Booking Deposits Playbook

Open in Loom ↗

1. You receive an email with the subject TAKE DEPOSIT: website booking - patient name - clinic. The deposit should be taken today, ideally within the hour.

   TAKE DEPOSIT: website booking - Jane Example - Memorial

   Carolina Pintos Therapy

   NEW WEBSITE BOOKING

   Take the deposit

   Memorial
   Mon, Oct 12 · 10:24 AM CDT

   TO COLLECT$60.001 appointment · USD

   WHENTodayIdeally within the hour

   APPOINTMENT

   READY TO COLLECT

   Jane Example

   Post-Op Lymphatic Drainage with Ana

   To collect$60.00

   Thu, Oct 15 · 2:00 PM CDT

   (713) 555-0142

   Booked under an hour ago

   Card ending 4242 — use the card saved for this checkout.

   Open appointment in Square →

2. Click Open appointment in Square. In Square, use Take payment → card on file and charge the deposit amount shown.

3. Pick the card ending in the digits shown in the email. If several cards share those last four digits, use the one added for this checkout. Do not charge an older card by default.

4. Charge the full deposit. A discounted or comped deposit line does not count as paid (see scenario 8).

What happens next: once Square shows the deposit charged on that appointment, the booking leaves the list on its own at the next check. You don't need to do anything else.

Open in Loom ↗

1. The email Booking deposits lists every deposit still open at your clinic. If nothing is open, no email is sent.

   Carolina Pintos Therapy

   OFFICE CHECKLIST

   Booking deposits

   Woodlands
   Mon, Oct 12 · 9:00 AM CDT

   TO COLLECT$120.002 appointments

   TO REVIEW1Awaiting a decision

   DEPOSITS TO TAKE

   Collect these deposits from the appointment in Square.

2. The list has up to three sections. Each patient card tells you what to do:

   Section	What it means	Scenarios
   Deposits to take	The deposit is owed. Collect it in Square.	1 6 4 8 9
   Payments to review	A Square payment may already cover it, or Square could not be checked. Check before charging.	14 15
   Cancellations to review	The system can't decide if the deposit is owed. You decide.	11 12

What happens next: the list is checked against Square every time it is sent. Anything already resolved disappears from the next email.

Open in Loom ↗

1. Don't mark the No Show yet. Open the appointment in Square first. You can use Open appointment in Square on the patient's card.

   OVERDUE

   Jane Example

   Post-Op Lymphatic Drainage with Ana

   To collect$60.00

   Mon, Oct 12 · 9:00 AM CDT

   Booked 72 h ago · Appointment time passed

   Card ending 4242 — use the card saved for this checkout.

   Open appointment in Square →

2. On the appointment, use Take payment → card on file and charge the deposit line for the full amount, with the card ending in the digits shown.

3. Only after the payment goes through, mark the appointment as No Show.

Order matters. Once an appointment is marked No Show, Square no longer offers Take payment on it. If that already happened, follow scenario 4.

What happens next: the deposit is charged on the appointment, so the booking leaves the list automatically at the next check.

Open in Loom ↗

1. In Square, open the customer profile and charge from there: Take payment → Charge card on file, for the deposit amount. Write down the payment ID, or the card's last 4 digits and the charge date.

2. Go back to the email and click Paid elsewhere on that patient's card.

   OVERDUE

   Jane Example

   Post-Op Lymphatic Drainage with Ana

   To collect$60.00

   Open appointment in Square →Paid elsewhere

3. A page opens with the patient, the service and the amount. Opening the page records nothing. Fill in either the Square payment ID or the card's last 4 digits and the charge date, then click Confirm paid elsewhere.

   Carolina Pintos Therapy

   Office · Deposit paid elsewhere

   Deposit paid elsewhere

   Jane ExamplePost-Op Lymphatic Drainage

   DEPOSIT$60.00

   Use this only when the deposit was charged outside the appointment… If the deposit was not collected, do not use this.

   Square payment ID

   bP9mAsEMYPUGjjGNaNO5ZDVyLhSZY

   OR

   Card last 4 digits

   4242

   Charge date

   mm/dd/yyyy

   This records the payment only. No payment or refund will be made.

   Confirm paid elsewhere

4. You see the confirmation:

   Recorded: the deposit was paid elsewhere (Square payment bP9mAsEMYPUGjjGNaNO5ZDVyLhSZY). It leaves the deposits-to-take list.No payment or refund was made.

Only use Paid elsewhere when the deposit was actually collected. If it wasn't, don't use it.

What happens next: the booking leaves the list right away. The same button is in WordPress (Settings → CPT Booking Engine).

