Accepting deposits on Square Appointments

[gbarachko7]

I would like to have the ability to charge a deposit for online bookings through Square Appointments.  Lately, a good portion of clients do not show up for their appointments. I believe this would decrease the amount of no shows. Either that, or generate some small portion of income from deposits to offset payroll costs.

[kkautodetailing]

SQUARE: NO-SHOW PROTECTION ONLY WORKS FOR ONLINE BOOKINGS BUT CUSTOMERS STILL CALL TO CANCEL AFTER THE CANCELLATION PERIOD. THE SYSTEM DOES NOT CHARGE THE CUSTOMER WHEN WE DO THE CANCELLATION FROM OUR END. THIS DOESN'T ADDRESS THE NO-SHOWS FOR APPOINTMENTS BOOKED VIA PHONE. WE NEED A WAY TO TAKE NON REFUNDABLE DEPOSITS FOR APPOINTMENTS AHEAD OF TIME FROM BOTH ONLINE AND OVER THE PHONE APPOINTMENTS.

[Skincityspa]

It would be great to be able to accept deposits for appointments that are booked online.

Now the choices we have is for them to prepay the full amount ( tends to deter people from booking, and if you have to refund because they've changed their mind, I'm losing time and money for the square fees)  and the other option is to capture credit card information for no shows. 

The problem I am noticing is that when people book online using a visa debit, they dont have money on the card and so when they NO SHOW I am not able to collect the no show fee. So for this reason, collecting a deposit would be upfront and deters people from wanting to cancel last minute.

[nikkidominiquee]

Making a NEW thread because it is so ridiculous Square haven't incorporated functionality for payment of a DEPOSIT for services.

I am a Cosmetic Nurse, I offer treatments for anywhere from $200 to $1500 a session. My average treatment cost is $800

I'm not asking my clients to pay $800 before the fact - no one would book with me!

There is a temporary work around in that I can set the price as the deposit amount and put the real treatment cost in the price description, but this is super clunky and looks very untidy.

Just hurry up and create a deposit feature. And make sure you allow us to offset the 2.2% service charge for prepayment, why should we incur this cost!?

[Callie16]

We are a hair salon that uses booking deposits, too! It's clunky because when a client pays an invoice, it makes it seem like they're not a new client anymore because they paid that deposit well before their appointment. Yet they ARE a new client and need to receive a new client email after their first appointment. But the invoice they paid makes them seem like a returning client. PLEASE FIX THIS. We need a deposit feature linked to the specific appointment!

[nikkidominiquee]

@Callie16 I have a temporary work around for taking deposits at the time of booking without creating an invoice - feel free to email me at [email protected] if you want to know how to set it up  :)xx

[Vanilla]

Hi Square Appointments Team,

I'd love to suggest adding the ability to collect either a percentage or a fixed dollar amount as a deposit for online bookings. Currently, prepayment has to be manually adjusted to reflect the desired deposit, and the remaining balance has to be calculated and charged in person. While there's a workaround by adjusting the display price versus the actual price charged, this has caused confusion for some of my customers who thought they had paid in full when only half was collected online.

Having a built-in deposit option would make online booking clearer and more efficient for both businesses and clients. I'd love to see this feature added!

Thanks for considering this update.

[Doran]

This would be so helpful.  I want to add that the ability to toggle it from ALL books or just NEW bookings would be helpful.  I take deposits from first-time clients.  

[Vanilla]

That would be a great feature too! Most of my existing clients like to pay in full upfront, but new clients can be a little more sceptical about paying in full upfront & prefer to just leave a deposit.

[Vanilla]

Great news! Thank you so much!

Other sellers: Please like if you'd like to collect either a percentage or a fixed dollar amount as a deposit for online bookings!!

[Vanilla]

@Doran @ShineOn @FeelPretty 

Hello everyone, I kindly ask for your support. If you agree with the proposed features to be added to Square, please give this post a thumbs up and tag as many people as you can. As I am new to this community, building traction is essential to help push for these changes. Your assistance is greatly appreciated.