Deposits & no-show protection in Vagaro

Turn on deposits

1. Activate Credit Card Processing and the Online Shopping Cart.
2. In your online booking settings, scroll to Require Deposit or Capture Credit Card at the time of Booking Services and select Deposits.
3. Enter the Deposit Due (amount or percentage) and the minimum booking value it applies to.
4. Choose which customer types must pay: new, existing, mobile-service, or customers with previous no-shows or cancellations.
5. Enter your Appointment Cancellation Policy and save.
6. Cards used for online deposits are stored on the customer profile (Vagaro).

Card on file instead (no upfront payment)

1. In the same section select Capture Credit Card.
2. Set the minimum booking value, the Cancellation / No-Show Fee (percentage or fixed) and the Cancellation Fee Cut-Off Time in hours.
3. The fee can then be charged automatically when a client cancels late in the Vagaro app or Listing Page, or when you mark a no-show (Vagaro).

Charging a no-show

Mark the appointment as a no-show on the calendar and charge the fee to the saved card. If the client prepaid or left a deposit, you can’t charge a no-show fee on top. Vagaro warns fees are at risk of chargebacks and recommends deposits (Vagaro). An independent test found the fee field defaulted to $0.00, so the desk has to calculate the policy amount (The Front Desk Report).

Paste this as your policy

[Salon name] booking & cancellation policy • A deposit of [X% / $X] is required to book any service. It comes off your total on the day. • Need to move or cancel? Give us at least [48] hours’ notice and your deposit carries over or is refunded. • Cancelling with less than [48] hours’ notice: your deposit is kept. • No-show: your deposit is kept, and future bookings must be prepaid in full. • Running more than [15] minutes late may mean a shorter service or rebooking. • By booking you agree to this policy. Questions? Text us at [number].

Sources: Require a customer deposit · Automatically charge a fee · Mark no-show and charge a fee · Chargebacks

Templates, not legal advice. Fee levels are examples; pick your own and check local consumer and card-network rules. Platform steps were checked against each vendor’s help pages on 2026-10-16, not run in a live account; menus change.