Deposits work. They also lose you bookings.
An honest comparison of upfront deposits — the standard no-show defense — and refundable authorization holds. The protection is the same; the friction isn't.
If you've taken a deposit before, you already know it works. The client puts skin in the game, and most show up. The unspoken cost is the bookings you never see — the people who saw 'pay $50 to book' and clicked away.
An authorization hold solves the same problem without moving the money. The client's card is held for the no-show fee amount, but they're never charged unless they actually no-show. There's no statement entry to refund, no Stripe fees on the refund, and no upfront friction at the booking page.
Manual deposit vs. NoShowSaver
Deposits still make sense for very high-ticket bookings (multi-thousand-dollar training programs, coaching packages) where you want explicit purchase intent. Holds shine on volume bookings where booking-page friction is the thing you're trying to remove.
| Feature | Manual deposit | NoShowSaver |
|---|---|---|
| Money moves at booking | Yes (full deposit) | No (hold only) |
| Client sees a charge on their statement | Pending hold, drops off on attendance | |
| Refund required on attendance | Yes — manual or automated | No — hold voids automatically |
| Stripe fees on refunds | Yes (per refund) | None (no charge to refund) |
| Effect on booking conversion | Friction at the booking page | Hold is invisible to most clients |
| Recovery on actual no-show | ||
| Reschedule/cancel inside policy | Refund logic to maintain | Auto-void in grace window |
| Setup | Custom Stripe Checkout or invoice flow | OAuth × 2, fee per event type |
| Per-event-type fee policy | DIY | Built in |
Run your own numbers
Drag the sliders to your booking volume and capture rate. The calculator uses an honest 75% capture rate by default — same math as the rest of the site.
Common questions
- Doesn't a hold count as a charge for the customer?
- A hold is a pending entry, not a charge. Most banks display it as 'pending' for a few business days and drop it off when the merchant releases the hold. Funds are not transferred — your customer's available balance is reduced by the hold amount until it expires or is captured. Statement entries from holds disappear on void; charges from deposits require an explicit refund.
- How long is a hold valid for?
- Stripe authorizations are valid for 7 days. That means the booking has to happen within 7 days of the appointment. For lead times longer than that, you'd need to re-authorize closer to the appointment — that's on the v1.1 roadmap. Most service-business bookings happen well inside 7 days, so v1 covers the common case.
- Will my booking conversion actually improve?
- We don't promise a conversion lift — we promise no conversion drop. Asking for a deposit at booking adds a payment step that some clients abandon. A hold is invisible to most clients (no statement entry until and unless they no-show), so the booking flow feels the same as no payment requirement at all. If you're moving from no protection to holds, conversion stays where it is. If you're moving from deposits to holds, you may pick up some of the bookings deposits were costing you.
- When are deposits actually the right call?
- Very high-ticket bookings — multi-day training, coaching packages, premium consultations — where you want explicit purchase intent and the customer expects to pay before scheduling. Holds shine on volume bookings ($50–$500 sessions) where conversion sensitivity is real.
- Can I switch from deposits to holds without confusing existing clients?
- Yes. The booking flow looks the same to clients regardless of which one is in place — they enter card details on Stripe's hosted page. Existing clients who pre-paid stay pre-paid; new bookings under the new policy use holds. We don't migrate or touch historical records.
Pricing
Flat monthly. No per-charge fee. One captured no-show pays for the month.
- 1 Calendly calendar
- Auto-charge on no-show
- SMS reminders (4 touchpoints)
- Reschedule + dispute pages
- Owner dashboard
- 3 Calendly calendars
- Everything in Solo
- Included SMS pool
- Per-event-type policies
- Priority support
- 10 Calendly calendars
- Everything in Pro
- White-label SMS sender ID
- Workspace per coach
- Onboarding call
The next no-show should pay for itself.
Connect Calendly, set your fee, and the next missed appointment pays for next month.
Not ready yet? Drop your email and we'll send one note when something material ships.