When a deposit makes sense
Not every job needs one. Deposits earn their keep when:
- The job is long. A half day or full day means you can't refill the slot on short notice.
- The job is expensive. Paint correction, ceramic coatings, PPF and full restorations.
- You buy product for that customer. A coating kit you open for one car.
- The customer is new. Repeat customers who've always shown up have earned some trust.
- It's a peak slot. Saturdays and the weeks before spring and fall often book up first.
A quick maintenance wash for a regular? Probably not worth the friction.
Deposits vs reminders
Some detailers don't take deposits at all. They send a reminder the day before and find that's enough. That works, especially for forgetful customers who fully intend to show up.
Reminders fix forgetting. Deposits fix commitment.
A good setup often uses both: reminders for everything, deposits for the big jobs.
How much to charge
There's no single right number. Two common ways to set it:
The same deposit for a service, whatever the vehicle. Simple to explain, easy to remember.
$50 for an interior detail, $200 for a ceramic coating.
A share of the total price. Scales with the job, which suits services where price varies a lot by size or condition.
25% of the total, so $250 on a $1,000 coating.
A useful way to pick a number: what would it cost you to lose that slot? If a no-show on a coating day costs you the whole day, the deposit should at least cover your product and part of your time. Many detailers also set a minimum so small jobs still carry a real deposit.
The amounts above are examples to show the maths, not industry rates. Set yours based on your prices and how often you get burned.
Refunds and cancellations
A deposit only works if the rules are clear before the customer pays. Decide:
- Notice period. How much notice gets a refund or a free reschedule? 48 hours is a common starting point for long jobs.
- Late cancellation. Inside that window, do they lose the deposit, or can they move it to a new date once?
- No-show. Deposit kept. Say it plainly.
- Weather (mobile). If you cancel for rain, the deposit moves to the new date. Always.
- Your cancellations. If you cancel, they get a full refund. No exceptions.
Put the policy on your booking page and in the confirmation message, not just in your head. Our deposit policy template gives you wording you can copy.
How to ask without scaring people off
Most pushback comes from how it's framed, not the amount.
- Call it reserving the spot. “A $100 deposit reserves your Saturday” lands better than “non-refundable deposit required.”
- Say it comes off the total. “Your deposit comes off the final price” makes it clear it's not an extra fee.
- Explain why, once. “Coating days take the whole day, so I hold the spot with a deposit.”
- Ask at booking, not after. Asking later feels like a surprise.
- Make it easy to pay. The fewer steps, the fewer drop-offs.
E-Transfer vs card
Interac e-Transfer
Costs your customer nothing and most Canadians already use it. The catch: you have to match the payment to the booking yourself, and some customers forget to send it.
Card payments
Can be taken right in the booking, so the deposit is paid before the slot is confirmed. You pay a processing fee, but nothing falls through the cracks.
Plenty of detailers take card deposits online and let customers pay the balance however they like at pickup.
- Use deposits on long, expensive and peak-day jobs. Skip them on quick work for regulars.
- Pick fixed or percentage, and base the amount on what a lost slot costs you.
- Write down your cancellation rules and show them before people pay.
- Frame it as reserving the spot, and say it comes off the total.
- Reminders and deposits work best together.
Taking deposits in Detailvio
Detailvio lets customers pay a deposit when they book, through your own Stripe account. You choose fixed or percentage, and which services need one. Reminders go out automatically, so the forgetful customers show up too. See how deposits work.
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