Why your clients aren't using your online booking link (and how to fix it)
Lauren Adams
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Local Business Owner · Gloucester · 3mo ago
I want to talk about deposits because I see a lot of people in beauty business groups acting like it's somehow rude to ask for one. It's not. It's a completely standard part of running a professional service business and if you're not taking them you're absorbing all the financial risk of someone else's bad behaviour.
I introduced a £5 deposit about 3 months ago through SimplyBook.me. Before that I was losing money every single month to last-minute cancellations and no-shows. In my worst month I lost over £5 in wasted appointment slots — that's time I could have given to clients who actually wanted to be there.
Here's exactly how I set it up: 20% deposit, non-refundable if cancelled with less than 48 hours notice. I put this in plain English on my booking page and in my confirmation message. No legal jargon, no passive-aggressive tone. Just clear, professional, grown-up policy.
Three people cancelled their bookings when I announced it. Those three people were also the ones who'd no-showed me previously. Genuinely not a loss. Everyone else either already expected it or said it made them feel more confident that I was a serious professional.
I introduced a £5 deposit about 3 months ago through SimplyBook.me. Before that I was losing money every single month to last-minute cancellations and no-shows. In my worst month I lost over £5 in wasted appointment slots — that's time I could have given to clients who actually wanted to be there.
Here's exactly how I set it up: 20% deposit, non-refundable if cancelled with less than 48 hours notice. I put this in plain English on my booking page and in my confirmation message. No legal jargon, no passive-aggressive tone. Just clear, professional, grown-up policy.
Three people cancelled their bookings when I announced it. Those three people were also the ones who'd no-showed me previously. Genuinely not a loss. Everyone else either already expected it or said it made them feel more confident that I was a serious professional.
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I had the same fear about telling clients I was switching to online booking only. Turns out most people actually prefer it — they can book at midnight if they want to without feeling like they're bothering you. The ones who complained were the ones I could afford to lose.
#1
This is really relatable. I went through almost the exact same process 6 months ago. The biggest thing for me was realising that the clients who pushed back hardest on deposits were the ones who'd let me down before. Once I saw it that way the decision became very easy.
#2
I've been in this industry for 6 years and the switch to online booking was the best operational decision I ever made, full stop. Not even close. The time saving is enormous and the professionalism it adds to your brand is something clients notice and comment on.
#3