Important: The first necessary part of this is to connect and integrate Zanda with your Stripe account. You can do this under User Menu > Account Settings > Payments > Stripe
Enabling Required Payment in the Client Portal
After setting up Stripe, navigate to User Menu > Account Settings > Schedule > Client Portal > Access and Settings. In the “Request Payment When Booking” section, choose the payment mode for Client Bookings and, if you offer classes, Group/Class Bookings.
Payments will only be requested when the practitioner for the appointment is linked to Stripe, or when the account has a business default Stripe account connected.
The options you have in each drop-down are;
- Disabled (would not request payment to book)
- Optional (clients can choose to pay during the online booking)
- Required (clients must complete payment before the online booking can be completed)
Inputting the Deposit Required for Booking an Appointment
When Required is selected for a paid service, Zanda requests payment during the online booking. If you do not enter a Portal Deposit, Zanda requests the full service price. To collect only part of the service price at booking, enter the deposit amount on the service. To do this:
A Portal Deposit on a service can also require payment for that service even when Request Payment When Booking is set to Optional or Disabled for the account, provided Show Service Price is also enabled - see “Can I require payment for one service but not another?” below.
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Go to User Menu > Account Settings > Billing > Services.
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Click on a particular service name.
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The last field for the Service should be Portal Deposit. Input the amount you would like to collect on booking there.
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Click Save.
❇️ Once you have completed the above steps, your Client Portal should then require the amount to be collected from each Appointment before it will allow them to complete their booking.
Clients select ‘Securely Store Credit Card Details’ when they process a Stripe payment when booking online. This option is enabled on the payment processing form by default.
What happens to card details after a portal deposit?
Paying a deposit does not automatically save the client’s card for future practitioner-initiated charges. The client must tick “Securely Store Credit Card Details” during the Stripe payment screen. If they do not, the card is used for the deposit transaction only and is not retained.
To reliably collect and store card details, the most dependable method is to send the client an online form with a Credit Card (Stripe) linked profile field as part of your intake process.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I force payment before a Client Portal booking is completed?
Yes. Connect Stripe, then set the relevant Request Payment When Booking drop-down to Required for Client Bookings or Group/Class Bookings. For a paid service, Zanda requires the client to complete the online payment before the online booking can be completed.
How do I require a partial payment instead of the full service price?
Set a Portal Deposit amount on the service. When the service has a portal deposit, Zanda requests the deposit amount during booking instead of the full service price.
Can I turn off the option for clients to skip saving their card during a deposit payment?
No. The Securely Store Credit Card Details checkbox is always shown to the client on the Stripe payment screen during a portal booking or deposit, and there is no account or practice setting that removes it, hides it, or forces it to stay ticked. It is checked by default, so a client who does nothing has their card saved, but they can still untick it. If they do, the card is used for that payment only and is not retained.
If you need a card reliably on file regardless of what the client selects, for example to cover no-show fees, the dependable method is a Credit Card (Stripe) linked profile field on an intake form. See “What happens to card details after a portal deposit?” above.
Can I require payment only from new clients, and let returning clients book without paying?
No. The Request Payment When Booking setting applies to every client the same way. The payment mode (Disabled, Optional, or Required) for Client Bookings or Group/Class Bookings does not check whether the client is new or has booked with you before. If a service requires payment, every client booking that service online must pay to complete the booking, regardless of how long they’ve been a client.
The only variation available is by service, not by client: you can set a different Portal Deposit amount on each service (see “How do I require a partial payment instead of the full service price?” above). There is no setting that varies the payment requirement based on a client’s booking history.
Can I require payment for one service but not another, for example full payment for a private-pay service but no payment prompt at all for a bulk-billed service?
Yes. A Portal Deposit set on a service requires payment for that service’s online bookings even when Request Payment When Booking is Disabled for the account, as long as Show Service Price is enabled too. Use that to control payment per service:
- Go to User Menu > Account Settings > Schedule > Client Portal > Access and Settings and turn on Show Service Price, then set Request Payment When Booking to Disabled for Client Bookings (and Group/Class Bookings, if relevant). With the account-wide setting Disabled, no service requests payment by default.
- Go to User Menu > Account Settings > Billing > Services, open the service that should require payment (for example, a private-pay service), and enter a Portal Deposit. Enter the full service price to require payment in full, or a smaller amount to require a partial deposit.
- Leave Portal Deposit blank on any service that should stay free of a payment prompt, for example a bulk-billed or Medicare-funded service.
With this combination, and Show Service Price turned on, clients booking the service with a Portal Deposit are asked to pay online before the booking completes, and clients booking a service with no Portal Deposit see no payment option at all, regardless of the account-wide Request Payment When Booking setting.
Can I require the Portal Deposit for new clients only, and skip it for existing clients booking the same service?
No. Portal Deposit is set on the service, and it applies to every client who books that service online, so there’s no setting that varies it by whether the client is new or returning.
To achieve the same result, create two versions of the service: one with a Portal Deposit set, and one without. Point new clients to the version that requires the deposit, and give existing clients the direct booking link for the version that doesn’t.
An ongoing Client Discount can lower the amount a specific client pays at booking, but it applies to all of that client’s invoices, not just the portal deposit, so it isn’t a reliable way to waive a deposit for one service without affecting the rest of their account.