddenly Sorted, your assistant can take it right inside the conversation: when a customer books a service that needs a deposit, Sally shows a clean deposit card (the one above), they tap Pay, and the booking locks in without anyone leaving the chat. On the booking page it works the same way, as a step before the booking is confirmed.
Either way, the payment itself runs through Stripe's secure checkout. Sally never asks for or handles raw card numbers herself, so it's safe by design.
Refunds & cancellations
- Deposits are refundable. They're held against the booking, not a fee you've pocketed. Refunding one is a single tap from the booking in your Suddenly dashboard, and when a customer cancels inside your notice window the deposit is refunded automatically.
- Your policy, your call. How you treat a late cancellation or a no-show is up to you. The deposit gives you the option to keep it as agreed, or refund it as a goodwill gesture, rather than chasing money after the fact.
- The balance is still paid your way. A deposit only covers the amount you set. The rest of the bill is settled however you normally take payment at the salon.
What it costs you
From us, nothing. We take no commission and no cut of your deposits. The money goes straight from your customer to your own Stripe account. Stripe charges its standard card-processing fee on the payment (the same small percentage any card payment carries), and that's between you and Stripe. There's no marketplace fee and no per-booking charge from Suddenly Sorted.