Deposits

Reduce no-shows and protect your revenue by requiring an upfront payment when customers book — configure deposit rules by amount, service, and client type, then track collection, refunds, and forfeiture from a single dashboard.

Where to find it — Web: Sidebar → Manage → Deposits (rules and settings), or Deposits dashboard (tracking). Mobile: More → Deposits (dashboard and rules).

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Overview

Deposits let you:

• Require an upfront payment (fixed dollar amount or percentage) when a customer books online
• Target deposits to specific services — high-value treatments can require a deposit while simple cuts do not
• Apply different rules for new clients, returning clients, or high-risk clients (PRO)
• Choose between immediate capture (charge at booking) or manual capture / card hold (PRO)
• Set a cancellation window with configurable refund actions (full refund, credit, or forfeit)
• Define tiered refund policies based on how far in advance the customer cancels (PRO)
• Display a custom agreement message that customers must accept before paying
• Track all deposits from a dashboard with three tabs: Needs Action, Outstanding, and Recent
• View deposit performance metrics on the Intelligence dashboard (PRO)

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Creating a deposit rule

On web

1. Go to Manage → Deposits in the sidebar.
2. Click Create Deposit Rule (or + New Rule if rules already exist).
3. In the Create Deposit Rule dialog, fill in the following fields:

Field	Options	Notes
Rule Name	Free text	A descriptive name (e.g. "Standard 50% Deposit", "New Client $30")
Deposit Type	Fixed amount or Percentage	Fixed charges a set dollar amount; Percentage charges a proportion of the service price
Amount	Number	Dollar amount (e.g. 30) or percentage (e.g. 50). For percentage, the deposit is calculated from the service price at booking time
Capture Method	Automatic or Manual	Automatic charges the card immediately. Manual places a hold on the card that you capture later (PRO)
Cancellation Window	Hours (number)	How many hours before the appointment the customer can cancel and receive the configured refund. Default varies by rule
Refund Action	Full refund, Credit, or Forfeit	What happens to the deposit when the customer cancels within the allowed window
Refund Policy	Simple or Tiered (PRO)	Tiered lets you define multiple refund tiers based on cancellation timing (see Tiered refund policies below)
Client Condition	All clients, New clients only, Returning clients only, or High-risk clients	Who the rule applies to. New/returning/high-risk conditions require PRO
Agreement Text	Free text (optional)	A message shown to the customer before they pay the deposit (e.g. "A 50% deposit is required to secure your booking. Cancellations within 24 hours will forfeit the deposit.")

4. Click Save (or Create Rule).

On mobile

1. Go to More → Deposits.
2. Tap Create Rule (or the + button).
3. Fill in the same fields as web: Rule Name, Deposit Type, Amount, Capture Method, Cancellation Window, Refund Action, Client Condition, and Agreement Text.
4. Tap Save.

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Assigning rules to services

After creating a deposit rule, you choose which services it applies to. A rule with no services assigned has no effect.

On web

1. After saving the rule (or from the rule's detail view), the Assign to Services step appears.
2. The service list shows all active services at your venue. Each service displays its name and current deposit status.
3. Tick the checkbox next to each service that should require this deposit.
4. Click Save Assignments.

On mobile

1. After saving the rule, tap Assign Services.
2. Toggle each service on or off.
3. Tap Save.

A service can only have one deposit rule assigned at a time. If you assign a new rule to a service that already has a different rule, the new rule replaces the old one.

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Capture methods

Automatic capture (FREE and PRO)

The customer's card is charged immediately when they complete the booking. The deposit amount is deducted at the time of booking and the deposit status moves to Captured.

This is the simplest option and works well for most venues.

Manual capture / card hold (PRO)

The customer's card is authorised (held) at booking time but not charged. The deposit status shows as Authorised. You can then:

• Capture the hold after the appointment (converting it to a charge)
• Release the hold if the customer attends and you do not want to charge (the hold expires automatically if not captured)
• The hold expires after 7 days if not captured or released

Manual capture is useful when you want to hold funds as a guarantee but only charge if the customer no-shows or cancels late.

