Money
Advance Payment for Appointments: How to Take It in India
Take advance payment for appointments by collecting a deposit or the full fee at booking. Amounts by profession, policy wording and refund rules for India.
- Published
- Author
- Shubham N Datarkar
- Read
- 7 min
To take advance payment for appointments, ask for a deposit or the full fee at the moment the client books, and confirm the slot only after the money arrives. Most Indian practices charge between 20% and the full fee. Show your cancellation and refund terms before the client pays, not after.
An unpaid booking costs the client nothing to abandon. A paid one does. That small commitment is what fills the slot. Below: deposit vs full prepay, how much to charge by profession, policy wording you can copy, and how to handle refunds.
Booking deposit vs full prepayment: which should you take?
There are three common models. The right one depends on how long the appointment is, how much it costs and how often clients cancel on you.
| Model | How it works | Best for | Downside |
|---|---|---|---|
| Full prepayment | Whole fee paid at booking | Online consultations, therapy, coaching, single sessions | Some first-time clients hesitate |
| Booking deposit | 20% to 50% now, balance at the visit | Salons, spas, photographers, long or high-ticket services | You still collect the balance |
| Token amount | A small fixed amount, such as ₹200, to hold the slot | Clinics, first consultations, demo classes | Weak commitment on expensive slots |
If the appointment is short and the price is fixed, take the full fee. It is simpler for everyone, and there is no balance to chase. Use a deposit when the service is long, the final price may change, or the amount is large enough that asking for all of it up-front would lose you bookings.
How much advance to charge, by profession
There is no universal number. A useful rule from our own build-in-public notes on advance payments is to charge “enough that abandoning it stings, low enough that it is not a decision”. The ranges below are illustrative starting points, not market data.
| Profession | Suggested advance | Worked example |
|---|---|---|
| Consultant, coach, mentor | Full fee | ₹1,500 call: ₹1,500 at booking |
| Therapist or counsellor | Full fee per session | ₹2,000 session: ₹2,000 at booking |
| Doctor (online consultation) | Full fee | ₹600 tele-consult: ₹600 at booking |
| Doctor or dentist (in clinic) | Token or none for regulars | ₹200 to hold a first visit |
| Salon or spa (long services) | 25% to 50% | ₹8,000 bridal package: ₹2,000 to ₹4,000 |
| Photographer | Booking amount | ₹40,000 wedding shoot: ₹10,000 to block the date |
| Tutor | Monthly fee in advance; demo class free or prepaid | ₹3,000 a month, paid by the 5th |
| Personal trainer | Package prepaid | 12-session pack paid before session one |
If your no-show rate is high, move up a row and take the full fee. People who intend to come rarely mind paying first. Book A Sloth will publish its own aggregated numbers on prepaid vs unpaid no-shows once its booking volume is large enough to be meaningful. Until then, use your own records. For fixes beyond prepayment, see this no-show reduction playbook.
What a no-show costs you: a quick calculation
Do this sum with your own numbers before you decide. Monthly loss = bookings per month × no-show rate × average fee. Then add the time you spent preparing for sessions that did not happen.
- Example: 60 bookings a month × 10% no-shows × ₹1,000 fee = ₹6,000 lost a month.
- Over a year that example is ₹72,000, before counting the slots you could have sold to someone else.
- If a ₹1,000 advance cuts even half of those no-shows, it recovers ₹3,000 a month in the same example.
The 10% figure above is a placeholder. Plug your real rate into the no-show cost calculator to see your own number.
How to take a booking amount without chasing UPI screenshots
Most professionals start by sharing a UPI ID on WhatsApp and waiting for a screenshot. It works, but every step is yours: send the ID, wait, zoom into the screenshot, check the bank app, confirm the slot, note it somewhere. If you stay with this method, run it like this:
- 01Send the slot, the amount and your UPI ID in one message, with a deadline to pay, such as two hours.
- 02Hold the slot only until that deadline. Release it if the payment has not arrived.
- 03Check the credit in your own bank app. Do not confirm from a screenshot alone.
- 04Reply with a confirmation that repeats the date, time, amount received and your cancellation policy.
- 05Log the payment against the client name the same day.
The better fix is ordering. The payment should happen inside the booking, before the slot is confirmed, so none of those steps need you. A booking page with built-in checkout or a payment link does this. Our pillar guide on how to collect payments from clients in India compares every method on fees and refunds.
