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Pricing, deposits & fees

Beyond the base price of a service, Slotted lets you shape what a booking costs: group-based pricing, deposits, seasonal adjustments, and fees. Customers see the full breakdown live in the booking summary before they pay, so there are no surprises at checkout.

How a booking price is built​

Slotted composes the final price in a fixed order:

  1. Base price — the price of the selected duration (or the hourly rate for flexible bookings).
  2. Space and staff modifiers — price adjustments tied to the booked space or staff member.
  3. Seasonal pricing — the active pricing period, if any.
  4. Add-ons — extra items the customer selects.
  5. Fees — your configured fees and charges.

Space and staff modifiers never apply to add-ons or fees; add-ons and fees are always priced on their own terms.

Guest-based pricing​

In the Capacity section of the service editor, choose how group size affects price:

  • No guest-based pricing — same price regardless of group size.
  • Tiered pricing — different rates depending on group size. Define ranges ("From / To / Price"), for example 1–2 guests at one rate and 3–4 at another. The last tier stays open-ended.
  • Base + overage — a base rate that covers up to a number of guests, then a charge per additional person ("Each additional guest +$X").

Deposits​

In the Duration & Pricing section, turn on Accept a deposit to collect part of the booking total upfront. The remaining balance is due at the appointment.

  • Deposit type — Flat amount or Percentage of the total. The deposit never exceeds the booking total.
  • Refundable deposits — mark the deposit as refundable and set the window, in hours before the appointment, during which it can be returned. The default is 24 hours: cancelling earlier than that refunds the deposit automatically; cancelling later keeps it.
  • Non-refundable deposits are kept on cancellation, though staff can still issue an exceptional partial or full refund from the Payments screen.

At checkout, the customer sees a Pay deposit button instead of Book when a deposit applies.

Seasonal pricing​

Seasonal pricing temporarily raises or lowers a service's price for appointments that fall within a date range. In the service editor, choose Add pricing period and set:

  • Name — for example "Christmas week".
  • From and Until — the dates the price applies to.
  • Price change type — Percentage or Dollar amount.
  • Price change — positive raises the price, negative lowers it ("For example, 20 or -20").
  • Repeats — Does not repeat or Yearly, with a number of occurrences.

If several periods match a booking date, the shortest window wins. Seasonal pricing is applied after space and staff modifiers, before add-ons.

Discounts without codes

A negative seasonal price change is the built-in way to offer a temporary discount. There are no promo codes — see Discounts for how client discounts work.

Fees & charges​

Create reusable fees at Settings → Fees & Charges with New fee. Each fee has a name, optional description, optional category (for example "Parking"), a price, a max quantity per booking, and a Required for every booking flag. Fees appear as line items at checkout.

Card processing fee​

At Settings → Stripe, turn on Pass the credit card fee to clients to add a separately labeled processing fee when a client pays by card. The fee is sized to cover the card network charge, and customers see it as its own line — "Credit card processing fee" — before paying. Deposits are excluded from the fee calculation.

Travel fees​

For mobile services, at Settings → Travel fee you can charge for the trip from your business address. Customers see the route and total before paying.

  • Charge a travel fee for mobile services — the master toggle.
  • Fee type — Flat fee, Per mile (each driving leg is priced separately: from the business to the first stop, then between each stop), or Distance ranges (price bands like "up to 20 miles costs $10").
  • Maximum itinerary miles — optionally block bookings whose total driving distance exceeds a limit; the customer is told before checkout.

Overstay and extra-people charges​

After a session ends, you can charge for time used beyond the booked slot or for extra people. From the booking drawer, use Extra Charge and pick the reason — Overstay or Extra people. The charge is flagged for confirmation, and once you Confirm & charge, the customer's saved card is charged. Nothing is charged automatically.