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Client conditions (PRO)

By default, a deposit rule applies to all clients. With a PRO subscription, you can target specific client types:

Condition	Who it applies to
All clients	Every customer who books a service with this rule assigned
New clients only	Customers who have never booked at your venue before
Returning clients only	Customers who have at least one previous booking
High-risk clients	Customers flagged as high-risk (e.g. history of no-shows or late cancellations)

When a customer books online, OpenChair evaluates the deposit rules assigned to the selected service and checks the client condition. If the condition does not match, no deposit is required for that booking.

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Cancellation and refund policies

Simple refund action

Every deposit rule has a Cancellation Window (in hours) and a Refund Action:

• If the customer cancels before the cancellation window (e.g. more than 24 hours before the appointment), the configured refund action applies.
• If the customer cancels within the cancellation window (e.g. less than 24 hours before), the deposit is forfeited.

Refund Action	What happens
Full refund	The full deposit amount is returned to the customer's card
Credit	The deposit is converted to account credit for future use
Forfeit	The deposit is kept by the venue — no refund issued

Tiered refund policies (PRO)

Tiered policies let you define multiple refund tiers based on how far in advance the customer cancels. Each tier specifies a time threshold and a refund percentage.

Example tiered policy:

Cancel timing	Refund
More than 48 hours before	100% refund
24–48 hours before	50% refund
Less than 24 hours before	No refund (forfeit)

Tiered policies are stored as structured data on the deposit rule and evaluated automatically when a cancellation is processed.

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How deposits work during booking

When a customer books a service that has a deposit rule assigned:

1. During the online booking flow, the deposit amount is displayed before payment (e.g. "A deposit of $30.00 is required to confirm this booking").
2. If the rule has Agreement Text, the customer sees the agreement message and must accept it.
3. The customer enters their card details via the Stripe payment form.
4. Depending on the capture method:
   • Automatic: The card is charged immediately. The booking is confirmed with deposit status Captured.
   • Manual: The card is authorised (held). The booking is confirmed with deposit status Authorised.
5. A confirmation is sent to the customer showing the deposit amount collected or held.

If the deposit payment fails (e.g. card declined), the booking is not confirmed.

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Deposit statuses

Each booking with a deposit tracks its status through the following states:

Status	Meaning
Pending	Deposit has been initiated but not yet processed
Authorised	Card hold placed successfully (manual capture only) — waiting for capture or release
Captured	Deposit has been charged to the customer's card
Forfeited	Deposit was kept by the venue after a late cancellation or no-show
Refunded	Full deposit amount was refunded to the customer
Partially refunded	A portion of the deposit was refunded (e.g. from a tiered policy)
Expired	Card hold expired without being captured (manual capture only)
Cancelled	Deposit was cancelled before processing

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The deposits dashboard

The deposits dashboard gives you a centralised view of all deposit activity across your venue.

On web

Go to Deposits in the sidebar. The dashboard has three tabs:

Tab	What it shows
Needs Action	Deposits that require your attention — expired card holds that were never captured. These need to be resolved (contact the customer or write off).
Outstanding	Active deposits — authorised holds waiting to be captured, and pending deposits. These are in-flight.
Recent	Completed deposits from the last 30 days — captured, forfeited, and refunded deposits.

Each deposit entry shows the customer name, service, amount, status badge, and the date. Click a deposit to view details and take action (capture, refund, or forfeit).

A Needs Action count badge appears on the Deposits sidebar item when there are expired holds requiring attention.

On mobile

Go to More → Deposits. The same three tabs are available. On iPad, the screen uses a master-detail layout with the deposit list on the left and details on the right.

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Processing refunds

When a booking with a deposit is cancelled:

1. OpenChair checks the deposit rule's cancellation window and refund action (or tiered policy).
2. The appropriate refund amount is calculated automatically.
3. If a refund is due, it is processed through Stripe back to the customer's original payment method.
4. The deposit status updates to Refunded or Partially refunded.

