How to take deposits and payments at the salon

A deposit holds a client’s appointment: they pay part of the price when they book online, and the rest at the visit. Salon Booking OS by OsDot™ takes deposits, and the shop’s online payments, through Stripe, PayPal or Razorpay — your own account with them — and records every order under Payments.

Video tutorial #

How to take deposits and payments in Salon Booking OS by OsDot™ 1.0.0

Watch on YouTube

Deposits are paid online only. A client pays a deposit when they book on your website; a deposit is never taken in person. Appointments booked at the desk or by phone carry no deposit (see At the desk below).

One currency #

Your site has one currency, chosen when you installed it (US dollars unless you chose another). You can change it under System → Website settings → Currency. Before you save, the page warns you if no payment gateway you use accepts the new currency, and which services still carry prices in the old one (Salon → Services → Re-price).

Prices on your website are shown like “$40” or “$55.50”, and in your e-mails with their cents, like “$40.00”.

Setting up a payment gateway #

You need an account with at least one of Stripe, PayPal or Razorpay (Razorpay needs a business registered in India). Each has its own page under System, for the owner only:

1. Enter the details, tick Enable … and choose Save settings.
2. Choose Validate saved configuration. It checks the keys, and tells you, for example, when Stripe does not accept your currency for your account’s country.
3. In your provider’s dashboard, add the webhook address so the provider can tell your site about payments. The address is your site’s address followed by /payments/webhooks/stripe, /payments/webhooks/paypal or /payments/webhooks/razorpay.

Start in Test mode and make a test booking with your provider’s test card. While a gateway is in test mode, the payment page says “Test payments: no real money is taken.” Switch to Live when the test works.

A gateway is offered to a client only when it accepts your site’s currency. With several gateways, System → Payment options sets their order. The same gateways take the shop’s online payments.

Deposits on a service #

Each service has a Deposit under Salon → Services:

• None — nothing is paid when booking.
• Fixed — a set amount, for example $20.
• Percent — a share of the price, for example 25 %.
• Full — the whole price.

A service’s options can follow the service (As the service) or have their own deposit. When a client books several services, the deposits add up, never beyond the total. For a “from” price, the deposit is worked out on the listed price.

For home visits, System → Payment options → The deposit of a home visit decides whether the travel fee is paid up front too, or whether the deposit is a percentage of the whole visit.

Leave the deposit at None until your salon takes bookings online (Front desk → Online booking, see Booking online) with a gateway set up. Until then a deposit set on a service only shows as due on the appointment, and nobody can pay it.

What the client sees #

On the review step a client sees the Deposit and what is Left to pay at your visit, and chooses how to pay. Hold the time and pay the deposit holds the time — 10 minutes on a new site — and takes them to the provider’s secure payment page. Nothing is charged until they complete the payment there.

• Paid in time: “You are booked”. The confirmation e-mail says what was paid and what is left, for example “Deposit paid: $20.00. Left to pay at your visit: $45.00.” A receipt e-mail follows (“Your payment to …”), saying it was the deposit for which appointment.
• Not paid in time: the time is released for other clients. A deposit that arrives too late is refunded in full automatically, unless the time is still free — then the appointment is booked after all.
• No gateway set up: a service with a deposit cannot be booked online. The client is asked to call you.

Services without a deposit say “Nothing to pay now. You pay at the salon.”

Paying at the salon #

The rest of the price — or the whole price of a service without a deposit — is paid at the visit, as you always do. Salon Booking OS by OsDot™ does not need to know about it.

If you want online orders to offer Pay at the salon as a way to pay what is left, turn on System → Payment options → Pay at the salon (visits without a required deposit). Write what clients are told about it under What a client is told about paying at the salon. A required deposit is never offered in person.

Shop orders: paying when collecting or on delivery #

A shop order is paid online through your gateways, or in person where you allow it:

• Pay when you collect — for an order the client collects at the salon. Turn on System → Payment options → Pay at pickup (pickup orders), and write what clients are told under What a client is told about paying at pickup. Clients see the choice as Pay when you collect.
• Pay on delivery — offered only in a local delivery zone where you allow it (Shop → Delivery). What clients are told about it is written under What a client is told about paying on delivery (offered only in the delivery zones that allow it) in System → Payment options.

The client chooses on the order’s payment page, under Or pay in person. They can still pay online afterwards. The money is recorded when you hand the order over (see The shop).

Recording a payment taken in person #

When a client pays what is left of an order in person — the rest of a booking with a deposit, or a shop order to pay when collecting or on delivery — you can record it:

1. Open Payments → Orders and the order.
2. Under Record a payment taken in person, check How: Pay at the salon, Pay when you collect or Pay on delivery (the order’s own way is chosen for you). Add a reference or a note if you like.
3. Choose Record … (the button shows the amount due).

The owner and the manager / front desk may record payments. Nobody records a payment for their own order.

Cancellations and refunds #

What happens to a deposit when an appointment is cancelled depends on who cancels and when:

When your team cancels an appointment they choose who cancels, and the page shows the outcome before they confirm. A manager can Waive the forfeiture and refund a kept deposit; this is recorded in the audit log.

A deposit’s refund is made by hand. A cancellation marks the appointment Refund to make; the money goes back when the owner refunds it:

1. Open Payments → Orders and the order.
2. Under Refund, leave Amount empty to refund everything still refundable, or enter a smaller amount.
3. Enter a short Reason, choose whether to keep or undo the order, and choose Refund.

The refund goes back through the provider, and the client gets an e-mail (“Your refund from …”). It can take a few days to show on their statement. A payment you recorded as taken in person is refunded by you in person; recording the refund just notes it.

Shop orders. Cancelling a paid shop order refunds it in full, and a returned item is refunded from Shop → Returns (see The shop). Both are refunds, so both need Refund payments. Every refund shows on the order under Payments → Orders.

Only the owner refunds, unless you give Refund payments to another role (People → Roles and permissions).

At the desk #

Appointments booked at the desk, by phone or as walk-ins carry no order and no deposit. Their price is paid at the visit. A service with a deposit booked at the desk shows Deposit due on the appointment; nobody can pay it, which is why services keep None while you take no bookings online.

The Payments pages #

Payments holds:

• Orders — every order with its payments and refunds: an online booking with a deposit (the For column shows “Booking” and its reference) and every shop order (“Shop order”). Search by number, name or e-mail, or choose a State. An order’s page shows the buyer, its lines, the deposit and the balance, each payment with the provider’s reference, refunds and its history.
• Reconciliation — payments a provider has not confirmed yet, refunds on their way, and anything that needs a person. A scheduled task checks unconfirmed payments every 5 minutes, and closes unpaid orders whose time has run out.
• Discounts and Taxes — the owner’s. The shop’s discount codes are made here too.

The owner and the manager / front desk see Orders and Reconciliation.

Each payment and refund sends the client an e-mail that says what it was for — a booking’s services and date, or a shop order’s items, for example “For: Repair hair mask — 200 ml.” (see Messages, reminders, text messages and push). Your morning summary lists the payments taken and refunded the day before (see The owner’s daily summary).