1. The TAKE DEPOSIT email shows 2 appointments, each with its own deposit, and the total of both.

   TO COLLECT$120.002 appointments · USD

   WHENTodayIdeally within the hour

   APPOINTMENTS

   READY TO COLLECT

   Jane Example

   Relaxation / Swedish Massage with Ana

   To collect$60.00

   Thu, Oct 15 · 2:00 PM CDT

   READY TO COLLECT

   Jane Example

   Relaxation / Swedish Massage with Ana

   To collect$60.00

   Thu, Oct 15 · 3:00 PM CDT

2. Take the full deposit on each appointment. Open each one in Square and charge its own deposit line (Take payment → card on file), as in scenario 1. Don't take the discount off the deposit.

3. The first appointment's note in Square reminds you of the discount:

   WEBSITE BOOKING - TAKE $60 DEPOSIT Card on file - Deposit not charged online Double up: $30 off at visit

4. Apply the Double up discount at the visit, when the patient pays the rest of the balance at the clinic. It comes off the total once for the whole visit, not once per session.

Deposit in full, discount at the clinic. If the discount is taken off a deposit line, that appointment stays on the list as "not charged in full" (scenario 8).

What happens next: each appointment leaves the list on its own once its deposit is charged. Two different treatments booked together work the same way: each appointment has its own deposit, and there is no Double up discount.

1. The badge changes to OVERDUE (amber). The steps are the same as scenario 1. Collect it as soon as possible.

   OVERDUE

   Jane Example

   Facial Lymphatic Drainage with Ana

   To collect$60.00

   Tue, Oct 13 · 11:00 AM CDT

   Booked 30 h ago · Appointment time passed

   Open appointment in Square →

2. If the card shows Appointment time passed and the appointment is already a no-show in Square, follow scenario 4.

What happens next: it keeps showing as overdue in every list until the deposit is charged or recorded.

1. An amber box shows up above the form. Nothing was saved.

   Deposit paid elsewhere

   Enter the Square payment ID, or the card's last 4 digits and the charge date. Nothing was recorded.

   Square payment ID

    

   OR

   Card last 4 digits

   4242

   Charge date

   mm/dd/yyyy

2. Common causes: the form was empty, the last 4 digits were entered without a date (or the other way round), or the last 4 field doesn't have exactly 4 numbers. Fix it and click Confirm paid elsewhere again.

What happens next: once it's accepted you see "Recorded: the deposit was paid elsewhere".

1. The card stays in Deposits to take with this note:

   READY TO COLLECT

   Jane Example

   Full Body Lymphatic Drainage

   To collect$60.00

   a Square sale with this service was found, but its deposit line was not charged in full: check it by hand

2. Open the sale in Square and check what was charged. If the deposit is still owed, charge the difference. If the discount was intentional, ask your manager before clearing it.

What happens next: a deposit line charged for less than the deposit never counts as paid automatically. The row stays until it is resolved.

1. The card shows up in Deposits to take with this note:

   READY TO COLLECT

   Jane Example

   Prenatal Massage with Ana

   To collect$60.00

   CANCELLED less than 48h before the appointment - verified cancellation event; the deposit is still owed

   Open appointment in Square →Paid elsewhere

2. Charge the deposit in Square. If the cancelled appointment doesn't offer Take payment, charge it from the customer profile (Take payment → Charge card on file) and then use Paid elsewhere, as in scenario 4.

What happens next: the row leaves the list once the deposit is charged or recorded.

1. The booking leaves the list automatically. It doesn't matter whether the patient or the clinic cancelled.

2. If you already charged the deposit, refund it by hand in Square → Payments / Transactions. Cancelling the appointment does not refund the payment, and neither does this list.

Refunds are never automatic. Leaving the list doesn't mean the patient got their money back.

1. The card appears under CANCELLATIONS TO REVIEW with two buttons.

   CANCELLATIONS TO REVIEW

   REVIEW REQUIRED

   Jane Example

   Lymphedema Treatment with Ana

   Deposit amount$60.00

   CANCELLED by the clinic - review the reason before charging; the deposit is not presumed owed

   No deposit owed

   Removes the pending entry.

   Deposit owed

   Adds it to the collection list. Collect in Square.

2. Check why the appointment was cancelled. If the clinic cancelled it (a provider was sick, a scheduling error), click No deposit owed. Only choose Deposit owed if the patient really caused it and the policy applies, for example if the patient asked you to cancel it late.

3. A confirmation page opens. Opening it records nothing. Check the decision in the box and click Confirm decision.

   Carolina Pintos Therapy

   Office · Deposit review

   Review cancellation

   Jane ExampleLymphedema Treatment

   DEPOSIT$60.00

   Your decisionNo deposit is owed

   This records your decision only. No payment or refund will be made.

   Confirm decision

4. You see the result:

   Confirmed: no deposit is owed. It leaves the pending list at the next Square check, unless a Square payment still has to be associated with it.No payment or refund was made.

