Tip 17: How to mandate partial payment for your appointments

Tip 17: How to mandate partial payment for your appointments




When you require partial payments during the booking process, customers can only schedule with you after paying a certain amount in advance. This deposit acts as a commitment between both parties. Apart from that, it has many more advantages.

 

Benefits of mandating partial payment

  • Reduced no-shows and cancellations: As the customer has made a deposit, it's less likely that they'll cancel or not show up for the appointment.

  • Only serious inquiries: When people have to invest financially, they will book only when they are sure about proceeding. This filters out customers who book casually with the intention of canceling later.

  • Streamlined processes: Implementing the collection of partial payment through an online scheduler reduces the time and effort needed for follow-up and manual invoicing.

  • Stable revenue: Since only serious customers pop in and book appointments, revenue will be stable for your business.

  • Better time management: As most of the bookings happen without cancellation, you can efficiently manage the time slots for staff members and resources.

Use case

Consider an event management company that has an online scheduler embedded into its website. When clients book event services, such as catering, venue rentals, event decorations, and more, a partial payment requirement ensures commitment and helps cover initial expenses. In certain industries, such as event planning, customers often explore multiple options, which indicates uncertainty about committing to a particular service provider. By mandating partial payment, event planners or service providers can safeguard themselves against last-minute cancellations. Collecting a portion upfront allows event planners to proceed confidently with organizing the events, knowing that the client is invested in the process.

 

Zoho Bookings allows you to set the deposit amount to be paid while booking an appointment. It provides detailed customization by allowing you to configure different partial payment costs for different services (i.e., each services can have its own deposit amount).

 

Steps to set up partial payment

  1. Click Services on the Bookings menu bar, then select the required service on the left pane.

  1. Click Service Information in the middle pane.

  2. In the Type of Payment dropdown, select the option Deposit. A textbox will appear; enter the payment amount that should be paid in advance in the text box and click Save.



Now, when the customer tries to book a service with you, they'll be prompted to pay this deposit amount. But for this to work as intended, you'll need to configure a payment gateway:

  1. Navigate to Integrations > Payments and configure any one of the payment gateways available. Refer to this help page for more details about adding a payment gateway.



  2. After adding a payment gateway, enable the toggle beside Online Payments.



The setup is done; your booking page will allow appointments only when this deposit amount is paid.

 

Although implementing a partial deposit is necessary in many cases, it's also imperative that you stay flexible to show that you understand reasonable requests. This helps maintain good client relations.

 

Thank you for checking out this post. Please leave you questions and feedback in the comments section, or write to us at support@zohobookings.com.

 

Regards,

The Zoho Bookings Team

 


 

Related articles

  1. Configure Payments
  2. Payment Integration

    • Sticky Posts

    • Tip #17: How to mandate partial payment for your appointments

      When you require partial payments during the booking process, customers can only schedule with you after paying a certain amount in advance. This deposit acts as a commitment between both parties. Apart from that, it has many more advantages. Benefits
    • Tip #13: Identify where your bookings come from with Source Tracking

      Source tracking is the practice of identifying where your bookings originated. This is important, because online bookings come from a wide variety of sources like social media platforms, your website, email and ad campaigns, partner websites, organic
    • Tip #18: Organize a group workshop in a few steps

      It's the season for workshops—they're everywhere, catering to diverse interests and needs. Whether for more professional goals like leadership development or creative endeavors like painting, there's an abundance of workshops offered every day. A scheduler
    • Tip #16: Custom labels for staff, service, and resources

      Every industry uses its own jargon. Take healthcare, for example; when you visit a doctor, it's not just an appointment, it's a consultation. The people who provide consultations are the providers. Similarly, in the tranquil world of a spa, a massage
    • Tip #15: Customize service prices for each staff member

      It's common practice for a service to be priced differently based on the staff member providing it. For example, an experienced hair stylist may charge more for a haircut compared to the other stylists. This pricing strategy allows businesses to charge
      • Recent Topics

      • Serious question: Are there actually "solo-preneurs"/small business owners who made Zoho-one work well for them?

        L.S. After already many years of continued struggle with Zoho-One, I am seriously wondering if there are actually solo-preneurs (one person small business owners - without a large, dedicated IT dept.) who got it (Zoho-One) to work well for their businesses.
      • Calendar Bookings in Recruit

        Hi there, We have recently started using Zoho recruit and although it has some great functionality there are a few gaps that are causing real headaches. One of those being how interviews are scheduled. The majority of our hiring managers are field based
      • Getting Error : Developer Tool Detected

        Hi Team, Getting the error during open the portal, error attached on the same ticket. Please check and help us to resolve the same.
      • Send Zoho Creator Template by Email or sendemail

