Should I take a deposit for appointments?

Why take a deposit at all?

Because your time is the thing you sell, and an empty slot can’t be sold twice. When someone cancels the night before or simply doesn’t come, you’ve lost that hour, and often more: the drive, the setup, the materials, or the customer you turned away to keep the time free.

A deposit changes that. The customer has made a small payment to hold the time, so the booking means something to both of you. If they cancel late, the deposit covers part of what you lost. The easiest place to take it is your own website, at the moment someone books, and that’s what Humfrid sets up for you: your website, your policy and online deposits, all by text.

It matters most for:

• Long appointments. A half day or a full day is hard to refill at short notice.
• Custom work. You plan a menu, sketch a design or prepare a lesson before the customer shows up.
• Materials bought upfront. Ingredients, parts or supplies you pay for before the job.
• First bookings. You don’t know the customer yet, and they don’t know your policy.
• Dates in demand. A holiday weekend or an event date, where saying yes to one person means turning others away.

How much should the deposit be?

A fair share of the price, worked out from your own costs. Add up what you spend before the day and the part of your time you couldn’t rebook if they cancelled late. A share grows with the size of the booking, so it stays fair on a short visit and still protects you on a long one.

You can also use more than one amount: a smaller deposit for routine visits, a larger one for long jobs, custom work or peak dates.

Some kinds of work have legal limits on how much you can take upfront. In California, for example, the state’s contractor board says the down payment on a home improvement job cannot be more than 10 percent of the contract price or a set dollar cap, whichever is less, and that there are no exceptions for special-order materials. Check whether your kind of work has a rule like that where you are.

What should my deposit policy say?

It should answer every “what if” before the customer has to ask. Write it down before anyone pays, and use the same words on your website, in your confirmation and where they pay.

1. The amount, as a share of the price.
2. When it’s due and how to pay it. The simplest answer: when they book.
3. Whether it comes off the final bill. Say so either way.
4. Cancelling. By what time they get it all back, when they get part of it back, and when you keep it.
5. Rescheduling. Whether the deposit moves to the new date, and how many times.
6. No-shows. What happens if they don’t come and don’t tell you.
7. If you cancel. A full refund. Saying it plainly builds trust.

Keep it to a few sentences, short enough to read on a phone at a glance.

How Humfrid does this for you

Humfrid builds your website by text and keeps it right by text, with your prices and the policy you just wrote on it. Text your business name, answer a few questions, and your website is live within a day. Nothing goes live without your OK.

Every plan includes online booking, payments and deposits on your website, so customers book and pay in one place, and your weekly report shows your visitors and bookings. On Humfrid’s top plan, your whole team can take bookings. When your policy changes, you text it:

• “New policy: cancel by 6 p.m. the day before for a full refund.”
• “Add to my policy: holiday weekends need a deposit.”
• “Add a line that the deposit comes off the final bill.”

There’s no app, no computer and no login. You can see your website free for 14 days and pay only when you want it live on your own .com, with no contract and no setup fee. Cancel by text if it isn’t for you.

How do I take a deposit online?

Take it on your own website, at the moment they book. The customer picks a time, reads your policy right there, and pays the deposit in the same step. There’s nothing to chase afterwards, and no “I’ll send it later” that never arrives. On a website Humfrid built, this step is already there: the booking page, your policy and the deposit, in one place.

Paying by card is what most people already do. Pew Research Center, using Federal Reserve data, found that in 2025 credit cards made up the highest share of payments at 34%, debit cards 31%, and that the share of payments made in cash fell to 14%.

A few things make it work:

• Show the policy before the payment, next to your prices, not after.
• Send a short receipt or confirmation with the amount paid and what’s left.
• Point every link at that page. Google lets you add a link on your Business Profile that helps customers “Book an appointment”, so people who find you on Google Maps or Search land on your booking page and pay there.

For bookings you take by text, send the same link and let the customer finish there. Our post on taking bookings by text has the templates.

How do I tell customers about a deposit?

Early, plainly, and with a reason, so it feels fair and not like a catch. Mention it before they’ve settled on a time, not after.

To hold your time I take a deposit of [share] of the price when you book. It comes off your final bill. If you cancel by [cutoff], I refund it in full. After that, I keep it.

Add one sentence on why, if there is a real reason: “I buy the materials two days before.” A cost people can picture is easier to accept than a rule. Use the same words everywhere they read it; with Humfrid, you text the wording once and it’s on your website.

Are there rules about deposits and refunds?

Yes, and they vary by state and by the kind of work, so check yours. Your state attorney general’s consumer protection office is a good place to start. This is general information, not legal advice.

One federal rule worth knowing if you sell in people’s homes: the FTC’s Cooling-Off Rule. It can give buyers until midnight of the third business day after the sale to cancel certain sales made at their home or workplace, or at a seller’s temporary location such as a fairground. The FTC says the seller has to tell you at the time of the sale about your right to cancel. It doesn’t cover everything. The FTC lists exceptions, including sales made entirely online, by mail or by phone, sales at the seller’s permanent place of business, and visits the customer asked for to do repairs or maintenance. Read the FTC’s page to see whether any of your sales fall under it.

What do I do when someone cancels late anyway?

Follow your written policy, kindly and once. Send a short text that restates what was agreed, without arguing.

You can still make exceptions. A real emergency, or a regular who has never cancelled before, may be worth more to you than the deposit. A middle option is to move the deposit to a new date instead of keeping it. Treat similar cases the same way.

Text Humfrid your business name, and you’ll see your website within a day.