Use a Deposit when Customers should pay part of the price before they visit. Connect Stripe first, then choose a fixed amount or a percentage and decide what happens when a Booking is cancelled.
- Open Organisation > Deposits & Payments in Setora Hub.
- Check Stripe shows as Connected.
- Turn on Require deposit.
- Choose Deposit type, then set the amount or percentage.
- Set Refund on cancellation.
- Save, then test the Booking Page.
1. Check Stripe first
Open Organisation > Deposits & Payments and check that Stripe is connected. A Deposit needs an online payment account so the Customer can pay while they book.
If Stripe is not ready, follow Connect Stripe to Setora before you turn a Deposit on.
2. Choose the amount
Turn on Require deposit. Set Deposit type to either Fixed amount (£) or Percentage (%), then enter the value.
A percentage is worked out from the Service price, so it scales with what the Customer books. A fixed amount is the same whatever they book. Pick whichever is easier to explain to a Customer at the counter.
Check before moving on: Make sure the amount is one Customers will understand before they choose a time. Do not set it to the full price unless you mean to charge in full up front.
3. Choose what happens on cancellation
Refund on cancellation controls whether the Deposit comes back automatically when a Booking is cancelled inside the free cancellation period. That period is the Cancellation notice you set in Organisation > Booking policy.
Two things are worth knowing before you decide:
- Outside the cancellation notice, the Deposit is kept whoever cancels.
- Inside it, a Customer who cancels through the link in their confirmation gets the Deposit back. When your team cancels in Hub, the Deposit only comes back if Refund on cancellation is on.
Make sure this matches the cancellation wording you give Customers, in the shop and in your messages.
4. Set a different Deposit for one Service or Location
The policy above covers the whole business. You can vary it in two places when you need to:
- One Service: open it in Organisation > Services and set a Deposit override. Useful for a long colour appointment that needs more up front.
- One Location: open the Location's Booking tab and use the Deposits section there.
Keep overrides to a minimum. Every extra rule is one more thing to explain when a Customer queries their bill.
5. Test the Booking Page
Open the Booking Page as a Customer, choose a Service and time, and check the Deposit amount and payment step are clear before you finish the test.
Do not use a real Customer's details for a test. Afterwards, open the Booking in Hub and check the payment status is what you expected.
What happens next
The Customer pays the Deposit as part of booking online. The Booking is held while the payment completes, and it is confirmed once Stripe reports the payment succeeded. If the payment is never completed, the held time is released.
At the visit, the Deposit is taken off what is left to pay at Checkout. If you also use Booking Protection, a Deposit you have kept can count towards a late-cancellation or no-show fee, so the Customer is not charged twice for the same missed appointment.
Staff-created Bookings do not collect a Deposit. If a Customer needs to pay one, send them the Booking Page link instead.
If the Deposit does not appear
- Check Stripe is connected and verification is complete.
- Check Require deposit is on.
- Check no Deposit override on the Service is setting something different.
- Check the Location's Booking tab is not overriding the policy.
- Check the Service is available for online booking.
- Check the policy actually saved, rather than being left unsaved on screen.
If a Customer sees the wrong amount or payment state, open the chat and tell us the Location, Service, Deposit type, amount and the date you tested. Do not send card details.