# Pricing, deposits and payment deadlines

> Set prices on your CoreHue booking services, take a deposit or full payment when clients book, choose when the balance is due, and release unpaid bookings.

Source: https://help.corehue.co/docs/online-booking/pricing-and-deposits/

Set a price for a booking service and choose whether clients pay a deposit, pay in full or book without payment. If payment is required to confirm, CoreHue reserves the time until the payment deadline.

## Setting the price

**Direct booking and mini sessions** have one **Price per slot**, under **Pricing** on the **Price & duration** tab (or **Price & slot** on mini sessions). That's what one booking costs. If you let clients book several slots in a row, you can set a total for each length. See [Offering longer sessions](/docs/online-booking/longer-sessions).

**Inquiry services** don't take money, so their price is a signal. On the **Details** tab, choose **Fixed price**, **Starting at**, **Per hour** or **Don't show a price**. The real number goes in the proposal you send afterwards. See [Setting up an inquiry service](/docs/online-booking/inquiry-services).

## Currency

**Currency** sits at the top of the **Pricing** section. On Free and Plus it's fixed to your default currency, with a link to **Upgrade to Pro** to select another. On Pro you can set a different currency for each service. See [Invoicing in more than one currency](/docs/invoices/multiple-currencies).

Once a booking has an invoice, its currency is locked, and any invoice you create from that booking uses the same currency.

## Tax

Direct booking and mini session services can carry a **Tax** rate beside the price. It's applied to the service line on the invoice CoreHue creates from the booking. Each add-on can have its own rate too, once **Collect payment** is on. Set your rates up first under [Setting up tax rates](/docs/invoices/tax-rates).

## Taking payment at booking

1. Open the service, go to **Booking flow** and expand step **4 Payment**.
2. Turn on **Collect payment**, "Collect a deposit or full payment at booking."
3. Under **Payment at booking**, choose **Full payment** or **Deposit**.
4. For a deposit, pick a **Deposit type** of **Percentage** or **Fixed amount**, and enter the amount. Percentage starts at 50.
5. Under **Payment methods**, pick what clients can pay with.
6. Choose **Save**.

Leave **Collect payment** off and the booking confirms as soon as your client finishes the other steps. You can invoice them afterwards.

### When the balance is due

With a deposit, **Balance due** decides when the rest falls due:

- **Before the service**, with a **Days before the service** field between 1 and 90. It starts at 7.
- **On booking**, which makes the whole amount due straight away.

The deposit and balance sit on the same invoice. This setting just gives the balance its due date, which is what lets it go overdue and be chased by [invoice reminders](/docs/invoices/invoice-reminders) on Plus and Pro.

### Payment methods

You can offer card payments through Stripe and any manual methods you've set up, like a bank transfer. A service that collects payment can't be published without at least one method.

Set your methods up first under **Payments → Settings → Payment methods**. See [Accepting card payments with Stripe](/docs/payments/accepting-card-payments) and [Bank transfer, cash and other manual payments](/docs/payments/manual-payment-methods). Then book the service yourself once to see it work.

## The payment deadline

Expand **More payment settings** under step **4 Payment** to find **Expire unpaid bookings after**. It's a number plus **Minutes**, **Hours** or **Days**, from 15 minutes up to 30 days. It starts at 24 hours.

The clock starts when your client opens online checkout or reports a manual payment, not when they first land on your page. That's also the moment the booking is created, as pending. Until the deadline passes, the booking stays pending and the time stays reserved. If payment is recorded in time, the booking confirms itself. If the deadline passes first, the booking expires and the time goes back on your page.

| How clients usually pay | A sensible deadline |
| --- | --- |
| Card through Stripe | A few hours |
| Bank transfer | Two or three days |
| Any method you confirm by hand | Long enough to cover days you're away from your desk |

A short deadline on bank transfers expires bookings from people who did nothing wrong. See [Unpaid bookings and held times](/docs/managing-bookings/unpaid-bookings) for extending a deadline on one booking and what to do if someone pays late.

## What your client sees

On the **Review** step, the button reads **Pay deposit** or **Full payment** with the amount. When there's a deposit, a small menu on the button lets them pay in full instead.

Choosing it opens a panel headed **Pay** and the amount:

- **Card or digital wallet**, "Via Stripe · Apple Pay and Google Pay where available", takes them to a secure checkout.
- **A manual method** shows your instructions, a place to add proof of payment (an image or PDF up to 5MB) and a **Note (optional)** box. The button reads **I've made this payment**.

The booking is created when they choose a method and go through to pay, not when the panel opens. Afterwards they land on their booking page, where any remaining balance can be paid later.

## Frequently asked questions

### Can I take a deposit and collect the rest later?

Yes. Choose **Deposit**, then set **Balance due** to **Before the service** with the number of days. The balance sits on the same invoice with its own due date.

### Does CoreHue take a cut of my booking payments?

CoreHue doesn't charge a platform fee on your client payments. You only pay Stripe's processing fees.

### Can clients pay by bank transfer?

Yes. Add a manual payment method with your bank details under **Payments → Settings → Payment methods**, then tick it on the service. You confirm the payment when it arrives. See [Reviewing payment proof](/docs/payments/reviewing-payment-proof).