How to take a deposit
A deposit is a partial payment taken when the appointment is booked, so a no-show does not cost you the whole slot. You can charge everyone, only risky customers, or only certain services.
Where to start
Business page tab, Availability settings
Open the deposits section
In Availability settings find the "Deposits" section. Everything about upfront payment lives there.
Read the terms
A terms screen is shown before you switch it on. It is worth reading: taking money up front creates obligations towards the customer.
Choose who pays
Everyone is the strongest protection and the most friction. Risky customers only, meaning people who already no-showed, is the recommended one. You can also flag a deposit on specific services in the services list.
Set the amount
Either a percentage of the price, between 5 and 100, or a fixed amount in shekels.
Add your business ID number
It is shown to the customer alongside the deposit request, so they know who they are paying.
Tips from the field
Deposits are Premium only, and the feature also has to be switched on for your business. If the deposits section is missing from your settings, that is why.
An appointment whose deposit was paid is approved automatically, even when you work in manual approval. The customer already paid.
When you mark an appointment as a no-show, the system asks what to do with the deposit. If a refund is owed, the appointment is flagged as "deposit refund needed" so you do not forget.
Start with a small deposit. Even 20 percent changes behaviour without scaring off new customers.
Common questions
To your payment provider account. Timing requests the payment and marks the appointment, but the money and any refunds are handled at the provider.
Start with the risky-customers-only policy. Regulars keep booking with no friction, and the people who already no-showed pay up front.
Related guides
Not using Timing yet?
Setting up in Timing takes a few minutes, and you can start free.