Deposits & pricing
How Kowbi handles deposits, balance payments, and the 48-hour authorization flow.
Kowbi's payment flow is designed to reduce no-shows without scaring off bookings. Here's exactly how money moves.
The default flow
- At booking: Card is validated (a tiny pre-auth Stripe immediately releases). No money moves. This catches stolen cards and zero-balance accounts at the door.
- 48 hours before the session: Kowbi authorizes the deposit you've configured. If the card declines, the customer gets an email with a retry link and your dashboard pings you.
- Day of session: If the 48-hour auth was skipped (booking made <48hr out), Kowbi authorizes the deposit then instead.
- After session: You either capture the deposit (and charge the balance) or release the auth (refund).
This means no surprise charges and no chargebacks from "I never authorized this."
Setting your deposit
Admin → Settings → Bookings → Deposit amount.
Options:
- Fixed amount — e.g. $50 regardless of session length
- Percentage — e.g. 25% of total session cost
- None — no deposit (we still card-validate at booking)
Most studios charge a fixed $50–$100 deposit. Match what your local competitors charge.
When does the balance get charged?
When you mark the booking as completed (or no-show) in the admin dashboard. Kowbi prompts you after every session.
You can also send the customer a pay-balance link if you want them to settle up themselves — useful for damage charges or overtime.
Refunds
Admin → Bookings → [booking] → Refund. Choose:
- Full refund — including deposit
- Partial refund — specify amount
- Deposit only — keep the rest
Refunds hit the customer's card in 5–10 business days (Stripe's timeline, not ours).
What if a customer's card declines at the 48hr auth?
Three things happen automatically:
- Customer gets a "Payment Issue" email with a one-click retry link
- You get an admin notification (warning severity)
- Booking status changes to payment_failed — you decide whether to cancel or hold
This is the single biggest no-show reducer in Kowbi. Most studios that turn it on see no-shows drop by 60–80%.