Help center / Payments & money
How deposits and balances work
What clients pay when they book, what they owe after, and where you see it.
Every booking has a total, the part that's been paid, and the balance still owed.
The deposit
Each package has a price and a deposit, set under Packages. When a client books online, they pay the deposit by card through Stripe to confirm. Their chosen time is held for them while they pay.
What goes into the total:
- The package price.
- A premium on the time, if the time they chose has one.
- Any add-ons they picked.
- Less a discount code, if they used one.
Premium times and add-ons go on the balance, so the deposit stays what the package says. A discount comes off the deposit, the balance or the whole price, depending on the code (see Discount codes).
A client with a gift card can use it when they book. If it covers the deposit, it pays the deposit and anything left comes off the balance. If it doesn't, they pay the deposit by card and the gift card comes off the balance.
The balance
After the deposit, the rest is the balance. Clients can pay it:
- From their client portal, with Pay balance.
- From a payment link or reminder you send them (see Send a balance payment link or reminder).
- In parts on set dates, if you give the booking a payment plan (see Payment plans and autopay).
- With a gift card code in their portal, under Have a gift card?
- Outside Stripe, which you then record on the booking (see Record a payment made outside Stripe).
An invoice for extras, like an album, adds to the total, so it raises the balance too (see Invoices).
Where to see it
- On the booking. The top shows the Session total, what's Paid so far and the Balance. The Money card breaks the total down when there are add-ons, a premium time or a discount.
- On Payments. The Balances due list shows every confirmed or completed booking that still owes money. See The Payments page.
Paid always means money received less anything refunded. So a refund raises the balance again, unless you also lower the price (see Adjust a booking's price). A tip a client adds isn't part of the price, so it doesn't change the balance.