Every salon has a cancellation policy. Fewer salons can enforce one without a fight at the desk. They booked from Instagram at 11 PM. Nobody took a card. They don't show. You send the policy. They say they never agreed. The chair sits empty and the review mentions "nickel and diming."
Card on file and deposits move that agreement to the start, when they still want the slot. It falls apart when there's a login, a payments page that looks sketchy, or "call us to finish booking" after you closed.
We treat collection as part of booking. Ada can require a card or a deposit before the appointment is confirmed. She texts a link, no login, they save a card or pay, then she writes the booking. The policy isn't a speech. It's a completed step.
That sits next to the rest of cutting no-shows: reminders that update status, Ada confirming upcoming visits, filling the hole when someone still cancels. Money on file is what makes the last part fair.
Card on file is a saved card you can charge against a published no-show or late-cancel policy. Good default for regulars, shorter services, shops that don't want to hold cash. Also makes the next checkout faster, and it can run memberships.
A deposit is money taken now and applied on the ticket. Better for long services, new clients, Saturdays, anyone who's burned you. Extensions and tattoo deposits belong here.
Both is normal. Card for every online book, plus a deposit over a dollar amount or on first visits. Adalace supports deposits, saved cards, and text payment links for consults and packages. Ada can send the same links when she's the one booking.
Don't copy a 50% deposit onto a $45 blowout. You'll train good clients to book down the street. Match the risk: time on the book, product committed, whether you've met them.
They're in a text thread. Ada has a time. Your rules say this service needs $50 or a card. She sends the link. They pay or save the card in two taps. She only writes the appointment after that works.
That's why booking and POS have to be one system. If she can't see the deposit posted, she either books ghosts or nags people who already paid. If checkout can't apply that deposit on Saturday, the desk looks incompetent.
Same for cancels. Inside the window, the policy runs against the card or the deposit. Enough notice, Ada can fill the slot from her waitlist and you're not charging someone just to feel better.
People accept deposits when three things are true. They saw the rule before they paid. The amount matches how much a no-show actually costs you. Applying it at checkout is automatic.
Put it in the booking instructions Ada already follows. Say it in the text: "I can hold Saturday 11 with Maya. It's a $50 deposit, applied to your service, and I'll send a link with no login." Don't bury it in a 14-page terms URL.
Reminders should mention the appointment, not threaten. Ada confirming visits cuts honest forgetfulness. The card is for the people who were never going to come.
How do booking deposits work in Adalace?
You set the rule on the service or the booking policy. Ada or online booking collects it before the appointment is confirmed. It applies at checkout. Cancel and no-show rules can run against that deposit or a saved card.
What's the difference between card on file and a deposit?
Card on file stores a card for the policy and faster checkout. A deposit takes money now and credits the ticket. A lot of salons use a card on every book and a deposit on long or first-time visits.
Can Ada take a card without them creating an account?
Yes. No-login link, save a card or pay a deposit, booking completes when it succeeds.
Won't deposits kill online booking?
They kill fake bookings. Honest clients finish a short pay step when the copy is clear and there's no password wall. The ones you lose are often the no-shows you were going to eat anyway.
Does this replace reminders?
No. Reminders still catch people who forgot. Card on file and deposits handle the ones who never meant to come, or the last-minute cancel that shouldn't leave a $300 hole.