Card on file is the gentler cousin of a deposit. Your customer books without paying anything, a card is saved securely as they book, and a fee can be charged only if they don't show up or cancel too late. For most bookings nothing is ever charged; the card is simply the commitment.
Turning it on
- In Settings → Payments, connect your payout account if you haven't, then choose Card on file as your booking payment mode.
- In Settings → Booking page, the Fees section of your reschedule, cancellation and no-show policy sets what can be charged. See your cancellation policy for the rest of that card.
The fee schedule
Choose the unit first: Percent of booking or Fixed amount. Then set:
- Late cancellation. The fee for a cancellation made outside your free cancellation window. You can add up to two deeper tiers for shorter notice, for example 25% with less than 24 hours' notice, 50% with less than 12 hours, 100% with less than 6 hours (or $15, $25 and $40 as fixed amounts).
- No-show. Its own fee, for a customer who doesn't turn up.
The largest fee is the most a customer agrees to. A fixed amount is never more than the booking total. Customers see the whole schedule, in dollars for their booking, before they confirm, and again in their confirmation email.
A service can opt out of the card, carry its own fee amounts, or take a deposit instead: open it in Services and set Deposit and fees to None or Custom. A booking with several services adds their fees up; one that mixes a deposit with card on file takes the deposit and keeps the same card. See your cancellation policy.
What's locked at booking
When a customer books, the fee schedule and the maximum amount are saved with the booking. If you change your fees later, existing bookings keep the terms their customers agreed to.
Charging the fee
Nothing is ever charged automatically. Two situations allow a charge:
- A no-show, recorded after the appointment's start time has passed.
- A late cancellation, where the customer cancelled outside the free window, or cancelled after moving the booking outside that window.
When you mark a no-show or record a late cancellation, the dialog suggests the amount your policy calls for, worked out from the notice actually given: a cancellation with 9 hours' notice lands in the "less than 12 hours" tier, not the "less than 6 hours" one. You can charge that, charge less, or not charge at all. You can never charge more than the amount the customer agreed to when they booked. There's also a Charge fee button on the booking itself, so you can decide later.
This is deliberate. A regular of five years who had a car accident is not the same as a first-time booking that never arrived, and that judgement is yours.
When you do charge, the customer gets an email straight away naming the amount, the card, and the reason.
If the card is declined
You'll see it immediately, nothing is charged, and the Charge fee button stays on the booking so you can try again later.
Changed your mind after charging?
A charged fee can be refunded in full, from the booking or from your Payments screen, with the customer emailed automatically. See refunding a payment.
FAQs
Does the customer know about the fee when they book?
Yes, plainly. The booking page shows there's no charge today and lists the fee schedule in dollars for their booking before they confirm. The same lines appear in their confirmation email and on your booking terms page.
Can I charge a different amount for one particular booking?
You can charge less than the suggested amount, down to nothing. You can't charge more than the maximum the customer agreed to when they booked.
A customer moved their booking at the last minute and then cancelled the new time. Do they get the fee?
Yes, if the move was made outside your free cancellation window. A late move keeps the late status, so the later cancellation counts as late and the fee suggested is based on the notice they gave when they moved it. That holds whether they moved it themselves or phoned you: when you move a booking outside the window, the dialog asks who asked. A booking moved in good time is treated normally.
Should I use card on file or a deposit?
A deposit collects money up front and suits busy books and long appointments. Card on file keeps booking friction at zero, which suits higher-priced work where asking for payment up front feels wrong, but you still want the visit taken seriously. You can only run one mode at a time, and switching only affects new bookings.