Setting prices
The Deposit That Makes a Booking Stick
By the end you'll have the deposit amount, the refund window, the exact message to send, and the reminder that covers what the deposit alone won't.
Someone books a table for nine, a car inspection Thursday at eleven, or forty minutes on your calendar for a consultation. You block that slot: you don't take anyone else for that hour. The day comes and they don't show. No call, no cancellation. They just aren't there.
That slot is gone. It's not just the missed appointment: it's the stock you prepped, the table you held, the hour you turned another customer away from, a customer who would have actually shown up.
You can't control someone changing their plans. You can control whether, if they do, you find out too late and with nothing to show for the lost slot.
A deposit isn't distrust, it's a commitment
Asking for payment before confirming an appointment sounds like you don't trust the customer. It's the opposite: it's what turns a "I'll try to make it" into a decision that's already been made. Someone who pays ten dollars upfront has already chosen to come; someone who just says "sure, I'll be there" over text hasn't committed to anything yet.
A deposit doesn't replace trust, it builds it from the first minute: the customer sees the appointment is being taken seriously on both sides, not just theirs.
How much to ask for, based on what the slot costs you
The amount doesn't come from some general chart: it comes from what you lose if the slot stays empty. The more you prep for that appointment, stock bought, time blocked off, materials set aside, the higher the upfront amount should be.
The rule is simple: if the slot is filled with nothing but your time, 15% is enough to make the booking matter. If you're also buying, prepping, or reserving something you can't use for another customer, raise the deposit to cover that.
What gets refunded, and when
- Stays with you whether they cancel or not
- Easy to explain in one sentence
- Also stops someone who cancels for a good reason and gives notice
- Refunded if they cancel with 24-48 hours' notice
- The customer books without fear of losing money over a real emergency
- Requires setting a fixed window and sticking to it every time, no case-by-case exceptions
Which one to choose: For most appointments and reservations, go with refundable-with-a-window: the customer books more comfortably and you're still covered if they cancel late. Save non-refundable for things you've already bought or prepped specifically for them, a custom order, a setup, materials you can't reuse with another customer.
How to set it up, without overcomplicating it
The deposit request goes in the same message where you confirm the appointment, not before you know there's an opening and not days later. The payment link, the date, the time, and the policy line all go together, in that first message.
An automatic reminder the day before cuts down on empty slots more than any deposit on its own: it brings back whoever forgot, and it gives whoever's about to cancel time to give notice and get their money back within the window. The deposit covers what the reminder can't: the person who decides not to come and doesn't say anything.
In Yodai your clients request a time on your site and you confirm it from your dashboard. See how online booking for your business works.
- A deposit amount set by what you lose if the slot stays empty
- A refund policy with a fixed window, written in one sentence
- The message that asks for the deposit, with the link and the policy together
- An automatic reminder the day before, for what the deposit alone won't fix
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