        Hello All Question:- How we can send the Zoho creator email template using the send email by the workflow or using the Function? by the Workflow sendmail [ from: zoho.adminuserid to: "zohodeveloper@yopmail.com" subject: "Test Template" message: "Test
      • Upgraded to Zoho One but Zoho Meeting still says Free Plan

        I signed-up for the Zoho One plan. When exploring the applications included, I came across a problem with Zoho Meeting. It says it's the free plan. I emailed support but they sent me a link that doesn't work and, when I found the article on my own, it
      • 新年のご挨拶、直近のイベントスケジュール

        🎍🐍謹賀新年🎍🐍 ユーザーの皆さま、明けましておめでとうございます! コミュニティチームの中野です。 本年もよろしくお願い致します。 昨年のZoho Japanコミュニティでは、東京・大阪・名古屋・福岡 4都市でのユーザー交流会開催や、自社最大イベント「Zoholics Japan 2024」でZoho Championの皆さまとのパネルディスカッション、10月の東京ユーザー交流会では本社CRMプロダクトマネージャーを招きロードマップ解説セッションの実施、さらにZohoアンバサダープログラムのローンチ(近日公開予定)など、新たな取り組みに挑戦しました。
      • How to create Item in the Eazy ERP Software ?

        Item Master is used for the creation of an item in the Eazy ERP Software. It is necessary to create items to maintain the stock and pass the transactions in the software. Go to Control Panel > Store > Item Master. An Items window will appear. The user
      • Directly Edit, Filter, and Sort Subforms on the Details Page

        Hello everyone, As you know, subforms allow you to associate multiple line items with a single record, greatly enhancing your data organization. For example, a sales order subform neatly lists all products, their quantities, amounts, and other relevant
      • Request to Customize Module Bar Placement in New Zoho CRM UI

        Hello Support and Zoho Community, I've been exploring the new UI of Zoho CRM "For Everyone" and have noticed a potential concern for my users. We are accustomed to having the module names displayed across the top, which made navigation more intuitive
      • Client script: Can not choose a date field for an onChange field event

        Hi Zoho Team Why can't I choose one of my date fields to trigger an onChange event? Is this a client script limitation, or something wrong with my instance? If it is a limitation, is this mentioned in the documentation anywhere? Thanks. Marcus
      • How to upload mass inventory quantity adjustment with batch number?

        I wanted to clean-up our inventory list; however, I have trouble performing the task as I don't know how to mass upload inventory adjustment with batch numbers. I don't want to do it manually as there are if not thousands at hundreds of inventory tr
      • Power BI connector (Zoho Creator) to Zoho Projects

        How can i connect power bi to Zoho Projects? domain is zoho.com How can i find workspace name, application link name and Report link name?
      • Upgrade User

        Hi Sir/Madame, I have 7 users in my organisation but I need upgrade more space only 2 users. Is it possibe? Thanks
      • Dashboard Auto-refresh

        Why is there no Auto-refresh on the Dashboard? People have been asking for the last 6 years for this function from what I can see in my reasearch, it seems like a very simple intergration for Zoho to achieve. on Sept. 2, 2014, this was added: Support
      • Console error with widget in View mode, not present in Edit Mode with ZOHO.CRM.API.updateRecord(config)

        hello i have that function to update an account records (from a widgets created with sigma) function handleCopyButtonCRMClick() { console.log('handleCopyButtonCRMClick'); /* * Fetch Information of Record passed in PageLoad * and insert the response into
      • add meeting link

        i want to add A meeting link in the mail when the user book the appointment then with the conformation mail i want to add meeting link there
      • Unable to add Guest Members

        We are having issues adding Guest Members to our Cliq account. We have sent out a number of request but it seems that only some people are able to access the platform. Others have received a message stating that they need to be granted access from an
      • CRM x WorkDrive: File storage for new CRM signups is now powered by WorkDrive

        Availability Editions: All DCs: All Release plan: Released for new signups in all DCs. It will be enabled for existing users in a phased manner in the upcoming months. Help documentation: Documents in Zoho CRM Manage folders in Documents tab Manage files
      • Zoho One - White Label

        Releasing a white-label feature for Zoho One, or any software or service, can offer several advantages and benefits for both the company providing the software (Zoho in this case) and its users. Here are some key reasons for releasing a white-label feature
      • Missing parameters in request, any way i can figure out what parameters i need to add?

        const url = "https://people.zoho.com/people/api/forms/json/P_Task/insertRecord"; const inputData = { "Status": "Open", "Description": "Task to set up and configure Zoho Mail on desktop application.", "CreatedTime": "01-Jan-2025 10:30 AM", "Due_Date":
      • Can you modify "Last Activity Time" in deluge? If so what's the field name?

