How do deposits work for appointments?
Short answerA deposit is a partial payment taken when the appointment is made. It holds the slot, is credited toward the final bill, and may be forfeited or refunded under the policy you set. Deposits cut no-shows most for long or costly jobs. Set the amount and the rules in writing first.
The explanation
The customer pays a portion upfront by card or link. The payment is tied to the appointment. If the visit happens, the deposit is applied to the invoice. If the customer cancels inside the stated window, your policy decides whether it is kept or returned.
Use deposits where a missed visit costs you real money: long jobs, special-order materials, or high-demand slots. For a quick low-cost visit, a deposit may add friction that loses the booking. Many owners use a card on file rather than a deposit for repeat customers.
Be clear on three points: the amount, the cancellation window and what happens in each case. Show them at booking and in the confirmation message. If you take card payments, the payment processor sets its own fees, and your accountant should advise how to record the money.
Steps
- Decide which services need a deposit.
- Set the amount and cancellation window.
- Show the terms on the booking page and confirmation.
- Apply the deposit to the final invoice.
- Refund or keep it as the policy says.
What to watch for
- Refund terms the customer never saw.
- Deposits on quick visits that deter booking.
How Apex does it
In progress
Part of this is built. The rest is not. Status as of 2026-10-07; the badge shows the least-built feature involved.
Apex is designed to take deposits or a card on file at booking, apply a cancellation policy with no-show fees and hold deposits against a job. These are partly built or demo screens and not yet saving live data.
- BK22Deposits / prepayment at booking(In progress)
- BK23Cancellation policy and no-show fees(In progress)
- BK34Require card on file to book(In progress)
- IN26Deposits held against job(Rolling out)
Apex Flow Scheduler is in early access. See how we label status.
Where this question comes from: owners type it, or a close variant, into search boxes. It was returned by public search suggestions (Google, Bing or DuckDuckGo) when we collected them on 2026-10-06. We do not have search volumes.