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Online booking? *and* Do you require deposits for appointments?
Posted by on 2019-03-05 at 2:46 PM
Hi everyone,
I’ve had a few clients who have really taken a lot of energy/ time going back and forth as I’m trying to schedule them, then the day before their appointment, they cancel and want to reschedule. I’ve been thinking of implementing an online booking app so I’m not spending so much time dealing with all of it, and wondering if you have suggestions and what the pros and cons were to the apps you used.My next question is for those of you who do require a deposit (or full payment) to book a session with you, and how that’s worked for you. Do you require just a deposit or full payment? I’m curious if it cut down on no-shows and or habitual rescheduling. I’m feeling that it will separate those who are really committed to partnering in this work, and those who aren’t quite ready to commit yet.Many thanks in advance! 🙂DeAnna
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6 Replies
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B”HDeAnna there are a number of online booking solutions. Currently I’m using Acuity Scheduling. They…
- have versions ranging from free to enterprise
- can embed into many websites
- have lox of flexibility
- send out reminders
- have forms, gift certificates, single appointments & classes
- integrate with Zoom nicely to send links in the reminder emails
- allow clients to reschedule and cancel themselves within the parameters you set
- take payments
- have many useful features
Taking deposits or full payments do assist in cutting down people who are not serious in taking your time. If I’m traveling and for online sessions I require full payment in advance. For people traveling to me I’ve allowed them to pay when they come if they’ll be bringing cash. But now with the switch to Acuity it’s basically full payment in advance.
Blessings
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To add to the very nice list of features that Malka wrote: Acuity also allows you to specify whether you want clients to pay in full at the time of scheduling, or to make a partial payment (you specify the minimum, this would be your deposit), or to schedule without paying.
By the way, if you use Squarespace for your website, they give you Acuity’s Emerging Entrepreneur plan for free.
In addition to setting limits in Acuity for how close to the session a client can reschedule or cancel it themselves, I also specify that, as well as my rules for refunds, in the Terms & Conditions clause that clients are presented with when they schedule a session and enter their information. If someone has a valid reason to reschedule at the last moment, you can do that in the system for them manually.
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Pay in full before the appointment thanks!
At first I thought I wouldn’t care. But I did. When I first offered BQH online I thought I would have the first online client to be on donation basis after the session. She paypal-ed me money more than a week after the session. During that week I thought she wasn’t going to and I was really upset and thoughts went around and around in my head should I contact her should I not I was so petty oh but I made such an effort blah blah blah. The client actually gave me donation which was nearly how much I charged at the time! And thank God she was so late and helped me realized that I do want to be paid and I don’t want to ask or chase people. So yeah pay in full please way before the appointment day thank you very much. Anyone who has problem with that please go to someone else.
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Hi @DeAnna_Shelton. I completely understand your predicament. I used to have the same issue with getting clients scheduled until I implemented a very simple method.
Firstly, I have a button on my website that, when clicked on, opens their email with the subject line to schedule an appointment. This is the only “online scheduling” I provide. The potential client must email me for an appointment.
Once I receive their email, I reply with 3 available dates for them to choose from and tell them I will hold the dates open for 48 hours to give them time to decide which works best for them. In order for them to reserve the date, they must submit a non-refundable deposit which is applied toward to total cost of their session. But if they cancel, they lose that $.
Since I started doing this, I have never had anyone cancel on me and I’ve only had to reschedule a couple of people due to unavoidable circumstances, such as the flu or having their sitter cancel at the last minute. They always reschedule.I always have online clients always pay the full amount up front to reserve their date. I don’t even send a zoom link to them until it’s received.
I hope this helps.
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All of my sessions require a 50% deposit at booking and they pay the rest before or during their session. If they are booking a few days before their session, I require full payment. If they cancel within 3 days of their appointment, they get their deposit back. If they schedule after that, I keep the deposit. I found that I was getting a lot of cancellations without committments from my clients.
I’ve been using vCita to correspond with my clients and schedule all of my appointmnents for the last 4 years.
https://www.vcita.com?directory_token=g9lfwnylhznnfc8k&invite=SOLUTION_PROVIDER_SUB_ACCOUNT_INVITEAlba
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DeAnna, I must be lucky, I have never had this problem, but when I started practicing, I did the following:
1. I had set an intention and I work on this intention often. “I manifest clients easily and effortlessly, who want to work on themselves and who’s looking for the answers to help them move forward”
2. I always take full payment for online clients, and I have never had an in-person not show up.
3. I always speak to my clients in person or online to find out why they are looking for a session and to see if BQH is the right technique for them. This way you know that your time won’t be wasted, and I get them to sign the terms of agreement. I feel when the terms of agreement is signed, it kind of acts as a little contract.I hope this help you a little.
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