Advance payment policy wording you can copy
A cancellation policy the client never saw before paying is an argument waiting to happen. Put the wording on your booking page and in the confirmation. Edit the numbers to suit your practice. Our appointment confirmation templates already include a cancellation-policy line.
Sessions are confirmed on full payment at the time of booking. Reschedule free up to 24 hours before your slot. Cancel 24 hours or more before: full refund. Cancel within 24 hours or miss the session: no refund, but one free reschedule within 7 days. If I cancel, you get a full refund or a new slot of your choice.
Full prepayment policy: consultants, coaches, therapists
A booking amount of 30% is needed to confirm your appointment. The balance is paid at the salon by UPI or card. Cancel 48 hours or more before: booking amount refunded in full. Cancel within 48 hours or no-show: booking amount is kept. Running late by more than 15 minutes may shorten your service.
Deposit policy: salons and spas
Your date is blocked once the booking amount of ₹10,000 is received. The balance is due 7 days before the event. The booking amount is non-refundable but can move to a new date within 6 months, subject to availability. If I cannot cover your date, the booking amount is refunded in full.
Booking amount: photographers and event services
Hi Priya, your slot on Thursday 16 Oct at 6:00 pm IST is on hold for you. To confirm it, please pay the advance of ₹500 within 2 hours here: [payment link] The remaining ₹1,500 is paid after the session. Cancellation policy: free reschedule up to 24 hours before.
WhatsApp message asking for an advance
Refunds: when to return an advance
Decide the rules once, write them down, and apply them the same way to everyone. That consistency is what keeps refund conversations short.
| Situation | Common approach |
|---|---|
| Client cancels well before the cut-off | Full refund or a free reschedule |
| Client cancels after the cut-off | Keep the advance or offer one reschedule, as your policy says |
| Client does not turn up | Keep the advance as per policy |
| You cancel or reschedule | Always offer a full refund |
| Genuine emergency (illness, bereavement) | Use discretion; a reschedule usually keeps the relationship |
If you took the advance through a gateway, refund it from the gateway dashboard so it returns to the client's original payment method. Razorpay's standard pricing page lists refund processing at ₹0 and a 2% platform fee plus 18% GST on each successful payment. If you took it by UPI to your own account, send it back by UPI and save the transaction reference.
One more cost to note. From 15 October 2026, the Department of Financial Services FAQ on UPI merchant charges sets a 0.4% MDR on person-to-merchant UPI payments above ₹2,000, capped at ₹300. Advances up to ₹2,000 stay free of MDR, and merchants cannot pass the charge on to clients.
Prepaid appointments on Book A Sloth
Book A Sloth makes prepaid booking the default. You list fixed-price services on your booking page, clients pay up-front through Razorpay by UPI, card or netbanking when they book, and the booking confirms automatically once payment succeeds. Email and WhatsApp confirmations and reminders go out on their own, and the client can reschedule or cancel through the same flow. See how it works on the payments feature page.
Write your policy into the service description and link to it from your cancellation policy so clients agree to it at the point of payment. For fuller wording with ₹ late-cancel fees, see these cancellation policy templates.
Common questions
How much advance should I take for an appointment?
Most Indian practices take between 20% and the full fee. Take the full fee for short, fixed-price sessions such as consultations, therapy or coaching. Take a 25% to 50% deposit for long or high-ticket services such as bridal makeup or photo shoots, where the balance is paid on the day.
Is a booking deposit the same as an advance payment?
A booking deposit is a type of advance payment. It covers part of the fee to hold the slot, with the balance paid at the appointment. Full prepayment is also an advance, but it covers the whole fee so there is nothing left to collect.
Should advance payments be refundable?
Usually yes, if the client cancels before a clear cut-off such as 24 or 48 hours. After the cut-off or on a no-show, many professionals keep the advance or offer one reschedule. If you cancel, always refund in full. Whatever you choose, show it before the client pays.
How do I ask a client for advance payment politely?
Make it routine, not personal. Send the slot, the amount, one payment link or UPI ID, and a deadline in a single message, then mention your cancellation policy in one line. Clients accept advances easily when every booking works the same way. For email and WhatsApp scripts, see this guide to asking a client for payment politely.
Do prepaid appointments reduce no-shows?
Prepayment gives the client a reason to turn up or to cancel in time, because they have something to lose. Track your own no-show rate for a month before and after asking for advances to see the effect on your practice.