What happens next: No deposit owed means it leaves at the next check (refund by hand if it was already charged, see 10). Deposit owed means it moves to Deposits to take with the note "deposit confirmed owed". Collect it as in scenario 9. The first confirmed decision is final.

1. The card appears under CANCELLATIONS TO REVIEW with this note. It can say "by the patient" or "by the clinic":

   REVIEW REQUIRED

   Jane Example

   Scar Tissue / Fibrosis Treatment

   Deposit amount$60.00

   CANCELLED by the patient - manual review required: cancellation or appointment time is unconfirmed; the deposit is not presumed owed

   No deposit owed

   Deposit owed

2. Check in Square when the appointment was cancelled, and by whom. Confirm with your team or the patient if needed.

3. Decide using the 48-hour rule:

   What you found	Click
   Patient cancelled 48 h or more before the appointment	No deposit owed
   Patient cancelled less than 48 h before	Deposit owed
   Clinic cancelled	Same as scenario 11

4. Confirm on the page that opens, as in scenario 11.

Why does this happen? Square sends a notice every time an appointment changes. If one of those notices is missing (for example the appointment was cancelled together with a time change, or before notices were set up), the exact cancellation time can't be proven, so the system asks you.

1. No deposit is owed. The booking leaves the list at the next check. You don't need to do anything.

2. If a deposit was charged before it was declined, refund it by hand in Square, as in scenario 10.

1. The card appears under PAYMENTS TO REVIEW listing the candidate Square orders:

   PAYMENTS TO REVIEW

   REVIEW REQUIRED

   Jane Example

   Post-Op Lymphatic Drainage

   Deposit amount$60.00

   Payment association requires review in Square; do not charge again before checking. Candidate order(s): QZ8exampleOrder1, QZ8exampleOrder2

2. In Square, open those orders and check which appointment each one paid.

3. In WordPress (Settings → CPT Booking Engine), find the row, choose the verified order under Select verified order and click Confirm payment.

   Open deposits and manual reviews (1)

   Appointment	Patient	Deposit / action
   Thu Oct 15, 2:00 PM	Jane Example	$60.00 Payment review - check before charging	QZ8exampleOrder1 ▾Confirm payment

   Payment association saved. No charge was made.

4. If none of the orders belong to this appointment, the deposit is still owed. Ask your manager before charging.

What happens next: once the payment is associated, the row leaves the list. These rows can't be removed with Settled / not owed until the payment is resolved.

1. The card shows one of these notes:

   payments could not be checked in Square

   the appointment could not be read in Square

2. Don't act on it yet. A deposit is never assumed to be paid or unpaid when Square couldn't be read.

3. Wait for the next list, or in WordPress click Check Square and email the list now to try again. If it keeps failing, check the appointment by hand in Square and tell your manager.

1. Pink messages mean it worked or there is nothing to do. Amber messages mean something stopped it. In every case, the page tells you if nothing was changed.

   The appointment has changed. Use the latest office email; no change was made.

2. Message	What to do
   This link is invalid or expired.	The link is over 14 days old or was cut off. Use the link in the latest list email.
   This cancellation has already been reviewed.	Someone already decided. The first decision stands. Nothing to do.
   …already been reviewed: it was recorded as paid elsewhere.	It was already recorded. Nothing to do.
   This deposit is no longer pending.	It was already paid or cleared. Nothing to do.
   The appointment has changed.	It was rescheduled, cancelled or marked no-show after the email. Use the latest email or WordPress.
   Square could not be checked. Try this link again later.	Try the same link again in a few minutes.
   Your decision / confirmation could not be saved.	Try the same link again later. If it keeps happening, tell your manager.

1. In WordPress, go to Settings → CPT Booking Engine and scroll to Open deposits and manual reviews.

2. Click Settled / not owed only when the deposit is already settled or confirmed not owed. If it was collected outside the appointment, use Paid elsewhere instead, so the payment is recorded.

   Patient	Deposit / action
   Jane Example	$60.00 Deposit to take	Settled / not owedPaid elsewhere

   Not removed: a Square payment may belong to this appointment, or payments could not be checked. Associate the payment first; nothing was changed.

Also on this page: Check Square and email the list now runs the check right away and sends the list to the offices.

1. In WordPress, the section Card saves to confirm lists the patient, the Square customer and the clinic.

   Card saves to confirm (1)

   Patient	Clinic
   Jane Example	Woodlands	Look up in SquareNo card in Square

2. Click Look up in Square first. If Square finds the card, the patient's next attempt books with it.

3. If Square doesn't list it, open the customer in Square and check their cards on file. Click No card in Square only if there is no card from this booking. Otherwise the patient's next attempt saves a second copy.

What happens next: either way, the patient can try booking again.