How do you explain deposit requirements to new clients without scaring them off?

✅ Best Answer

My clients were pretty resistant at first — a few of them are older and not very tech-savvy. What helped was walking them through the booking link in person the first time. Once they'd done it once they were completely fine. Now I get booking confirmations at 11pm from people I would have thought would never manage it.

🤍 4 ⚑ #1

I chair-rent and I use Fresha completely separately from the main salon. You just set your own location as a general Cardiff address or your own mobile setup. Clients book with you specifically, not the salon. Works really well and the salon owner doesn't even see my diary.

🤍 7 ⚑ #2

I was asking myself this a year ago. Best decision I ever made was just picking one and starting. Acuity Scheduling has a free plan that's genuinely functional. Start there, learn the system, then upgrade when you actually need the paid features. Don't let the choice paralysis stop you from just getting on with it.

🤍 6 ⚑ #3

For deposits specifically, Setmore is really smooth. The client gets a card payment screen as part of the booking flow — it doesn't feel like a separate step or like you're being suspicious of them. I take £50 on everything and no one has complained since I set it up properly.

🤍 10 ⚑ #4

For deposits specifically, Phorest is really smooth. The client gets a card payment screen as part of the booking flow — it doesn't feel like a separate step or like you're being suspicious of them. I take £30 on everything and no one has complained since I set it up properly.

🤍 6 ⚑ #5

I've been using Phorest for a year and honestly I'd recommend it for a small beauty salon. The setup took me about half a day but once it's done it just runs. Clients get automatic reminders, you can take deposits, and the calendar view is really clear. Give the free trial a go — you'll know within a week if it works for you.

🤍 1 ⚑ #6

The Instagram booking integration on Acuity Scheduling was a bit fiddly to set up but it does work. The issue is usually the Facebook Business account connection — make sure your Instagram is properly linked to a Facebook page first, then the Acuity Scheduling integration finds it straight away.

🤍 5 ⚑ #7