Connect Stripe and set up deposits and no-show fees

Doorstep uses Stripe to handle your money: deposits at booking, tips at checkout, and no-show fees when someone doesn’t show. Stripe is the company that actually moves the money to your bank account. You connect your account once, then set a few simple policies for how you want to collect.

This guide covers connecting Stripe, then setting your deposit and no-show rules.

Connect your Stripe account

You can connect Stripe during the setup wizard, or any time afterward from your settings.

1. In your Doorstep dashboard, open Settings, then Payments.
2. On the payments card, select Set up payments. Doorstep sends you to Stripe.
3. Stripe asks for your business details and the bank account where you want your money to land. Fill these in on Stripe’s own secure pages.
4. When you finish, Stripe sends you back to Doorstep, and the payments card updates to show you are connected.

You do not need a separate Stripe login to get started. Doorstep creates a Stripe account for your business as part of this flow (this is called Stripe Express), so most owners can set everything up without ever leaving the steps above.

If setup is still finishing

Sometimes Stripe needs a minute to finish checking your details. If you come back and your account still shows as pending, the card will say Continue setup. Give it a moment, and select Continue setup if you need to add anything Stripe still wants. Once everything clears, the card shows a green connected badge and confirms that payouts are turned on.

If you don’t finish right away

You can skip payments and come back later. Until Stripe is connected, Doorstep can’t collect deposits, tips, or no-show fees, so it’s worth finishing before you start taking bookings. Doorstep will keep reminding you until it’s done.

Set your deposit policy

A deposit is money you collect at the moment a customer books, before the appointment happens. Deposits cut down on no-shows because customers have already put something toward the visit.

On the same Payments settings page, find the deposit policy and choose how you want it to work:

• No deposit — customers book without paying anything up front.
• A fixed amount — the same dollar amount for every booking, such as a flat deposit per appointment. If a booking’s total is smaller than your deposit amount, Doorstep only collects up to the booking total, never more.
• A percentage — a share of the booking total, so bigger appointments carry a bigger deposit.

You can also choose who the deposit applies to: every customer, or new customers only. Charging only new customers is a common choice once you have a base of regulars you already trust to show up.

Whatever you set here is collected automatically when a customer books, whether they book on your website widget or you book them yourself.

Set your no-show and cancellation policy

A no-show fee is money you collect when a customer doesn’t show up, or cancels at the last minute, so a missed appointment doesn’t cost you the whole slot. It works a little differently from a deposit, and it’s worth understanding how.

When a customer has a card saved, Doorstep places a hold on that card about a day before the appointment. A hold is not a charge. It sets aside the amount temporarily, and one of two things happens:

• They show up (or cancel in time): the hold is released and they are never charged. If your policy has a cancellation window, cancelling before that window counts as cancelling in time.
• They don’t show: the hold becomes a real charge for your no-show fee.

You control the details on the Payments settings page:

• Your cancellation window — how many hours before the appointment a customer can still cancel without a fee.
• Your no-show fee — a fixed amount or a percentage of the appointment total, the same way deposits work.
• Late cancellations — whether a customer who cancels inside your window is charged like a no-show, or let off. That choice is yours.

If a customer has no card saved, Doorstep can’t place a hold, so no fee is collected for that appointment. Your dashboard will show you which upcoming appointments are missing a card.

Set tip suggestions

At checkout, Doorstep can show customers a few suggested tip amounts. You set three percentages on the Payments settings page (many owners use 15, 20, and 25 percent). Customers can always pick a different amount or skip the tip.

When your money arrives

Once Stripe is connected, the money you collect is paid out to your bank account on Stripe’s normal schedule. Doorstep doesn’t hold your money or add its own delay. For exactly when payouts land and how Stripe’s own fees work, see Stripe’s payout documentation. You can also view every payment and payout in your Stripe dashboard.

Where to go next

• Set up your account if you have not finished the setup wizard.
• Set your service areas and hours so customers can book the slots you actually work.