# Set up deposits and cancellation fees

> In Velarya, deposits and cancellation fees live in the booking policy on Organization settings > Booking. Set Online payment to Deposit, balance later, choose a percent or fixed deposit, require a card on file, then set the cancellation window, the late-cancel and no-show fees, and whether each fee charges automatically or waits for staff review.

- Source: https://velarya.com/help/set-up-deposits-and-cancellation-fees
- Who can do this: Admins, for the organization and service policies. Admins and Location Managers, for a location's overrides. Custom roles need Booking rules, deposits, cancellation, waitlist at Edit, held organization-wide for the organization and service policies
- Plans: Basic, Scale, Branded, Connected
- Time: 10 minutes
- Last verified: 2026-10-01

## Before you begin

- Online booking is on in Organization settings > Booking: Set up online booking.
- A payment account is connected in Organization settings > Payments, so Velarya can take deposits and save patients' cards: Connect your payment account.
- Your treatments have prices: Create a service patients can book.

## Take a deposit and require a card on file

A Velarya booking policy decides how patients pay when they book in the app or on your web booking page. **Online payment** starts on **Pay in full**. Switch it to **Deposit, balance later** to take part of the price at booking and the rest at checkout, as [Take payment at checkout](https://velarya.com/help/take-payment-at-checkout) shows.

1. Open the menu at the bottom of the left sidebar and select **Organization settings**, then **Booking** under **Client Experience**.
2. In the **Payments** card, set **Online payment** to **Deposit, balance later**.
3. Choose the **Deposit type**: **Percent of service** or **Fixed amount**.
4. Enter the **Deposit percent**, from 1 to 100 (25 until you change it), or the **Fixed deposit amount**, which must be more than $0.00 ($10.00 until you change it).
5. Turn on **Card on file required at booking** to save a card with every booking, pay at venue included. A saved card is what lets Velarya charge a late-cancel or no-show fee automatically. Bookings your team makes on the **Calendar** ask for the patient's saved card when this is on or when the policy takes a deposit, as [Book an appointment for a patient](https://velarya.com/help/book-an-appointment-for-a-patient) shows.
6. Select **Save** in the **Unsaved changes** bar at the top of the page. The bar closes, and bookings made from now on take the deposit.

![Booking Payments card with Online payment on Deposit, balance later, a 25% deposit and Card on file required at booking on](https://velarya.com/assets/help/set-up-deposits-and-cancellation-fees/policy-payments-deposit-740d8b63.webp)

**Allow pay at venue** lets patients choose to pay nothing online and settle at the practice. It sits alongside **Pay in full**, and it applies only to bookings with no deposit: when a deposit is required, patients pay the deposit online. Turning **Card on file required at booking** off while a fee or pay at venue is on asks you to confirm in **Disable card on file?**, which lists what changes, such as fees no longer charged automatically.

## Set the cancellation window and late-cancel fee

The **Cancellation policy** card sets how much notice patients must give and what a late cancellation costs. A cancellation inside the window is late.

1. In **Cancellation policy**, enter the **Cancellation window** in hours: 0 to 168, 24 until you change it.
2. Turn on **Charge a late-cancel fee**.
3. Choose the **Fee type**: **Flat amount** ($25.00 until you change it), **Percent of service price** (enter the percent, 1 to 100, in **Percent of service**; 50 until you change it), **Full service total**, or **Keep the deposit (deposit forfeit)**, which needs **Deposit, balance later**.
4. Choose the **Late-cancel charge mode**. **Auto-charge** takes the fee at once, from what the patient paid or from their card on file, and needs **Card on file required at booking**. With **Manual review**, an Admin or Location Manager decides in **Transactions** > **Pending Fees** before the patient's card is charged.
5. Select **Save** in the **Unsaved changes** bar at the top of the page. The bar closes, and bookings made from now on carry the cancellation terms.

![Cancellation policy card with a 24-hour window, a $25.00 flat late-cancel fee and Late-cancel charge mode on Auto-charge](https://velarya.com/assets/help/set-up-deposits-and-cancellation-fees/policy-cancellation-fee-26f7b948.webp)

A percent fee is worked out on the visit's total on its sale, add-ons included, after any discount, rounded down to the cent. On a visit with several services, each service's fee is worked out on that service's share.

## Set the no-show grace period and fee

The **No-shows** card sets how long after the start time a patient counts as a no-show and the fee for missing the visit. Staff mark no-shows from the appointment, as [Cancel or reschedule an appointment](https://velarya.com/help/cancel-or-reschedule-an-appointment) shows.

1. In **No-shows**, enter the **No-show grace period**: 0 to 60 minutes, 15 until you change it. **Mark no-show** stays unavailable until the start time plus this period has passed.
2. Turn on **Charge a no-show fee** and choose the **Fee type**. The choices match the late-cancel fee, with $50.00 for **Flat amount** and 100 for **Percent of service** until you change them.
3. Choose the **No-show charge mode**: **Manual review**, the starting choice, or **Auto-charge**, which needs **Card on file required at booking**.
4. Select **Save** in the **Unsaved changes** bar at the top of the page. The bar closes, and bookings made from now on carry the no-show terms.

