FAQ
Can I force clients to prepay for services?
Posted by on 25 October 2011 11:07 AM

Yes, a mandatory prepayment can be forced on a per client basis by editing the client’s Booking Settings in their profile. Set a prepayment percentage to force the client to pay before confirming a booking for any service.

IMPORTANT! In order to be able to process online payments and enable prepayment features, the business must have a Stripe account connected in Finance > Settings > Payment Processing.

When a client books a forced prepay service, the system will allow 20 minutes for the payment to be processed. If payment is not reconciled within the allotted time, the appointment will not be confirmed and an auto cancellation email will be sent to the client advising them that the appointment booking was not confirmed due to the incomplete payment.

If you already force a prepayment on the Service directly, the amount you set in the client Booking Settings Forced Prepayment will override the Service prepayment value. Leaving the Forced Prepayment Client field blank to use the Prepayment set for each service. 

Notes

  1. The prepayment is only enforced on the client booking calendar. When you book from the admin calendar you will need to manually apply a payment or email an invoice to the client to pay online. 
  2. All Service Providers or Stand-Alone Resources who perform the prepay services must be set to “Automatically Accept” appointments to allow for prepayments. Appointments that need to be manually approved can't be prepaid since a rejected appointment would then need to be refunded, adding complexity and transactions costs to your business. The Service Provider Booking Settings are set in each Service Provider or Stand-Alone Resource’s profile page.

  1. Avoid using 100% prepayments for a taxable service if these 2 points apply to your setup. These conditions could cause the total appointment fee to fluctuate based on which Service Provider is ultimately assigned, causing an over or under payment.
    • have set the Service to Booking Options 2 or 3 (To Be Assigned), see the Services > Booking Options section, and
    • have Tax Exempt Service Providers/Resources assigned to this Service.