Requiring a credit card on file for customers to book a service or a class on your Vagaro Listing Page requires credit card capture to be enabled in Vagaro. Doing so also allows them to quickly pay after an appointment, and lets you automatically charge cancellation and no-show fees and take deposits. Credit card capture is an effective way to help reduce income loss and discourage last-minute cancellations and no-shows.
Note
Vagaro only accepts and processes deposits and fees from Vagaro Merchant Services.
When booking online, customers will be prompted to enter their information before they can book.
For in-house appointments, a red Required box will appear next to the customer's profile when booking their appointment. You can bypass the credit card requirement by selecting the Required box, then Book Without Credit Card.
Prerequisites: This feature requires Credit Card Processing and the Online Shopping Cart.
To require a credit card for customers to book a service online:
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Go to Online Shopping Cart:
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Phone: Select More
→ → .
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Computer, Tablet, Pay Desk, or PayPro: Select Settings
→ .
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Scroll down to Require Deposit or Capture Credit Card at the time of Booking Services and select Capture Credit Card.
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Provide the following information:
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For Bookings Greater Than or Equal To: Enter the minimum service price that you want to require a credit card.
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Cancellation / No-Show Fee: Enter a percentage based on the service price or a fixed fee.
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Cancellation Fee Cut-Off Time: Enter the cut-off time (in hours). Customers who cancel before the set time period (e.g., 24 hours) will not be charged a fee.
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Require Credit Card for: Select at least one customer type that needs to provide a credit card number:
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New customer appointments: Customers who don't have a customer profile at your business.
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Old customer appointments: Customers who already have a customer profile at your business.
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Mobile service appointments: Customers who schedule a mobile service appointment
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Customer with no-shows or cancellations: Customers who have cancelled or missed an appointment or class at least once at your business.
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Enter your Required Appointment Cancellation Fee Policy to describe your business's cancellation policy. This text is also reflected and can be updated in the Facility Information and Online Appointment Rules screens.
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Select Save.
To require a credit card for customers to sign up for a class:
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Go to Online Shopping Cart:
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Phone: Select More
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Computer, Tablet, Pay Desk, or PayPro: Select Settings
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Scroll down to Require Deposit or Capture Credit Card at the time of Booking Classes and select Capture Credit Card .
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Provide the following information:
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For Bookings Greater Than or Equal To: Enter the minimum service price that you want to require a credit card.
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Cancellation / No-Show Fee: Enter a percentage of the class price or a fixed fee.
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Cancellation Fee Cut-Off Time: Enter the cut-off time (in hours). Customers who cancel before the set time period (e.g., 24 hours) will not be charged a fee.
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Require Credit Card for: Select at least one customer type that needs to provide a credit card number:
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New customer class sign ups: Customers who have never taken the class before.
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Old customer class sign ups: Customers who have already taken the class.
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Customer with no-shows or cancellations: Customers who have cancelled or missed an appointment or class at least once at your business.
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In the Required Class Cancellation Fee Policy box, enter a cancellation policy for your business. This text is also reflected and can be updated in the Facility Information and Online Appointment Rules screens.
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Select Save.
Comments
4 comments
We can require a credit card on file to enforce a cancellation policy or no-show fee, but I consistently receive a message that the credit card on file is expired, not valid, incorrect information, etc. These are the customers that we never hear from again. Anyone can enter fake credit card information. As paying customers of Vagaro, why are you all not using software to identify this erroneous information, so we are reimbursed for our lost time or violation of our written policies?
Hi Katie,
Thank you for your feedback. I'd like to clarify that Vagaro does validate all credit cards when they are added. If a card is invalid or fraudulent, it will not be saved, and the customer will receive an error message prompting them to re-enter the correct card information. Additionally, Vagaro offers a card updater feature, which automatically updates expired cards or those that have been reported lost or stolen. This ensures that when a new card is issued, it’s updated in the system even before the customer receives the physical card.
The only situations in which a card might not work are if the customer cancels the card entirely or has reached their credit limit—circumstances beyond our control.
To further protect your business, we recommend enabling the Deposit feature. This setting ensures that customers cannot book an appointment unless their card has sufficient funds, and in the event of a no-show or late cancellation, the deposit is already secured. Should a customer dispute a deposit charge, it can be easily defended, as they must agree to the business’s cancellation and refund policies at the time of booking, which credit card companies treat much like a contract.
Thanks,
Jamie
For online booking with credit card capture enabled, does Vagaro save the client’s card on file for future use, or does the client need to manually enter their card information each time they schedule an appointment?
Hi Kyla,
Yes. If you require a credit card to book, it will be saved on file and will be used the next time the customer books. They won't need to enter their information each time.
Thanks, Jamie
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