A lip filler slot, a practitioner, and nobody in the chair
Saturday, 11am. An hour booked for lip filler, product out, practitioner ready. The client does not arrive and does not answer the phone. At 11:20 they message to say something came up. The slot cannot be filled at that notice, and it was one of your busiest days.
It happens a few times a month. You have thought about deposits, but taking them by bank transfer is a hassle and asking for card details over the phone feels awkward. So bookings stay free, and a certain number of them do not happen.
Why no-shows persist
A free booking has no weight to it. Clients book in a moment of enthusiasm, often after seeing a post, and cancel or forget just as easily.
- Online booking with no payment step.
- Deposits taken inconsistently, depending on who took the booking.
- Reminders that do not ask the client to confirm.
- A cancellation policy that exists on the website but is not applied.
- Consultations booked for free by people comparing several clinics.
What no-shows cost you
| Missed appointment | What you lose |
|---|---|
| Treatment slot | Practitioner time that cannot be resold at short notice |
| Product prepared | Stock taken out of the fridge or opened |
| Saturday and evening slots | Your most in-demand times left empty |
| Other clients | People who wanted that slot but were told it was full |
| Consultations | Practitioner time spent on people who never intended to book |
Many clients are happy to pay a deposit, because it confirms their slot. The ones who object are often the ones most likely not to come.
Deposits and confirmations built into booking
- Deposit rules by treatment type, set by you: an amount or percentage, or no deposit for regulars in good standing.
- Deposit taken at the moment of booking online, through Stripe or your clinic software's payment integration. Phone bookings get a payment link by text.
- Unpaid bookings held for a short time, then released, so a slot is never blocked by a booking that was not secured.
- Reminders that ask the client to confirm, with an easy route to reschedule inside your notice window.
- Cancellations handled under your policy: inside notice, the deposit moves to the new booking; late or no-show, it is kept, with a staff option to waive.
- The deposit is deducted from the final bill automatically, so nobody has to remember at checkout.
Fresha, Pabau and most aesthetics systems support deposits. If yours does, we configure it by treatment type rather than build anything new.
A diary that holds
Most bookings arrive with a deposit already paid. Clients who need to change a slot do it themselves, early, which gives you time to refill it. The few who still do not turn up have left a deposit that covers some of the lost time.
Reception stops chasing payment details over the phone, and checkout is simpler because the deposit is already accounted for.
It also takes an uncomfortable conversation off your plate. The policy is shown at booking, applied the same way to everyone, and any exception is a deliberate choice rather than something decided on the spot with an upset client in front of you.
Does this happen at your clinic?
- Clients book online without paying anything.
- Deposits are taken for some bookings and not others.
- You lose Saturday or evening slots to no-shows.
- Your cancellation policy is rarely applied.
- Free consultations are often booked and not attended.