> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.sable.salon/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Deposits, policies, and waitlist

> Protect your time with deposits and no-show fees, set cancellation rules, and fill gaps from the waitlist.

Empty chairs from no-shows are the most expensive silence in this business.
Sable gives you three layers of protection (cards, deposits, fees), rules
for how bookings can change, and a waitlist to refill the gaps that happen
anyway.

## Money at booking time

In **Settings** → **Booking Page**, the **payments** section sets what a
client commits to when they book online:

* **Require a card to book.** The client saves a card to finish booking. No
  charge yet, but skin in the game, and the card is on file if a no-show
  fee ever applies.
* **Deposit.** Collect real money up front: a fixed amount, a percentage of
  the service, or full payment. The deposit comes off the final bill at
  checkout.
* **No-show fee.** A fixed amount or a percentage of the service, charged
  only when someone doesn't show.

A pattern that works for a lot of salons: require a card on everything, and
add deposits only to long or high-value appointments like color,
extensions, and bridal.

Booking in person? The calendar's booking panel has **Collect deposit**
right in it, so a phone booking can carry a deposit too. All of this needs
[payments connected](/getting-started/connect-payments) first.

## Rules for changes and cancellations

In **Settings** → **Scheduling**, the **Booking Policies** tab decides how
much control clients have after booking:

* **Allow client cancellations** plus a **Cancellation window**: clients
  can bow out online, but not inside the window where you can't refill the
  spot.
* **Require booking approval**: online requests arrive as *Requested* and
  only hit the calendar when you approve them. Good for salons where every
  booking needs a human eye; skip it if you'd rather the calendar fill
  itself.

## When the no-show happens anyway

Open the appointment and set its status to **No-show**. That's the honest
record your reports draw from, and it's what a no-show fee hangs off. Be
consistent about it; a fee policy you only sometimes enforce trains clients
to gamble.

## The waitlist

**Clients** → **Waitlist** is where "call me if anything opens up" stops
being a sticky note.

* **Add Entry** puts a client on the list: who they are, what service
  they're waiting for (or any), and a note about what they need.
* Each entry tracks where things stand: **Waiting**, **Contacted**,
  **Booked**, or **Removed**.
* When a cancellation opens a gap, work the list: contact the client, and
  book straight from the entry with **Book appointment**. Mark entries
  **Removed** when they're no longer waiting, so the list stays real.

A short, current waitlist turns a cancelled Tuesday into a full one. A long
stale one is just guilt in table form.

## Related

* [Connect payments](/getting-started/connect-payments)
* [Publish your online booking page](/getting-started/publish-online-booking)
* [Reminders and confirmations](/guides/messaging/reminders-and-confirmations)

**Still stuck?** Visit the [Help Center](/help) to submit a support ticket.