Re: Appointments: Charging held card for different...

DaoDeJing · ‎10-31-2017

I use Square Appointments for customers to book my services, and require they provide card information for no-show protection.

Unfortunately, no matter how I try to clearly explain things, nearly HALF of my customers just assume that I can charge this card as payment. An astonishing large percentage of them don't bring any sort of payment to the appointment.

If the cost of my service was identical to my no-show charge, then this would be an irritating yet simple problem to solve. I'd just grumble and pay the higher processing fee to charge the held card. But unfortunately the cost of my services are highly variable, and cannot be accurately anticipated until the customer actually arrives.

This problem could be solved very easily if I could choose the amount to be charged the held card. Do I have to upgrade to the Register service or something to be able to do such a thing?

Tom · ‎10-31-2017

Hey @DaoDeJing, thanks for surfacing this.

The ability to charge the card used for No-Show isn't available at this time, though our Appointments Team is tracking this request — I've surfaced your post with them. Please keep in touch as we'll announce any developments. In the meantime, thank you for your patience and please don't hesitate to circle back if anything else comes up.

️ Tom | he/him
Seller Community Manager | Square, Inc.
Find step-by-step help in our Support Center

DaoDeJing · ‎10-31-2017

Okay, thanks. But didn't I read about some way to keep customer card info, like customer house accounts? I think it's an option with some sort of additional fee, but I forget.

Tom · ‎11-01-2017

Thanks for circling back. Yes, you can charge a card on file from both the Point of Sale app and Square Invoices. Charging a card on file will cost 3.5% + 15¢. Learn more here: How do you charge a card on file?

Hope this helps!

️ Tom | he/him
Seller Community Manager | Square, Inc.
Find step-by-step help in our Support Center

DaoDeJing · ‎11-01-2017

Yes, that's helpful thanks. After reading through it I have another question: Is it possible to have a customer save a card any way other than sending them an invoice to pay?

Tom · ‎11-01-2017

Good question. I just double checked on this, and the only way for your customer to save a card is if they're paying with invoices at this time. They'll need to agree to the authorization to store and charge their card for future purchases when they enter in their billing information on the invoice.

Once their card is on file, you'll be able to select it as a payment option in Point of Sale by entering the amount/item > Charge > Credit and Gift Cards on File > select appropriate customer.

️ Tom | he/him
Seller Community Manager | Square, Inc.
Find step-by-step help in our Support Center

katieand · ‎06-04-2018

Hi @DaoDeJing - Not sure if this is related or a solution to your problem, but the Appointments team just rolled out a feature where you can now set "no-show" or cancellation fees individually for each service!

Here's a screenshot of what you should be seeing now!

DaoDeJing · ‎06-06-2018

Hi @katieand , thanks for letting me know! This feature alone won't solve the problem for every case, but it's a very welcome addition that will save me some headaches. Thanks a bunch! 😄

Appointments: Charging held card for different amounts.