Short answer

Take a deposit for a hair appointment when a no-show wastes a long block: color, highlights, a correction, extensions, or a cut that is not a quick trim. You set the amount. It applies to the ticket. It is not a fee we invented. The phone that can say this while a stylist’s hands are in color is AIVA — $200 one-time. Get AIVA — $200. The public book and Google Reserve are Calendar at $20/month. Get Calendar — $20/mo. Those are the salon offers, whether the chair is hair or nails.

Which hair appointments deserve a deposit

A hair salon loses money in hours, not in five-minute trims. Color and highlights commit the stylist and sometimes a second pair of hands. A guest who books that block and does not come is not replaced by the next walk-in the way a polish chair sometimes is. Put the deposit on those services. Leave a fringe trim off the list if you do not want a card to book it.

Write the list in shop language. “All color” is clearer than “select chemical services.” If a gloss is short and a correction is half a day, split them. AIVA books the duration you stored and the rule you stored. She does not invent a highlight policy.

A sample line you can post

Use the fuller nail-salon template and swap the services, or start from this and edit it. It is not legal advice.

Sample — edit the brackets.

We take a deposit of [your amount] to hold [color, highlights, extensions, or the services you list]. The deposit applies to your ticket when you arrive.

Cancel or reschedule at least [your window] before the start time if you want that deposit [released / moved to the new time]. Inside the window, we may keep it.

A [bang trim / other short service] does not require a deposit unless we say so when you book.

The cancel window should match the cancellation policy if the shop is also nails, or the same shape of policy if you only do hair. One window. One amount. The blank-amount template with the nail services filled as examples is appointment deposit policy.

The same rule on a nail chair

Most of the shops we write for are nail floors, or they do nails in the same room as hair. The expensive empty chair there is a full set, acrylic, or a long fill — not a color formula, but the same kind of hour. Do not run two hidden policies. If both services need a deposit, list both. If only the long ones do, say so.

That nail path is already written: nail salon deposit booking and an AI receptionist that takes deposits. Routing by skill — color versus cut, gel versus pedi — is the point of training, and it is described on deposits, SMS, and tech routing. The nail salon product page is the phone layer for that floor.

Phone versus the public book

Mid-color, nobody should be taking a card number out loud. AIVA answers the shop line, states the deposit you trained, books the opening, and texts the link. $200 one-time. No monthly plan fee. No free trial. Included usage is 100 voice minutes and 1,500 SMS, then $0.35/min and $0.035 per SMS. Hear her at (215) 791-6766.

Calendar is the other offer, and it is a full offer: booking website, Google Reserve, unlimited staff, unlimited customers, $20/month. It does not answer the phone, so it does not ask for a hair deposit on a call. Guests who tap Book Online should still see the same rule. Start at Google Reserve and reserve with Google. The nail listing page is Google Reserve for nail salons.

Stripe’s standard 2.9% + 30¢ per deposit transaction is quoted from the online booking page. That is Stripe’s fee. Keep your current checkout if you want it — we do not claim a sync into another POS. The buttons below are the salon CTAs: Get AIVA and Get Calendar. They are not a separate hair-only price.

Related guides

Two offers: AIVA on the phone, Calendar on Google

Hair or nails, the offers below are Bukkii for the salon: AIVA on the phone, Calendar on the book and on Google. Keep the checkout you already have.

AIVA — the phone layer — $200 one-time

AIVA is the AI receptionist for inbound calls. She answers the shop number, books the service, and texts the appointment. $200 one-time. No monthly plan fee. No free trial. Get AIVA — $200. Hear her at (215) 791-6766.

Calendar — the booking layer — $20/month

Calendar is the booking website plus Google Reserve — the Book Online button on Google Maps. $20/month. Unlimited staff. Unlimited customers. It does not answer the phone. Choose it when the public book and Google are what you need, and you are keeping the POS you already have. Get Calendar — $20/mo. Both cards are on pricing.

FAQ

Should I take a deposit for a hair appointment?

Yes, when the service blocks a long chair — color, highlights, extensions, or a cut that runs long. You choose the amount and you say it applies to the ticket before the time is final. A quick bang trim does not have to use the same rule.

How much is a hair appointment deposit?

This page does not set a dollar amount. The figure is your policy. Use one number on the phone, on the booking page, and on Google Reserve. The online booking page recommends $10–$20 on first-time bookings as a starting point you can ignore.

Does this replace a nail salon deposit?

No. It is the same kind of rule on a different chair. A nail full set, acrylic, or long fill is the parallel case. Write both in one policy if the shop does hair and nails, so the phone does not guess.

Who asks for the deposit when the stylist is mid-color?

AIVA, the AI receptionist, can ask on the inbound call and text the payment link. AIVA is $200 one-time. No monthly plan fee. No free trial. Calendar does not answer the phone.

What does Calendar cost if I only want online booking and Google?

Calendar is $20/month. Unlimited staff. Unlimited customers. Booking website and Google Reserve included. It does not answer the phone. The CTA is the same salon offer whether the chair is hair or nails.