Booking software for small business, with payment or a deposit
Short answer
Aventide’s booking page lets clients pick a time from the hours you set, answer the questions on your form and pay in full or a deposit when they book. Payments go through your own Stripe account, and Aventide adds no fee of its own. Each booking gets its location, such as a Zoom or Google Meet link, an email confirmation, and email reminders, by default 24 hours and one hour before. Clients can reschedule or cancel from their manage link until your cutoff, and your refund policy decides what they get back. Bookings land on the host’s Google Calendar. Every business you run has its own booking page, on both plans.
What the booking page does
Clients pay in full or a deposit when they book
Turn on payment for a booking type and choose Full payment or Deposit. The client then pays on your booking page before the time is confirmed, and the money goes to your own Stripe account.
Your questions and the meeting link, on every booking
Each booking type can ask one of your forms, and the answers show on the booking. Set the location to Zoom, Google Meet, a phone call, in person or your own details. With Zoom connected, each booking gets its own meeting, and the link goes out with the client's confirmation.
Reminders, rescheduling and your refund rules
Clients get an email confirmation and reminders, by default 24 hours and one hour before, or at up to three times you set. Until your cutoff, they can reschedule or cancel from those emails. "I'm reminded weekly how frustrating it is to get cancelled on last minute and know you're not getting paid," a personal trainer wrote in March 2024. Take payment at booking and set a refund window, and a client who cancels inside it isn't refunded.
On your Google Calendar, with the right client
Aventide checks the host's Google Calendar, so clients only see times that are free, and puts each booking there. A booking is linked to the client with that email address, so it shows in their client room. Ask Sidekick to book a client in, move a booking or cancel one, and it shows you the change and waits for your OK first.
Each business has its own booking page
Every business you run gets its own booking page, booking types and Stripe account, under one login. The page carries that business's name, logo and fonts from its Brand Kit, and a Brand colors switch adds the kit's palette. Share the link, embed it on your website, or add a Book a time button to a client's portal.
How to set up online booking with payment
Make a booking type
In the Calendar workstation, click Booking, then New type. Give it a name and a length, pick a location, set your weekly hours and add any questions for your client. Under Cancellation policy, set the cutoff after which clients can no longer change the booking themselves, and write the short policy note they see before they book.
Turn on payment
Open Payment. If Stripe isn't connected yet, click Connect Stripe and finish in the Stripe window. Tick Collect payment for this booking type, choose Full payment or Deposit, and enter the amount or take the price from one of your offers. Then pick a refund policy: Refund if cancelled in advance, Always refund or Never refund.
Publish and share your booking page
Click Publish; a type needs at least one open time range first. On the Booking page card, copy your link, or click Embed for code to paste on your website as a booking flow or a Book now button. Only the account owner can switch the booking page on or off.
Watch bookings come in
New bookings show under Upcoming bookings and on your calendar, and you get an email for each one. A booking still being paid for shows as Awaiting payment until it's paid or its 15-minute hold runs out. Open a booking to see the client's answers and payment, or to cancel, reschedule or mark a no-show.
What booking costs
Booking is on both plans, like every feature: Starter is $39 a month and Pro is $99 a month, each with unlimited businesses and unlimited team members. Aventide adds no booking fee and takes no cut of what clients pay you; Stripe's own processing fees apply. Doing things yourself never uses credits. Only the AI's work does, so asking Sidekick to book or move a session uses credits.
Questions about booking and payments
Can clients pay when they book in Aventide?
Yes. With payment turned on for a booking type, the client's time is held for 15 minutes while they pay on your booking page; if the hold runs out, the time is released, and if they pay, the booking is confirmed with the money in your own Stripe account. A paid booking shows in Money as a paid invoice.
Can I take a deposit when a client books in Aventide?
Yes. Choose Deposit as the payment mode and set the amount, and the client pays it when they book. If the booking type also has a full price, Aventide drafts an invoice in Money for the rest. It stays a draft until you check it and send it. Taking payment at booking needs Stripe.
Does Aventide send booking reminders?
Yes, by email. Clients get a confirmation when they book, then reminders 24 hours and one hour before the start, or at up to three times you set, each with a link to reschedule or cancel. When a booking moves, the reminders go out again for the new time. Aventide doesn't send text message reminders.
Do Aventide bookings sync with Google Calendar?
Yes. Each booking type books onto its host's own Google Calendar: Aventide checks that calendar for conflicts, so clients only see free times, and puts each booking there. On a team, each person connects their own Google account, and a team meeting is offered only when everyone you picked is free.
Can I charge a no-show fee in Aventide?
No. Aventide can't charge a saved card after a missed session. To protect your time, take payment or a deposit when the client books, and choose a refund policy, such as no refund for a cancellation within 24 hours of the start. You can mark a missed session as a no-show, and it stays in that person's booking history.