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Timely’s built-in payment solution, TimelyPay, lets you take payments online and in person, so it’s easy for clients to pay you securely. With a quick set up it helps reduce no-shows by letting you take deposits and charge cancellation fees. You can also sell gift vouchers and manage your payments in one place. There are no hidden costs, just pay the standard processing fees, and once a payment is settled, the money is paid into your bank account the next business day. That means no waiting around for payments to clear.
In this article you will learn more about revenue protection with TimelyPay. We have three options for you to choose from, and this guide will take you through each of these, why they are useful, how they work, and how you can set them up.
Card capture / Storing cards
A
When you turn on card capture at your business, your clients will need to store their card details in the online booking process when they book appointments online. You can learn more in our help guide TimelyPay: cardless checkout.
B
Storing cards helps to reduce no shows and late cancellations, as clients are aware you are able to charge their card inline with your policies. This is a great option for businesses who do not want to take deposits, but still want a safety net in the event a service is unable to take place without fair warning.
C
It is also super useful in the event your client forgets their wallet, as you are able to charge their card then and there without needing the physical thing. When you are storing client data, it is essential to ensure your are inline with regulations; we recommend reading our help guide PCI compliance: protecting client's credit card information.
D It is also a good idea to require clients to log in if your are using card capture. To remove the guest flow during online booking, head to the online bookings page and select clients must log in under the client login setting. Alternatively you can ask clients to save their card by logging into your system and adding it to my cards.
Deposits
A
Online deposits are a great way that you can get genuine commitment from your client and ensure that you are paid for you time. In addition to requesting full payments for online bookings, a partial deposits can also be requested. You can also request deposits when an appointment is booked in person, for more information on how to do this - we recommend reading our guide How to take a deposit when you book in person.
B
When customers are booking their appointment online they will be prompted to pay a deposit. Once the payment is completed successfully, the appointment is confirmed. When the customer arrives for their appointment, a manual payment can be applied to the invoice so that the customer only pays the difference of what's owed!
Cancellation Fees
A If you would prefer to not take deposits, or to store client data (such as card information); then we have an alternative option that you can explore: cancellation fees.
B
This feature works hand in hand with a strict cancelation policy, meaning your clients have agreed to your terms of service in advance of their appointment; and are aware of the potential fees / charges involved should they fail to meet their appointment commitments. You can learn more about this in our help centre section Cancellation policies and charges.
C
Businesses can set a fixed amount or percentage of their service for their cancellation fees. Once a fee is charged, Timely will automatically send the client an email about it, and also give an option to the staff member to send an SMS, just in case they want to send them a personalised message about it.