Use a Deposit when Customers should pay part of the Service price before they visit. The Deposit is part of the total, not an extra charge: the Customer pays it on the Booking Page while booking, then pays the remaining balance at the visit. Connect Stripe first, then choose a fixed amount or a percentage and decide what happens when a Booking is cancelled.
If you do not want to take money at booking, leave Require deposit off. You can still take payment at Checkout. Bookings your team creates in Hub do not collect a Deposit, so send a Customer to the Booking Page if they need to pay one.
- Open Organisation > Deposits & Payments in Setora Hub.
- Check Stripe shows as Connected.
- Turn on Require deposit.
- Choose Deposit type, then set the amount or percentage.
- Set Refund on cancellation.
- Save, then test the Booking Page.
1. Check Stripe first
Open Organisation > Deposits & Payments and check that Stripe is connected. A Deposit needs an online payment account so the Customer can pay while they book.
If Stripe is not ready, follow Connect Stripe to Setora before you turn a Deposit on.
2. Choose the amount
Turn on Require deposit. Set Deposit type to either Fixed amount (£) or Percentage (%), then enter the value.
A percentage is worked out from each Service price, so it scales with what the Customer books. A fixed amount is applied separately to each selected Service and capped at that Service's price. Multi-Service Bookings add those amounts together. Pick whichever is easier to explain to a Customer at the counter.
Check before moving on: Make sure the amount is one Customers will understand before they choose a time. Do not set it to the full price unless you mean to charge in full up front.
3. Choose what happens on cancellation
Set Refund on cancellation to match the policy you give Customers. The Cancellation notice in Organisation > Booking policy defines the free cancellation period.
The result depends on who cancels and when:
- Customer cancels at least the configured number of hours before the appointment: the Deposit is refunded when they use the cancellation link in their confirmation.
- Your team cancels within that free period: the Deposit is refunded only when Refund on cancellation is on.
- A later cancellation or a no-show: the Deposit is kept, whoever records it.
At Checkout, a refunded Deposit is no longer part of the Booking balance. A Deposit that is kept is not an extra charge for the visit. Make sure the setting matches the cancellation wording you use in the shop, on your Booking Page and in your messages.
4. Set a different Deposit for one Service
The policy above covers the whole business. You can override it for an individual Service. Open the Service in Organisation > Services and set a Deposit override. This can help when a long appointment needs more paid up front.
The public Deposit calculation currently uses the organisation policy and any Service override. Do not rely on a Location-level control to set the amount, type or refund rule. Keep Service overrides to a minimum so the amount remains easy to explain.
5. Test the Booking Page
Open the Booking Page as a Customer, choose a Service and time, and check the Deposit amount and payment step are clear before you finish the test.
Do not use a real Customer's details for a test. Afterwards, open the Booking in Hub and check the payment status is what you expected.
What happens next
The Customer sees the Deposit amount before confirming on the Booking Page. The Booking is held while payment completes, and it is confirmed once Stripe reports the payment succeeded. If payment is not completed, the held time is released.
At the visit, the Deposit is taken off what is left to pay at Checkout. For example, a £10 Deposit on a £35 Service leaves £25 to pay at the visit. The Deposit is not charged again.
Deposit or Booking Protection?
They are separate options for different situations:
- A Deposit takes money during online booking and is credited against the Service price at the visit. Its cancellation outcome follows the rules above.
- Booking Protection saves the Customer's card with their consent and does not charge it when they book. If a late-cancellation or no-show fee applies, your team can charge or waive that fee. A Deposit you keep can credit the fee, so the Customer is not charged twice for the same missed Booking.
Read Set up Booking Protection if you want to protect against late cancellations or no-shows without taking an upfront payment. For the online booking flow, see Turn on online booking and share your Booking Page.
If the Deposit does not appear
- Check Stripe is connected and verification is complete.
- Check Require deposit is on.
- Check Hide service prices is off in Organisation > Booking policy.
- Check no Deposit override on the Service is setting something different.
- Check the Service is available for online booking.
- Check the policy actually saved, rather than being left unsaved on screen.
If a Customer sees the wrong amount or payment state, open the chat and tell us the Location, Service, Deposit type, amount and the date you tested. Do not send card details.