Deposits & No-Shows

The End of
No-Show
Saturdays.

Take a deposit, full payment or just card details when guests book. People with money on the table turn up. The ones who don't cover it.

Start For Free

No credit card required. No contracts. Cancel anytime.

No Per-Cover Fees
Flat pricing, even on your busiest nights
Free Forever Plan
All features, no card needed
Family-Run Support
Real people, not a call centre
Features

Pick Your Level of Commitment

Every venue draws the line differently. Set the commitment you want, from a gentle card hold to paid in full.

Deposits, Your Way

A fixed amount or a percentage, per person or per booking. £10 a head for Saturday dinner, £50 flat for the private room.

Paid in Full Upfront

For tickets, events and tasting menus, take the whole amount at booking. The night is sold before the doors open.

Card Capture

Hold card details without charging a penny. Guests book in seconds, and you have recourse if the table sits empty.

No-Show Charges

Set a charge that only applies when someone doesn't turn up. Honest guests never pay it. The other kind funds your evening.

Big Tables Only

Ask for commitment from parties of six and up while couples book friction-free. You choose the group size where deposits kick in.

Seasonal Rules

December is not February. Deposit schedules let a session charge more, or start charging at all, for the date ranges you pick.

Why Bother

The Same Saturday, Twice

A no-show on a busy night is not a small loss. It's a table you turned other guests away from.

Without deposits

  • Table of 10 books for 8pm, nobody arrives
  • You turned away three walk-ins holding it
  • The phone number rings out on Sunday
  • Staff and stock planned for covers that never came

With deposits

  • The same table books with £10 a head down
  • They turn up, because £100 is on the line
  • If they vanish, the deposit softens the blow
  • Serial no-shows quietly stop booking at all
Deposit pricing configuration with per-person charge, capture-only toggle and minimum group size
Your Rules

Set the Rules Once.
They Enforce Themselves.

You decide what needs protecting: which sessions, which party sizes, which dates, which guest types. After that the booking flow does the asking, every time, without a single awkward phone call.

Attached where you want them
Put a deposit on dinner service but not lunch, on the tasting menu but not the bar. Each session carries its own rules.
Per guest type
Charge adults, halve it for children and skip babies entirely. The amount follows who is actually coming.
Minimum party size
Deposits from six guests and up, instant booking below that. Commitment where the risk is.
Date-range schedules
A session can charge nothing in March and £20 a head through December. Set the spans once and forget them.
Itemised deposit summary at checkout with per-person amount, booking fee, discount code field and total to pay
The Guest Side

Firm With No-Shows.
Fair to Everyone Else.

Guests already pay upfront for cinema seats and train tickets. A clear, itemised deposit at checkout reads as professional, and the people it puts off are mostly the ones you didn't want holding a table.

Itemised and obvious
Guests see exactly what they're paying now, what's due later and why. Clear terms make deposits feel fair.
Stripe and Square
Payment goes from the guest straight into your own account. We never hold your money.
Codes still work
Gift cards, coupons and member discounts apply at the same checkout, against the same total.
Terms on the record
Add a required tick-box with your cancellation policy, so the charge never comes as a surprise.
Payment requests dashboard with collected totals, monthly collections and a list of paid and pending requests
Big Bookings

Deposit Now,
Balance Later.

The classic party pattern: something down to hold the date, the rest closer to the day. Take the deposit at booking, then send a payment link for the balance whenever suits you both.

Payment links for balances
From any booking, send a payment request for any amount with your own description. Paid online in one tap.
Tracked on the booking
Every request, payment and refund sits on the booking record, so the front desk always knows what's owed.
Refunds without drama
Refund a deposit or a payment from the booking screen when plans genuinely change.
Works with changes
Guests who amend their booking online pay the difference, or get the difference back, under rules you set.
And More

The Fine Print, Handled

Deposits plug into the rest of BookingNinja, so the edge cases are already handled.

Members & Regulars

Give membership plans their own deposit rules, or skip deposits for members
Booking fees can be charged separately from deposits when you need both

Control

Time-interval pricing for by-the-hour sessions
Different deposits on different ticket types within one event
Charge titles and descriptions guests actually understand

Money

Stripe payment plans spread large balances over instalments
Every transaction lands in your own Stripe or Square account
Full payment history and refunds on each booking record
FAQ

Deposit Questions, Answered

Can I charge guests who don't show up?
Yes, two ways. Card capture stores the guest's card at booking without charging it, leaving you able to charge your no-show fee if the table sits empty. Or set a charge that only applies to no-shows, so guests who arrive never pay anything.
Can I take deposits only for large groups?
Yes. Set a minimum party size on the deposit and smaller bookings sail through without payment. Most venues start at six or eight covers.
Can I charge different deposits at Christmas?
Yes. Deposit schedules attach different rules to date ranges on the same session. A session can be free to book most of the year and take £20 a head through December, without you touching anything in between.
Do deposits work per person or per booking?
Either. Charge a fixed amount or a percentage, per head or per booking, and vary the amount by guest type so adults pay while children or babies don't.
Where does the money go?
Straight from the guest into your own Stripe or Square account. BookingNinja never holds your funds. Standard processing fees and a small platform transaction fee apply, as set out on the pricing page.
How do I take the rest of a party payment later?
Send a payment request from the booking for any amount, with your own title and description. The guest pays online, the payment is tracked against the booking, and you can resend, refund or cancel it at any time.
Are deposits an extra cost?
No. Deposits, card capture, no-show charges and payment requests are included on every plan, including Free Forever. On the Free Forever plan, bookings beyond your monthly free allowance must include a payment, so deposits are also how that plan stays free.
Explore More

More Ways to Run Your Venue

Every BookingNinja plan bundles these tools in. Take a look at what else you get.

Memberships

Recurring subscriptions, member perks, and automated billing.

Learn more

Member Events

Let members host and fill their own events at your venue.

Learn more

Pre-orders

Guests choose food and drink before they arrive.

Learn more

Order at Table

Scan-to-order from the table, straight to your kitchen.

Learn more

Point of Sale

A full till, kitchen display and cash-up, at no extra cost.

Learn more

Soft Play

Age-band pricing, school-holiday sessions, and party payments.

Learn more

Staff Rota

Build rotas, manage shifts, and share schedules with staff.

Learn more

Floor Plans

Draw your room, run service live, and let guests pick their table.

Learn more

Analytics

Revenue, demand, attribution and forecasts. Zero spreadsheets.

Learn more

Social Graphics

Design posts and posters that auto-fill with your events.

Learn more

See every feature

Browse the full BookingNinja feature list in one place.

All features

Ready to Make
No-Shows Pay?

Set your deposit rules this afternoon and take a protected booking tonight. No credit card, no contracts.

Start For Free

Free Forever plan: 50 no-payment bookings a month. Upgrade anytime.