Are they a good idea?
Yes, deposits are a good idea. Appointment slots are precious these days and you want to ensure clients show up. Clinics that take deposits typically have less than a 1% no show rate, compared to a 7% average no show rate for clinics that do not take deposits. One good point is that even if they no show, you still earn revenue on that appointment.
However, it does take considerable effort to manage deposits. HQ makes it fairly easy but there is definitely another administrative layer added with deposits. The first thing you’ll want to do is to determine what your no show policy is and stick to it. We recommend a policy of “no show/no refund.” Immediately most compassionate souls begin to find issues with this policy. “What if they get in a car accident?” “What if their pet dies?”
In order to reduce the time it takes to think through all the various options, it’s good to come up with an exception list for the appointment schedulers. Car accidents, deaths of any sort, covid cases, etc. If the reason is not on the list, staff can go ahead and manage the deposit appropriately (see below). If a caustic client challenges staff it’s good to have a script employees can follow. Here’s one sample script.
“I’m so sorry you weren’t able to bring in your pet today due to . I really hate to disappoint you but we will not be able to return your deposit. We have a policy that we really have to apply evenly to all clients which is if you are not able to make your appointment, your deposit is forfeited. As a low-cost clinic, we work on a shoestring budget and every single appointment slot matters. I am really sorry you had to deal with today. I know that must be tough. Feel free to schedule another appointment with us online.”
In the Managing Deposits section, we discuss the various ways you can manage the deposit for a no show client. Now let’s talk about the various deposit types.
Internal versus Online Deposits
You are able to take deposits when you make appointments internally and when people sign up online for an appointment. When you make a deposit internally (we think of this as a “manual” deposit) you can type in any deposit amount. When you set up HQ to take deposits online, naturally you must set up designated amounts for the deposits.
Deposits by Appointment Type
Deposits are not a one size fits all situation. Different clinics have different needs and wishes. We’ve made it possible to set a deposit amount based on a few different factors. To review the various options, go to Settings > E-Appointments and click the Edit button for the appointment type. Here you’ll find a Deposits tab.
By Appointment Type: The first factor is the type of appointment. For example, you may want to take a deposit for spay/neuter, but you may not want to take a deposit for a vaccine-only appointment. Or you may want to take a deposit for dental appointments, but not vaccine-only appointments.
Amount of Deposit
Within one appointment type, you can select one option for deposits. Here are the options:
1. No Deposit: No deposit is the default in HQ. If this is selected, no deposit is required online to make an appointment.
2. Fixed Price: This means you take one deposit amount for all animals. For example, you may require a $10 deposit on every dog and cat.
3.Separate amount for each species: This means you can set one price for dogs and one for cats, or any other species.
4.Calculate deposit based on selected services/packages: This means full payment for selected services is the deposit amount. For example, if the client chooses a dog spay ($50) and a rabies vaccine ($10), the deposit amount is $60.
Mandatory or Not
By ticking the tick mark in settings, you can require the client to pay the deposit before the appointment can be made.
When this setting is enabled a client MUST put money towards the appointment request in a value greater than $1. In the event of free services, a mandatory deposit cannot be set. An error will be given if you have a deposit as mandatory but the amount is $0.
Editing Non-Refundable Language On The E-Appointments Screen
This language is managed within the E-Appointment configuration. Go to Settings > E-Appointments > Edit the appointment type > Deposits tab.
In just the same way you can have different deposits amounts for each appointment type, you can set a custom deposit text for each appointment type.
Edit the e-app deposit text in the e-app configuration