Service Businesses
NewService deposits and booking fees
Require a deposit when a customer books — secure commitment and cover upfront costs.
Why take a deposit
No-shows cost time and money. A deposit at booking time secures the customer's commitment and covers any upfront materials or preparation. Keel lets you collect a deposit when the order is created, and tracks the balance separately.
Collecting a deposit
The deposit is recorded as a 'Deposit' sale immediately, and the order shows the deposit as paid. The remaining balance is tracked separately.
- 1Open Orders and click New Order.
- 2Add the customer and the services they need.
- 3In the Booking deposit section, choose a deposit amount — None, 25%, 50%, or a custom amount.
- 4The form shows a live preview: 'Collect KSh 500 now · balance KSh 1,500 on completion'.
- 5Click Create & collect KSh X.
- 6Enter the customer's phone number and complete the M-Pesa prompt.
Collecting the balance later
- 1Open the order in Orders.
- 2Click Collect balance when the service is complete.
- 3The remaining amount is pre-filled — just confirm the payment method.
- 4Once the balance is paid, the order is fully settled.
Deposit badges on orders
Every order card shows a deposit badge: green 'Deposit KSh 500 paid' when the deposit is collected, or amber 'KSh 0/500' when it's still unpaid. You can see this in both the collapsed and expanded order views.
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