Avana lets clients pay a deposit when they book online, by card, Apple Pay or Google Pay, and it's included in every plan. A lash set or a Saturday color is then really theirs, and if the chair stays empty anyway, the deposit stays with you.
A no-show on a long service costs you hours you can't sell again. A deposit taken at booking means that time is paid for either way.
Once money is down, a booking rarely gets forgotten. And if someone cancels late anyway, that time isn't lost for nothing.
You don't send payment requests after a no-show or have an awkward chat at the next visit. It was settled before the appointment.
Switch it on for your long or expensive services and leave a quick fringe trim exactly as it was.
You switch a deposit on per service and set the amount; the client pays it while booking and the rest at your salon.
Pick a fixed amount or a percentage of the price once for your salon, then choose per service whether clients pay a deposit at all.
While booking, the client sees what they pay now and what is left to pay at the salon. Until the deposit goes through, the time stays open for everyone else.
If a client cancels too late or simply doesn't come, the deposit stays with you. What counts as too late is set in your own cancellation rules.
The same Saturday, the same client who messages at 9am to say they can't make it.
| Without a deposit | With a deposit in Avana | |
|---|---|---|
| The empty slot | Three hours of nothing | Partly paid for already |
| Getting paid | A payment request they may ignore | Nothing to chase, it was paid at booking |
| The conversation | Awkward, at their next visit | None needed, they agreed when booking |
| If you cancel instead | You apologize | You apologize, and the refund goes out by itself |
A deposit means an empty chair costs you less. These three help make sure the chair isn't empty in the first place.
The client has already put money down, and the day before they get a reminder by email. Very little slips through after that.
You decide how late a free cancellation is allowed. The client agrees to that while booking, so there's nothing to argue about later.
Someone asks about a Saturday slot in your Instagram DMs and gets a link with the service and time filled in. Booking through that link takes the same deposit as your booking page.
Any chance of balayage on Saturday?
Yes! We still have 10:00 and 14:30 free on Saturday.
In Avana you decide which services need a deposit and how strict your rules are.
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A booking deposit is part of the price that a client pays when they book, with the rest paid at the salon after the appointment. In Avana you switch it on or off for each service and choose once how much it is. The time slot is only held once the deposit has been paid.
Yes, as long as the client knows what they are agreeing to before they pay: how much is due now, and what happens if they cancel or don't turn up. Avana shows both before the booking is confirmed, and the client accepts your rules as part of booking. The deposit is part of the price, so nobody pays more than the service costs.
For a ten-minute service it might, which is why most salons leave it off there. For a full set of lashes, a set of nails or a color that takes the whole morning, clients are used to paying a deposit and most expect it. They see exactly what they pay now and what is left before they confirm.
A common rule of thumb is around a fifth to a quarter of the price, for example $25 on a $120 balayage. That's enough to matter without making anyone hesitate. You set the amount once and switch the deposit on or off per service.
When a client doesn't show up, the deposit stays with you, according to the rules you set beforehand. The client agreed to them when booking, so there's no discussion needed afterwards. You set those rules in your cancellation policy.
Yes, if you cancel the appointment and mark it as canceled by the salon: the deposit is then refunded automatically and the client gets a message. If a client cancels online themselves, nothing is refunded automatically. If you want to give it back anyway, you can refund it from the appointment in a couple of taps.
Yes. Deposits are part of Avana Business, which costs $20.99 a month, tax included, and you can switch them on during your free trial. The differences between the plans are on the pricing page.
Clients pay the deposit online, as part of booking, by card, Apple Pay or Google Pay. Clients don't need an account or an app. The money is paid out to your own bank account. How the rest of the payment works is explained on payments.
When a client pays online, a small service fee is part of the price they see from the very first screen: 3% of the booking, at least $1.99 and at most $2.79. You pay nothing on your takings, because Avana charges no commission. That small amount from the client is what lets us pay you out in full, so the whole treatment price stays with you.
