Hold a card and no-show fees
Secure a free or low-cost reservation by keeping the customer's card on file at checkout, then charge a no-show fee from the booking if they don't turn up. Prepayment isn't required — the card is only ever charged when you choose to.
Hold a card and no-show fees
For free reservations — or any booking where you'd rather not charge up front — you can ask the customer to keep a card on file so the table is genuinely secured. It's the restaurant-style "no prepayment required, but we hold a card." If the guest doesn't show, you charge a no-show fee from the booking. Nothing is charged automatically: the card is only ever used when you decide to use it.
This protects you from the cost of empty tables and last-minute drop-offs without asking honest customers to pay before they've been served.
Holding a card and charging a no-show fee both rely on your connected Stripe account — the same one that takes your regular payments. Set up payouts first in Settings → Payments, then test the whole flow on a real card before a busy service so there are no surprises.
Turn it on
Open the appointment or reservation product in Products and find the Hold & no-show settings in the editor:
- Tick "Retain a card to secure the reservation" to keep a card on file at checkout.
- Set a Deposit at booking (optional) to charge a fixed amount up front. Leave it at 0 to charge nothing now — a deposit turns an otherwise-free reservation into a paid checkout.
- Set a No-show fee — the amount you may charge later if the guest doesn't turn up. Leave it at 0 for "card on file, but I won't charge."
- Save.
The deposit, your cancellation policy (cutoff and refund), and the no-show fee are all shown to the customer at checkout and on their confirmation, so the terms are clear and agreed before they book.
Deposits
A deposit is charged at checkout like any other payment. It appears as a Deposit line on the order and refunds along with the booking if you refund it. Use a deposit to:
- Secure a free reservation with a small amount up front, or
- Take partial prepayment on a higher-value booking.
When you take a deposit on a booking that also retains a card, the same card stays on file for a possible no-show charge — you get both protections at once.
What the customer sees
A free booking that retains a card sends the customer to a short card step at checkout instead of confirming for free. Their card is saved, not charged — they're told plainly that "prepayment isn't required, but a card is retained to secure your reservation," along with the exact no-show fee they're agreeing to. There are no hidden charges.
Charging a no-show
When a guest doesn't turn up:
Charging the card is always a deliberate action you take per booking — it never happens on its own. A booking can only be charged a no-show fee once, and a booking that's already been refunded or cancelled can't be charged.
Pair the no-show fee with a cancellation cutoff. If a customer cancels before the cutoff, they free the table and you don't charge anything; miss the cutoff and don't show, and the no-show fee is there to cover you. The two settings work best as a single, clearly-stated policy.