October 24, 2026

Taking a deposit at booking with Stripe: when it pays off and how to avoid no-shows

Asking for a deposit when booking reduces absences. When it makes sense, how to explain it and what should happen to the money.

Asking for a deposit when booking is the most direct way to protect your agenda. You do not need it for everyone or for every service, but in some cases it makes all the difference.

When it makes sense

When the slot is expensive or scarce: a long treatment, a table for a group, a room or a professional with a waiting list. If you lose a lot when someone does not come, a deposit makes sense.

Fixed amount or percentage

You can define the deposit as a fixed amount or as a percentage of the final price. The server does the maths, not the browser, and it is frozen in the appointment: what the customer saw when booking is what gets charged.

The money is yours

Payment goes through Stripe's own payment page and lands in your own account, connected to Axon. We do not handle your money. A booking with a deposit counts as paid only when Stripe confirms it, not when the customer comes back to your site.

What if they cancel

You set the policy: what happens to the deposit if the customer cancels in time or late. Explain it on the service, in plain words, before payment. A visible rule avoids arguments.

Without complicating the booking

The deposit is asked only on the services that need it; the rest of the booking stays a couple of steps. Your customer picks the service and time, pays and gets the confirmation.

If you want to set up bookings with a deposit for your business, ask for an Axon demo and we will configure it with your services.