![No-shows card with a 15-minute No-show grace period, a $50.00 flat no-show fee and No-show charge mode on Manual review](https://velarya.com/assets/help/set-up-deposits-and-cancellation-fees/policy-no-show-5f68a1ab.webp)

## Use different rules at one location

Every location follows the organization's booking policy until you override a row for it. **Manage** > **Booking** lists each row with the value that applies there and an **Inherited** or **Overridden** badge.

1. Choose the location from the menu at the bottom of the left sidebar, then select **Manage**.
2. Select **Booking** under **Client Experience**.
3. Select the row to change: **When customers pay**, **Deposit**, **Card on file required at booking**, **Booking window**, **Cancellation window**, **Late-cancel fee**, **No-show grace period**, **No-show fee** or **Waitlist**.
4. Choose **Set a value for this location** and set the fields. The late-cancel row calls its charge mode **Cancellation charge mode**.
5. Select **Save**. The dialog closes and the row shows **Overridden**.

![Late-cancel fee dialog for one location, with Set a value for this location chosen and a $25 fee on Manual review](https://velarya.com/assets/help/set-up-deposits-and-cancellation-fees/location-override-dialog-dd2e0166.webp)

To follow the organization again, open the row and choose **Inherit from Organization**, which shows the organization's value in brackets, then **Save**. **Clear all overrides** returns every row at the location to the organization's values after you confirm in **Clear all overrides?**.

Three rows are set once for the whole practice and show "Locations cannot override": **Enable Online Booking**, **Web Booking page** and **Booking contact methods**. Card on file works one way: a location can require a card where the organization does not, and a card the organization requires stays required everywhere.

## Use a different policy for one service

A service can carry its own deposit, cancellation window and fees, such as a larger deposit for a long treatment. It applies at every location.

1. Open **Organization settings** > **Service Catalog** and select the service.
2. In the **Booking Policy** card, select **Edit booking policy**. **Service booking policy** opens, with every field marked **Inherited**.
3. Change the fields this service needs. Each changed field shows **Override**, with **Use org default** to undo it.
4. Select **Save** in the **Unsaved changes** bar at the top of the page. The bar closes, and the fields you changed show **Override**.

![Service booking policy for Morpheus8: Deposit, balance later overridden, a 50% deposit and Allow pay at venue off](https://velarya.com/assets/help/set-up-deposits-and-cancellation-fees/service-policy-override-08d3da1c.webp)

A field the service leaves **Inherited** follows the location's override, if there is one, then the organization. **Clear all overrides** at the foot of the page returns the service to inheriting every field.

## What do patients see?

Patients see your Velarya booking policy as they book and when they cancel in the patient app.

- **Deposits.** At review, the app and your web booking page show **Pay now (deposit)** and **Pay at clinic (balance)**. The app's button reads "Pay $X deposit & confirm", and the booked visit shows "Deposit paid" and "Balance due at venue".
- **Pay at venue.** Where it applies, the app offers **Pay at location** and the web page **Pay at venue**, with nothing charged at booking.
- **Card on file.** The app asks for a card and tells the patient "You will not be charged unless you cancel late or miss your appointment." The web page says the practice keeps a card on file to hold the appointment.
- **Cancelling late.** Before a patient confirms a cancellation in the app inside the window, the app names the fee, such as "charge a $25.00 fee", and says whether the fee is taken at once, from what the patient paid or from their card, or reviewed by staff first. Inside the window, the app sends patients to contact the practice to reschedule.

## How do deposits and fees behave?

Velarya applies the booking policy of each booking's location and service, with the money terms fixed when the booking is made.

| Situation | What Velarya does |
|---|---|
| A percent deposit that doesn't divide evenly | Rounds the deposit down to the cent and adds the remainder to the balance |
| A patient books several services in one visit | Takes a deposit on the whole visit total if any service's policy takes one, choosing a percent deposit over a fixed one and the higher value. Requires a card if any service does, and offers pay at venue only if every service allows it |
| You change the policy | Bookings made from then on follow it. Existing bookings keep the deposit, cancellation window, fees, charge modes and grace period they were booked under |
| A booking is cancelled within 15 minutes of being made | Charges no late-cancel fee |
| A patient's own app or web booking is still waiting for them to pay | Charges no late-cancel fee |
| A late-cancel or no-show fee on **Auto-charge** is no more than what was paid for that service | Keeps the fee from the payment and refunds the rest at once. A patient who prepaid and missed the visit gets back everything above the no-show fee |
| A late-cancel or no-show fee on **Auto-charge** is more than what was paid | Keeps what was paid and charges the difference to the card on file |
| A fee on **Manual review** | An Admin or Location Manager decides in **Pending Fees** before the patient's card is charged |
| **Auto-charge** can't complete: no card, a declined card, or the bank asks the patient to confirm | Records the fee in **Pending Fees** as **No card on file**, **Charge failed** or **3DS required** |
| You switch back to **Pay in full** while a fee type is **Keep the deposit (deposit forfeit)** | Changes that fee type to **Flat amount** when you save |