        I need to perform some bulk modifications on records in the Leads module, but I need to avoid changing the "last activity time" or "date modified" because I am using those fields to filter and sort leads for follow-up action. I cannot find an answer anywhere
      • Running Total % in Pivot with filters

        Hi there, I have seen a few posts on this topic, but i cant seem to find one that will work when applyig filters to the data. I have Rows and Data in a pivot view I want to show the running total of revenue as a % of the total for the data set. If i add
      • Included in Zoho One?

        Will LandingPage eventually be included in Zoho One?
      • Add an "Impersonate" feature to Zoho Projects

        It would be nice to have an "impersonate" feature added to Zoho Projects that would allow administrators to impersonate employees to enable administrators to see for themselves what employees can and cannot see in the system. I am aware of all of the
      • Reports - custom layout - duplicate report

        Do you also have this problem and what is the possible solution? I duplicate a report that has a "custom layout". Unfortunately the custom layout is not duplicated. To be improved for a future release by Zoho. I export the custom layout and import it...
      • Select CRM Custom Module in Zoho Creator

        I have a custom module added in Zoho CRM that I would like to link in Zoho creator.  When I add the Zoho CRM field it does not show the new module.  Is this possible?  Do i need to change something in CRM to make it accesible in Creator?
      • GROUPING OF CUSTOMER

        SIR PLEASE ADD GROUPING OF CUSTOMER IN ZOHO BOOKS
      • Zoho LandingPage is integrated with Zoho One!

        Greetings to the Zoho One users out there! We're delighted to let you know that Zoho LandingPage is available in Zoho One too! With Zoho LandingPage, you can host custom-made landing pages, and persuade the visitors to dive deeper by making further clicks,
      • 2024 Wrap: Rediscover these features and enhancements in Zoho CRM

        Hello everyone! I wish all of you a joyful and prosperous 2025! As we welcome 2025, I’m excited to share a recap of the year 2024 and highlight some of the coolest new features and enhancements we’ve added to the Zoho CRM platform. Last year, we announced
      • Allow "add new" option to picklists and multiselection fields from add or edit pages

        Hello zoho, please insert an add option (ie +)sign) to pick and multiselect fields so we can add new options while entering or editing records. For example. in my lead module, while adding a new record, I realized I had a new lead source. I went to my
      • A quicker way to provide accountants access to Zoho Books, similar to Xero and Quickbooks

        Hey guys, I'm finding the procedure to give access to an external accountant to Zoho Books less than ideal. Having to create an account by Zoho instead of myself, and then wait for it to be given a license to then pass to the accountant seems a bit time
      • This user is not allowed to add in Zoho. Please contact support-as@zohocorp.com for further details

        Hello, Just signed up to ZOHO on a friend's recommendation. Got the TXT part (verified my domain), but whenever I try to add ANY user, I get the error: This user is not allowed to add in Zoho. Please contact support-as@zohocorp.com for further details I have emailed as well and writing here as well because when I searched, I saw many people faced the same issue and instead of email, they got a faster response here. My domain is: raisingreaderspk . com Hope this can be resolved.  Thank you
      • This mobile number has been marked spam. Please contact support.

        Hi Support, Can you tell me why number was marked as spam. I have having difficult to add my number as you keep requesting i must use it. My number is +63....163 Or is Zoho company excluding Philippines from their services?
      • Update Candidate Status Through Workflow in Blueprint

        Hi Team,  We have a blueprint built out with custom functions that update particular fields based on candidate actions. When particular fields are updated we need to move the candidate forward in the blueprint. We tried to do this through a workflow,
      • Zoho Canned respond do have a huge lag issue.

        Previously the Zoho canned respond works perfectly ... on once server update and all the Canned respond enconter huge lag... in the end cause most of the canned respond just shown code with /xxx and not the sentence....
      • Pay Contractor Timesheets

        I have contractors that fill out a timesheet. Each hour must be assigned to a current client. I need the easiest way to get the contracts paid. They are paid on an hourly bases. How can this be done?
      • ShipStation and Zoho Inventory

        Hello, I am looking to sync zoho inventory with shipstation ZOHO INVENTORY           SHIP STATION Sales Order  ==>  create ORDERS INVOICE  <==    Shipments What exactly does BETA mean on the Shipstation connector?  This is required for me to sign-on in the next month. Thanks in advance for your efforts
      • Saving slide elements

        I have created grouped items including text and animation that I want to use in later slides. (Like an animated logo) Is there a way to save these grouped elements in my library?
      • Are downloadable product available in Zoho Commerce

        Hi all. We're considering switching to Zoho Commerce for our shop, but we sell software and remote services. Is there a features for downloadable products? I can't find any information about this. Thank you very much Alice
      • Function #10: Update item prices automatically based on the last transaction created

        In businesses, item prices are not always fixed and can fluctuate due to various factors. If you find yourself manually adjusting the item rates every time they change, we have the ideal time-saving solution for you. In today's post, we bring you custom
      • Next Page