An empty slot on your calendar because someone no-showed costs you the same as a bad review — except nobody warns you it’s coming. Collecting a deposit or full payment at the moment someone books is the single most effective way to stop it, because a client who’s already paid something has a real reason to show up.
This guide covers what “requiring payment at booking” actually means, how the major scheduling tools handle it differently, and where the gaps are — because two products can both say “we support payments” and mean very different things.
Not every “payment at booking” feature works the same way:
The distinction matters because a lot of scheduling tools only do the third one well. If you run a business where clients expect to put down a deposit and pay the rest later — salons, contractors, tattoo artists, consultants, tutors — “full payment only” isn’t the same feature, even if the marketing page uses the word “deposit.”
Bookafy lets you require a deposit or the full amount before a booking is confirmed, or simply capture a card to secure the slot without charging it. Payments run through Stripe or Authorize.net — both PCI DSS certified, so card details never touch Bookafy’s own servers. (Bookafy does not support PayPal for booking payments.) It’s available on the paid Pro ($7/user/mo) and Pro+ ($11/user/mo) plans, not the Free tier.
Because it’s built into the booking flow itself, the charge — deposit or full — happens automatically when the client picks a time, with no separate invoice step for you to remember.
| Tool | Deposit / partial payment | Full payment at booking | Processor(s) | Where it’s gated |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Bookafy | Yes — dollar or percentage deposit | Yes | Stripe, Authorize.net | Pro ($7/user/mo) and up |
| Calendly | No native way to split a deposit from a remaining balance — it charges one fixed price at booking | Yes, fixed price only | Stripe, PayPal | Standard ($10/seat/mo) and up |
| Acuity Scheduling | Yes — dollar or percentage, with a toggle for clients to pay in full instead | Yes | Stripe, Square, PayPal, and others | Entry-level Emerging plan ($16/mo) and up |
| Setmore | Yes — percentage-based deposit | Yes | Stripe, Square, PayPal | Available on the Free plan |
| Cal.com | Fixed price per event type, not a true split deposit/balance | Yes, fixed price only | Stripe | Available on the Free plan |
The gap worth knowing about: Calendly and Cal.com both let you charge a client at booking, but neither has a built-in way to charge a percentage now and the rest later — you set one price and that’s what gets charged. If your business runs on deposits, Bookafy, Acuity, and Setmore are the ones actually built for it.
To be direct about the edges of this: Bookafy is a scheduling and payment-capture tool, not an accounting system. It does not do invoicing, bookkeeping, or payroll; it does not reconcile deposits against a general ledger; and it does not support PayPal. If you need any of that, you’re pairing it with QuickBooks, Xero, or similar — not replacing them.
Do I need a Stripe or Authorize.net account to collect deposits with Bookafy?
Yes. Bookafy connects to your own Stripe or Authorize.net account — it doesn’t hold or process funds itself, so payouts go straight to you on that processor’s normal schedule.
Can I require a deposit for some services and not others?
Yes. Payment requirements are set per service, so you can require a deposit on high-value or high-no-show services and leave others free to book.
What happens if a client no-shows after paying a deposit?
That’s a policy you set, not something the software decides for you — most businesses keep the deposit as a no-show or cancellation fee and state that plainly on the booking page before the client pays.
Is a card-on-file the same as a deposit?
No. Card-on-file just verifies and holds a card for a possible later charge (like a no-show fee); a deposit actually collects money at the time of booking.
Does charging a deposit actually reduce no-shows?
Anecdotally and by design, yes — a client who has already paid something has a financial reason to keep the appointment, which is the same logic behind the reminder cadence in our no-show reduction playbook.