## What does a late cancellation cost with a deposit?

With **Late-cancel charge mode** on **Auto-charge**, Velarya settles a late cancellation of a $450.00 Hydrafacial, with a 25% deposit of $112.50 paid at booking, as below for each **Fee type**.

| Fee type | Fee | What Velarya does |
|---|---|---|
| **Flat amount**, $25.00 | $25.00 | Keeps $25.00 of the deposit and refunds $87.50 |
| **Percent of service price**, 50% | $225.00 | Keeps the $112.50 deposit and charges the other $112.50 to the card on file |
| **Full service total** | $450.00 | Keeps the $112.50 deposit and charges the other $337.50 to the card on file |
| **Keep the deposit (deposit forfeit)** | $112.50 | Keeps the deposit and charges nothing more |

With no payment on the booking, the whole fee is charged to the card on file, or waits in **Pending Fees** on **Manual review**. [No-Show Policies, Deposits, and the Card You Are Holding](https://velarya.com/blog/med-spa-no-show-policy) covers the card rules to read before you set a fee.

## If something goes wrong

**"Auto-charge late-cancel mode requires a card on file. Enable card-on-file-at-booking or switch to manual review."** A charge mode is **Auto-charge** while **Card on file required at booking** is off. Turn the card requirement on, or set the charge mode to **Manual review**, then **Save**. **No-show charge mode** shows the matching no-show message.

**Auto-charge is grayed out, reading "Auto-charge (needs card on file)".** Turn on **Card on file required at booking** at the same level as the fee: in the **Payments** card for the organization or a service, or on the location's **Card on file required at booking** row. The choice then opens.

**Keep the deposit (deposit forfeit) is grayed out, reading "needs deposit booking".** That fee type keeps a deposit, so set **Online payment** to **Deposit, balance later** on the same page as the fee: the organization's **Payments** card, the service's **Service booking policy**, or the location's **When customers pay** row.

**"This change conflicts with settings saved for:" followed by a location or service.** Your change would break a rule for an override saved there, such as **Auto-charge** without a card. Open that location's **Booking** page or the service's **Service booking policy**, change or clear the override, then save again.

**"Auto-charge no-show mode requires a no-show fee to be enabled."** **No-show charge mode** is **Auto-charge** while **Charge a no-show fee** is off. Turn the fee on, or set the charge mode back to **Manual review**.

**Set a value for this location is grayed out on Card on file required at booking.** Your organization requires a card on file, and a location can only make the card rule stricter.

**"You have view-only access to booking policy at this location."** Your role holds **Booking rules, deposits, cancellation, waitlist** at **view**. Ask an Admin to raise it to **edit** for the location.

**Patients no longer see Pay at venue.** The booking takes a deposit, or one of its treatments has **Allow pay at venue** off, through the organization, the location or the service.

## Frequently asked questions

### Can I take a deposit on some treatments and not others?

Yes. Keep Online payment on Pay in full for the practice, then open the treatment in Service Catalog, select Edit booking policy and set Deposit, balance later with its own percent or amount. It applies at every location, and a visit that includes the treatment takes the deposit on the whole visit total. A location can also take deposits on its own, from its Deposit and When customers pay rows.

### Can patients still pay at the practice when I take deposits?

Yes, for the balance. With a deposit, patients pay the deposit online as they book and settle the rest at the practice. Allow pay at venue, which lets patients pay nothing online, applies to bookings without a deposit. Card on file required at booking still works with pay at venue, so a pay-at-venue booking can hold a card.

### Does a new fee apply to patients who booked before I changed it?

No. Velarya saves the policy's money terms with each booking when it is made: the deposit, cancellation window, late-cancel and no-show fees, charge modes and grace period. A patient who booked under a 24-hour window and no fee keeps those terms. Everything booked after you select Save follows the new policy, and the booking window and waitlist settings apply to every booking at once.

### Does my team have to charge the late-cancel fee when they cancel for a patient?

No. When staff cancel inside the cancellation window, the Cancel appointment? dialog shows a box to charge the late-cancel fee when the patient has a saved card on file (or, for Keep the deposit, a paid deposit), and leaving it cleared waives the fee and refunds what was paid. When a patient cancels late in the app, Velarya applies your policy itself, by the charge mode.

### Should I choose Auto-charge or Manual review?

Auto-charge collects the fee the moment the late cancellation or no-show is recorded, from what the patient paid or from their card on file, and it needs Card on file required at booking. With Manual review, an Admin or Location Manager decides in Transactions > Pending Fees before the patient's card is charged: approve and charge, comp or dismiss. Each charge mode starts on Manual review until you require a card on file.