Refunds use a compare-and-swap pattern to prevent double-refund errors — if two refund requests arrive simultaneously, only one is processed.

For manual refunds (outside the automatic cancellation flow), venue owners can process a refund from the deposit detail view.

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Deposit performance metrics (PRO)

The Intelligence dashboard includes a deposit performance card that shows:

• Total deposits collected over a period
• Deposit collection rate (percentage of eligible bookings where deposits were collected)
• Forfeiture rate
• Refund rate
• Revenue protected by deposits

This card helps you evaluate whether your deposit strategy is reducing no-shows and protecting revenue.

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Concierge deposit nudges (PRO)

The Concierge (AI assistant) can proactively suggest deposit-related actions — such as reminding you to capture an expiring hold or flagging a customer with repeated no-shows who might benefit from a deposit requirement. These nudges appear in the Concierge interface and require a PRO subscription.

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Role access

Action	Owner	Manager	Stylist
Create and edit deposit rules	Yes	No	No
Assign rules to services	Yes	No	No
View deposits dashboard	Yes	Yes	No
Capture or release a card hold	Yes	Yes	No
Process a manual refund	Yes	No	No
View deposit performance metrics	Yes	Yes	No

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Platform differences

Feature	Web	Mobile
Navigation (rules)	Sidebar → Manage → Deposits	More → Deposits → Rules
Navigation (dashboard)	Sidebar → Deposits	More → Deposits
Create rule	Dialog with form fields + service assignment step	Full-screen form → service assignment screen
Dashboard layout	Three-tab table with pagination	Three-tab list (master-detail on iPad)
Rule editing	Inline edit in rule detail sheet	Separate edit screen
Service assignment	Checkbox list in second step of create/edit flow	Toggle list on dedicated screen
Deposit performance	Intelligence dashboard card	Intelligence dashboard card
Capture/release holds	Action buttons on deposit detail	Action buttons on deposit detail

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Troubleshooting

Issue	Solution
Deposit not appearing at booking	Ensure the deposit rule is active and assigned to the booked service. Check that the client condition matches the customer (e.g. a "New clients only" rule will not trigger for returning customers). Verify Stripe Connect is configured on your venue.
"Expired" deposits in Needs Action tab	Card holds expire after 7 days if not captured. Contact the customer to arrange payment, or write off the deposit. To avoid this, capture holds promptly after the appointment.
Customer says they were charged but booking shows "Pending"	The payment may be processing. Check Stripe for the payment intent status. If the charge succeeded but the webhook was delayed, the status will update automatically when the webhook arrives.
Cannot create deposit rules	Only venue Owners can create and manage deposit rules. If you are a Manager or Stylist, ask the venue Owner to set up deposit rules.
Deposit amount seems wrong	For percentage-based rules, the deposit is calculated from the service price at the time of booking. If the service price has changed since the rule was created, the deposit amount reflects the current price, not the price when the rule was set up.
Customer cannot complete booking with deposit	The customer's card may have been declined. They should try a different card. If the error persists, check that your Stripe account is active and charges are enabled.
Refund not processing	Refunds are processed through Stripe. Ensure your Stripe account has sufficient balance. If the original payment was made more than 180 days ago, Stripe cannot process a refund — you will need to arrange an alternative refund method.
Advanced options (manual capture, client conditions) not available	These features require a PRO subscription. On a FREE plan, deposits use automatic capture and apply to all clients.
Deposit rule assigned but no deposit charged for a specific customer	Check the rule's client condition. If set to "New clients only", returning customers will not be charged. If set to "High-risk clients", only flagged customers will be charged.

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Related Articles

• Checkout
• Setting Up Stripe & Card Payments
• Booking Rules & Policies
• Rescheduling & Cancelling Bookings
• Understanding Fees & Processing

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Last updated: March 2026