You wake up excited about a full schedule, the experience you’re going to provide your clients, and the money you’re going to make today. A few cancellations later, you realize you’ve got a bunch of gaps it’s too late to fill and you’ve lost money on the day. Of course, certain services – such as lash extensions, permanent makeup, or custom hair dyes – require specific and often high-priced equipment or supplies that need to be ordered ahead of time, too.

All too frequently (about 40% of the time, in fact) clients book lengthy appointments only to cancel at the last minute. When a client cancels, you’re stuck with extra time and unnecessary inventory on your hands... and less money in your pocket. There needs to be a solution that encourages clients to take your time seriously and show up, because late-cancellation and no-show fees just aren’t enough.

We hear you!

Deposits Are Here to Help With No-Shows

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In our mission to make sure beauty pros always feel supported and empowered in their business, GlossGenius members can now require a deposit at the time of booking for any service they offer. You can still implement the fees outlined in your cancellation and no-show policy, too, but taking deposits will provide extra protection of the precious hours in your day.

Try GlossGenius free for 14 days!

Here are a few ways taking deposits will change your business for the better: 

Protect your income

Deposits are charged at the time of booking and are non-refundable, which means even if you’re stuck with a last-minute opening you can’t fill, you still earn money for that time slot. Think of GlossGenius’ new Deposits feature almost like insurance that mitigates the financial impact of last-minute cancellations. Now you can embrace the freedom to offer more expensive sessions with your clients and order niche supplies, without worrying a no-show will hurt your bottom line.

Plan ahead with confidence

When you have the protection of taking deposits at the time a client books, you no longer have to scramble to fill your day. Instead, if you want to hustle to get that spot booked, it’s totally because you want to and not because you need to. And for those of you with an appointment-dependent salon squad, you can schedule your team with confidence because clients will be incentivized to show up for your staff.

Welcome clients who respect your business

You deserve a clientele that takes your business seriously, and requiring deposits is one of the first steps toward helping you grow. Deposits will incentivize new and existing customers alike to actually show up for their appointments, so you can focus on demonstrating your exceptional talent and providing the best experience possible.

Note: GlossGenius now allows you to customize your deposits policy so you can exempt existing clients from paying a deposit when they book! Try GlossGenius free for 14 days!

For the newbies out there, we understand you might be a little wary of scaring potential clients away by asking for deposits as you’re building your book, so we’ve made requiring this upfront payment completely optional. Because deposits are set at the service level, you can save them for your high-value appointments where you know a cancellation would cost you a significant sum of money. You can toggle deposits on or off at your discretion, and if you manually approve appointments, you can choose to not charge a deposit for certain clients. Remember, you can still use no-show or cancellation fees, too.

How Do Deposits Work With GlossGenius?

You’re in complete control. When you’re ready to set up your deposit requirements, you’ll choose the services you want to protect and how much you want to collect up front from the client.

To set up deposits:

First, head to the App Store or Google Play Store and update your GlossGenius app to version 5.21.1.

Go to More > Services and select the specific service that will require a deposit. Toggle on Require Deposit, then enter the dollar figure for the Deposit Amount.

As clients browse your GlossGenius booking site, they will see a note on select services stating “$X deposit required upon booking” so they’re aware when they select the service.

When a client books

Clients go through the usual booking process by selecting the service(s), date, time, and location, and then filling in their information. If any of their selections require a deposit, a Payment Information screen pops up so they can enter their card details. For multiple services that require a deposit, the client will be charged the combined total amount of the deposits.

• If the booking request is set to automatically be approved, the deposit will be collected when the client completes the online booking process.
• If you manually approve booking requests and decline an appointment, any relevant deposits are returned to the client immediately.

If you’re booking the appointment on behalf of your client:

• The client will receive the link to pay their deposit in the booking confirmation SMS and email messages they receive. If they’ve already paid their deposit, the link will bring them to their receipt.
• You can bypass the deposit option on an appointment-by-appointment basis. Simply toggle off Require Deposit on the New Appointment screen within the app or change the deposit amount for that specific appointment.

Try GlossGenius free for 14 days!

When a client cancels or changes an appointment

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If a client cancels their appointment, any deposits related to that appointment go right into the professional’s account. No stress for you, no surprises for the client! However, if you cancel the appointment, you’ll have the option to refund the deposit to the payment method the client originally used. If you move an appointment to a new time, the deposit will not be impacted – no need to reapply the payment or completely rebook the appointment.

A quick note about changes to the services booked on an appointment: As you would expect, if services are updated before the deposit is collected, the deposit amount can be updated. (In this scenario, it makes sense to contact your client as a matter of professional courtesy.) However, if the services are updated after the deposit is collected, the deposit amount cannot be updated.

And remember, because deposits are treated separately from cancellation fees, you can still apply no-show or cancellation fees up to the appointment value on top of the deposit, at your discretion!

When you have a team using the deposits feature

Within GlossGenius’ Teams functions, you can specify which staff members are assigned to a specific service. That way, if only some of your team want to require a deposit for a certain service, they’re free to do so. Simply create a separate service on your booking site with the deposit that’s assigned specifically to that individual.

Save yourself the stress, time, and money of the no-show scramble and get set up with GlossGenius today. Sign up here for your free trial!