Deposits and no-show fees: protecting the time you book

What an empty chair costs

A walk-in who leaves costs you a few minutes of a line. A booked client who never comes costs a slot nobody else could take, and a long service makes it worse: one missed color can be most of an afternoon.

Put your own numbers in the calculator below: how many bookings you take a week, how many are missed, the average ticket, and how often a walk-in fills the gap. The lower no-show rate with protection is your estimate. Nobody can promise a number, so try a cautious one.

Four levels of protection compared

Choose the lightest level that solves your problem. Each step up adds friction at booking, and each one needs a plain rule that staff and clients both understand. For the wording of the rule itself, see our no-show policy template.

Choosing the amount and the cutoff

A deposit works when it is large enough to matter and small enough to feel fair. The number that counts is the one your clients accept without abandoning the booking page, so start modest and adjust.

The cutoff is the last moment a client can cancel for a full refund. Twenty-four hours is a common choice. Longer notice suits long services that are hard to refill; shorter suits quick cuts where a walk-in can take the slot.

Keep three things fixed in writing: the amount, the cutoff and what happens to a reschedule. A friendly rule that clients tend to accept is that moving before the cutoff is free and the cutoff moves with the booking.

Refill the slot as well

Protection recovers money; it does not fill the chair. When a client cancels in time, the freed time should go to someone in your line the same hour. See how to fill cancelled appointment times.

It also helps to know who misses. A client’s record can show a history of reliable visits or repeat misses, and a report can rank who misses most, so the desk can decide who to ask for a card or deposit.

How NextUp Walk-in handles deposits and fees

No-show protection is part of Pro. The 14-day free trial includes every Pro feature. Payment is on Stripe Checkout, on your own Stripe account.

At booking. For each location, you choose to require a card on file or a deposit. A booking holds its slot for 30 minutes while the client pays, then releases it, and the client is emailed. Online booking can also be set to ask first: a request waits for you to confirm, and nothing is charged for one you decline.

Cancel in time. The deposit goes back to the client’s card by itself if they cancel before your cutoff (from 0 to 168 hours, 24 by default). A booking keeps the cutoff it was made with, and moving the booking moves the cutoff with it. Cancel late or do not come, and the business keeps the deposit.

At the visit. A deposit that was paid comes off the visit’s bill.

The no-show fee. It is never automatic. Staff charge it from the appointment, to the card saved at booking, and never for more than the amount the client was shown when they booked.

If a deposit arrives late. If the time is still free the booking is confirmed again. Otherwise the deposit is refunded.

Fees. Deposits and fees are card payments on your own Stripe account. NextUp Walk-in’s card fee is 0.5% of card payments, never on tips, at most $1 a payment, on top of Stripe’s processing fee. Reminder emails go to clients who ask for them when they book.

When a client pushes back

Most pushback is about being surprised, so the best defense is that the rule was shown at booking and the amount is on the record. The fee and deposit amounts are kept with each booking as the client saw them, so a later change to your settings does not change what they agreed to.

Decide in advance when you will waive a fee, such as a first miss or a real emergency, and apply it evenly. A waived fee costs less than an argument, and a client who stays is worth more than the fee.

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