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Avana is a salon booking system that lets you take a deposit when a client books. The client pays part of the price online by card, Apple Pay or Google Pay and pays the rest at the salon. You switch deposits on per service and set the amount yourself, the slot is only held once the deposit is paid, and if the client cancels too late or doesn't turn up, the deposit stays with you. Deposits are included in every plan. If you work on your own, Avana Business costs $20.99 a month, tax included, which is $0.69 a day.
A no-show on a quick trim costs you half an hour. A no-show on a full lash set, a set of acrylics or a balayage costs you most of a morning, and that time doesn't come back. That's why so many lash artists, nail techs and colourists ask for a deposit at booking: the client pays part of the price up front and settles the rest with you on the day.
In Avana you decide where that applies. For short services you usually leave it off, and for long or expensive ones you switch it on. The client sees what they pay now and what follows while booking, and pays by card, Apple Pay or Google Pay. What happens after a late cancellation is in your cancellation policy, which the client accepts as part of booking.
A deposit works best alongside everything else. Picture a Saturday with two balayages: both clients paid part of the price when they booked, and both get a reminder before the appointment. If one of them cancels in good time, everyone on your waitlist hears straight away that the slot is free (from Business Plus). There's more on the bigger picture under no-show protection, and what each plan includes is on the pricing page.
Salons ask for a deposit to secure long appointments, so one no-show doesn't wipe out an afternoon. It suits people who work alone or with a small team and offer services of an hour or more: lash extensions, nail sets and fills, brow lamination, hair color and balayage, long facials or a ninety-minute massage. For a twenty-minute cut it matters much less.
In Avana the client pays the deposit online in the same step as booking. The appointment only appears in your calendar once it's paid, and if someone abandons the payment, the time frees up again after a few minutes. The rest is paid at your front desk after the appointment, just as before. Only the start of the booking is locked in.
It takes two steps. First, online payments need to be switched on. Then, in your payment settings, choose a deposit up front and pick either a fixed amount or a percentage of the price. Below the field you see an example straight away: what the client pays online for a service and what's left to pay at the salon.
That setting applies to all your services on every day of the week. If you don't want a deposit on a short service, open that service and switch its deposit off; the client then pays for it in full at the salon. A deposit only on Saturdays, or a different amount per day, isn't possible, but on or off per service is. Make one test booking afterwards so you see exactly what your clients see.
A fixed amount is easiest to explain, and a percentage moves with your prices. With a fixed $20, every service with a deposit asks for the same amount, and it's never more than the service itself. With a percentage, say 20%, Avana works it out on the price of the service plus any add-ons, after any discount. Products don't count towards it, because clients always pay for those in full up front.
When someone books several services at once, you choose whether the deposit is charged per service or once per booking. Once per booking means the client pays only the highest single deposit among the services they picked. If someone books gel nails and a lash lift together, that keeps the upfront amount from suddenly climbing. Nail studios with lots of combinations often go for once per booking.
Yes. You choose whether everyone pays up front or only new clients. With the second option, anyone who has already had an appointment that went ahead pays at the salon as usual. Your regulars keep it easy, and you only ask for security from people you don't know yet, which is often where the empty chairs come from.
A canceled appointment or a no-show doesn't count as a visit. If someone doesn't turn up, mark the appointment as a no-show and they will pay a deposit again next time. It works as a quiet nudge without you having to bring it up. Pair it with a reminder before the appointment and very few people forget. More ideas are on no-show protection.
If the client doesn't come, you keep the deposit. If you cancel the appointment, Avana asks who is canceling. Choose the salon, and the deposit goes back to the client automatically, minus the service fee. Choose the client, for example because they rang you too late, and the deposit stays with you. If the client cancels online within the window you allow, nothing is refunded automatically; you can still refund it from the appointment if you want to.
If the client reschedules, or you move the appointment, the deposit moves with it and the client doesn't pay again. Any late or no-show fee you mention in your policy is shown to the client when booking, but Avana doesn't charge it automatically. So if you want to be sure of keeping something after a no-show, the deposit is what does that. And when someone cancels in good time, the waitlist in Business Plus can fill the slot again.
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