What the client sees when paying online
The payment screen, where the card is entered, and what the confirmation says — deposit, full prepayment, or the client's choice.
Once you turn on a deposit or prepayment, your client goes through a screen you never see in the CRM. It’s worth knowing it word for word — because it’s exactly where the phone questions come from: “what’s this deposit”, “is it safe”, “will I get my money back”. Here is that screen, line by line, plus what happens after payment and what the client does not get.
1. The three cases
| Case | Service setting | What the client sees | What they pay now |
|---|---|---|---|
| Deposit | Require online payment on, What to charge: Deposit | No choice — paying by card is mandatory | The share your rule produces |
| Full prepayment | Require online payment on, What to charge: Full price | No choice | The whole amount |
| The client’s choice | Require online payment off, but the board has an active payment connection | A choice between Pay at the salon and Pay by card | Nothing if they pick the salon; the full amount if they pick card |
The third case is the one owners often miss: as soon as Stripe is connected, every priced service without a deposit also offers the client the option to pay in full by card right away. It’s voluntary for them and pure upside for you.
The choice is not offered for: group classes, package or gift-card purchases, bookings paid with a package, and a zero total.
2. The Payment screen — when the client has a choice
On the last booking step a block headed Payment appears with two tiles:
| Tile | Sub-label |
|---|---|
| Pay at the salon | After your visit |
| Pay by card | Now, securely |
Choosing Pay by card immediately reveals the transparency panel below it (next section) and changes the button to Pay plus the amount.
3. The transparency panel — what it actually promises
Whenever something will be charged now, a shield-marked panel appears above the button, headed:
Secure payment with Stripe
Underneath, in this order:
- What will happen — “Once you confirm, we’ll take you to Stripe’s secure page.”
- How much — for a deposit: “A {amount} deposit — to hold your spot.”; for full prepayment: “You pay {amount} upfront — to hold your spot.”
- The remainder (deposit only) — “The rest, {amount}, you pay at the salon.”
- Refundability — this sentence comes straight from your Refund on cancellation setting:
| Your setting | The client reads |
|---|---|
| Non-refundable | ”The amount paid is non-refundable.” |
| Always refundable | ”The amount paid is refundable under [your salon]‘s policy.” |
| Refundable before a cutoff | ”The amount paid is refundable if you cancel up to X hours before your appointment.” |
- The honest caveat (only on the two “positive” policies) — “The refund is issued by [your salon] under the salon’s policy — not automatically.”
Note what the screen does not promise: nowhere does it say the refund happens by itself, automatically or instantly. That’s deliberate — the refund policy triggers nothing and the client must not be misled.
4. “Payment details” — the collapsed part
Below those lines is a Payment details button. Expanded, it shows three things:
- Who sees the card — “Payment goes through Stripe. You enter your card details only there — neither Mountify nor the salon ever sees or stores them.”
- Who receives the money — “The money goes to [your salon] — the salon is the recipient. Mountify is the booking platform and isn’t a party to the payment.”
- Two links — Stripe terms and Privacy, both pointing at Stripe’s own site.
It’s collapsed by default so it doesn’t crowd the action — but it’s one tap away and a good argument if a client is nervous on the phone.
5. Where the card is entered
Not in Mountify. The button sends the client’s browser to a Stripe page. That’s where they type the card number, expiry and code.
Practical consequences for you:
- You never see or store a card number. If a client dictates one over the phone, that isn’t part of this flow.
- The look of the payment page (logo, colours, which methods are enabled) is configured in the Stripe Dashboard, not in Mountify.
- If Stripe declines the card, the message is Stripe’s and Mountify plays no part.
6. The button and the amount
The bottom button carries different text depending on the case:
| Case | Button text |
|---|---|
| Deposit | Pay deposit + the amount |
| Full prepayment (mandatory or opt-in) | Pay + the amount |
| Nothing to pay now | Just the booking verb, with no price |
In the summary above the button the amount line reads Deposit due now (for a deposit) or Pay now (for the full amount).
If a discount (promo code, loyalty) leaves nothing to pay, the payment page is skipped and the client goes straight to confirmation. That’s normal, not a fault.
7. After the payment
On success Stripe returns the client to the confirmation screen, where they see:
- the heading You’re booked with a tick;
- a green panel reading Deposit paid (or Paid for full prepayment) with the amount paid;
- for a deposit — the line You pay the rest at the salon.;
- the usual next steps — Add to calendar, Get directions, My bookings.
A known issue you should know about: the address Stripe currently returns the client to after a successful payment is out of date, so the client may land on an empty page instead of the confirmation. The payment and the booking are done — you see both immediately in Money → Payments and on the schedule. If a client calls to say “I paid but nothing showed”, tell them to open the link from their confirmation email or My bookings. If you’re hitting these cases, tell us — the fix is on our side, not yours.
8. If the client backs out on the payment page
If they press back or close Stripe’s page without paying:
- no money is taken;
- the booking already exists — it’s created before the redirect so the slot isn’t lost;
- the booking stays unpaid.
So the slot is taken but unsecured. You’ll see it on the schedule as unpaid and under Money → Who owes me. If you don’t want to hold it, cancel it manually.
A cancelled payment also returns the client to an address that doesn’t lead anywhere useful today. The client may be left thinking “nothing happened”. Call them, or just look at the schedule — the booking is there.
9. What the client does NOT have
A list that saves a lot of arguing:
| Doesn’t exist | What exists instead |
|---|---|
| A receipt in their Mountify profile | Stripe’s own payment email + Mountify’s confirmation email |
| A balance or “my payments” view in their profile | Just a list of bookings |
| A “request a refund” button | They call you |
| A way to pay the remainder online later | They pay it at the salon |
| A way to pay online for an already-created booking | No such flow exists — for them or for you |
There is also no way for you to send a payment link for an existing booking. If a client must prepay, they go through the normal booking path.
10. If the payment doesn’t open
Sometimes the booking is created but payment fails to start (the connection is paused, the provider is unreachable). The client then sees:
Your booking was created, but we couldn’t open payment. Please try again.
That’s an honest message — a fake “done” is deliberately not shown. The client can retry without creating a second booking.
What to check on your side:
- The status under Setup → Integrations → Online payments (Stripe) — it must be Active.
- Whether your Mountify subscription is active — a lapsed subscription blocks new payments.
- Whether the service has a valid deposit configuration (percent 1–100 or an amount above 0).
Details: Connection status, pausing and disconnecting.
Common questions
Can I change the wording on this screen? No. The copy is fixed so it stays accurate and consistent everywhere. What you control is the amount and the refund line — through the service’s settings.
Can a client pay by card even if I haven’t turned on a deposit? Yes — as long as the board has an active connection. They see Pay by card and pay the full amount.
Does the client get an invoice from Mountify? No. Mountify issues no payment document to the client. Stripe sends its own receipt; invoicing the client is your job.
Can I tell that the client chose “Pay by card”? You see the result: a payment with method Online on the booking, under Money → Payments.
Can a client pay for someone else? Technically yes — whoever holds the card pays. The booking stays in the name entered on the details step.
Which language is the payment screen in? The Mountify screen follows the language the client is browsing in. Stripe’s page is Stripe’s, and follows its own settings and the browser’s language.
What’s next
- Deposits & prepayment — how to control the amount and the refund line.
- Connect Stripe — without it none of this appears.
- Refunds & cancellations — what you do when a client asks for their money back.
- Booking statuses — what happens to a booking paid online.