Booking Protection asks Customers to save a card when they book online, so you can charge a fee if they cancel late or do not turn up. Nothing is taken at the time of booking. It is separate from a Deposit.
- Connect and verify Stripe.
- Open Organisation > Deposits & Payments in Setora Hub.
- Turn on Enable Booking Protection.
- Set the Late cancellation fee and No-show fee percentages.
- Check the Cancellation notice in Organisation > Booking policy.
- Test the Booking Page and read what the Customer sees.
1. Connect Stripe
Booking Protection needs a connected Stripe account, because Stripe stores the card. Follow Connect Stripe to Setora if the status is not Connected.
2. Turn on Booking Protection
Open Organisation > Deposits & Payments and find the Booking Protection section. Turn on Enable Booking Protection.
Set the Late cancellation fee and the No-show fee. Both are a percentage of the Booking's Service total, and neither can end up charging more than that total. A 50% no-show fee on a £30 cut is £15.
Check before moving on: Make sure both percentages are deliberate. To stop charging for one of them, turn Booking Protection off rather than leaving an old percentage in place.
3. Set the cancellation notice
A late-cancellation fee only applies when a Customer cancels later than your Cancellation notice, which you set in Organisation > Booking policy. Inside that notice, cancelling is free.
Get this number right before you turn fees on. It is the line between a free cancellation and a charge, and it is the thing Customers will argue about.
4. Explain the policy to Customers
Tell Customers what counts as a late cancellation, what counts as a no-show, and how much each can cost. Use the same wording in the shop, in your messages and on your Booking Page.
Booking Protection is not a Deposit. A Deposit is money paid before the visit. Booking Protection saves a card and charges only if a fee becomes due.
5. Test the protected Booking flow
Open the Booking Page as a Customer and book a Service that uses the policy. Customers have to agree to the policy before the Booking is taken, and card details are entered on Stripe's own secure page rather than in Setora.
The Booking is held while the card is saved, and confirmed once Stripe reports success. Do not treat coming back to the page as proof the card saved. Check the Booking in Hub.
What happens next
When a protected Booking is cancelled late or marked as a no-show, your team sees the fee before confirming, and can charge or waive it if they have permission to waive. One of four things then happens:
- Charged. The saved card was charged successfully.
- Covered by the Deposit. A Deposit you kept covered the fee, so no card charge was needed. If the Deposit only covers part of it, the card is charged for the difference.
- Waived. Someone on your team chose not to charge.
- Failed. The charge could not be taken, for example because the card was declined or Stripe is no longer connected.
A failed charge does not undo the cancellation or the no-show. The Booking still changes, and the failed fee is recorded so you can follow it up your own way.
A late-cancellation fee can still be applied after the appointment start time has passed. That lets your team cancel someone who called at the last minute without having to record them as a no-show.
Booking Protection is skipped on Bookings your team creates in Hub. It applies to online Bookings made through the Booking Page.
If you also turn on Charge saved card at checkout, your team can use the same saved card to take payment at the visit. Only enable that if your Customers have agreed to it, because the card was saved to cover fees rather than to pay for the appointment.
To cancel or change a Booking, see Create and manage a Booking.
If Booking Protection is not working as expected
- Check Stripe is connected and verification is complete.
- Check Enable Booking Protection is on and both percentages are set.
- Check the Cancellation notice in Organisation > Booking policy matches what you tell Customers.
- Check the Booking was made online rather than added by your team.
- Check the Booking detail rather than the Calendar label, which does not show the fee outcome.
- Check whether a Deposit already covered the fee.
If the consent or the fee outcome is not what you expect, open the chat and tell us the Location, Service, policy setting and Booking status. Do not send card details, Stripe IDs or secret keys.