Booksmith › Features › Deposits
Feature: deposits at booking
Not a request, not an invoice, not an awkward phone call: a card deposit paid in the same minute as choosing the time, through your own Stripe account, with your policy shown on screen. Set the amount per service, so the two-hour appointment is protected and the quick one stays frictionless.
When booking costs nothing, some bookings mean nothing. A modest deposit changes who books and how seriously; the people who never intended to come stop booking, and the ones who do come treat the time as theirs. Businesses that switch deposits on for their worst services typically watch no-shows collapse within a fortnight.
How it works in Booksmith
Put £20 on a two-hour appointment and nothing on a fifteen-minute one. Different amounts per service, changed any time from your admin.
After picking a time they're taken to a secure Stripe checkout for the deposit. The slot is held provisionally for 35 minutes; unpaid holds release automatically and the waitlist is told.
Funds settle to your own Stripe account. Your cancellation window is enforced by the system, so the policy applies the same to everyone, without a conversation.
Who leans on this most
Deposits are non-negotiable in the trade; here they're automatic.
Tattoo studios →Colour, lashes and Saturday afternoons stop being gambles.
Beauty salons →Deposits on skin fades and late Saturdays; dry cuts stay free to book.
Barbershops →The date isn't held until the deposit clears, and the system says so.
Photographers →Questions we get
If your cancellation window and deposit terms were shown at booking and the amount reasonably reflects the reserved time, yes. We show the policy on the booking screen for exactly that reason. Our UK deposits guide covers fair amounts and wording.
No. Payments run through your own Stripe account; Stripe's standard card fees apply and Booksmith adds nothing. There is no commission on anything, ever.
Yes. Deposits are set per service, so many businesses run a deposit-free service for regulars alongside a deposit-backed one for new clients, or simply book regulars from the admin.
The slot is held for 35 minutes. If the deposit isn't paid the hold releases automatically, the time reopens, and anyone on the waitlist for that slot is messaged.