No-shows are the single biggest silent cost for an appointment-based business. Rexabook attacks the problem two ways: reminding customers the appointment exists, and giving you a real deterrent when reminders aren’t enough.
Text message reminders
Every booking gets a text message confirmation, plus a reminder before the appointment - no setup required, this runs by default on every plan. Most no-shows are forgetfulness rather than a deliberate no-turn-up, and a same-day reminder catches the majority of them.
Your monthly text allowance depends on your plan; Settings → SMS shows current usage and lets you top up if you’re running close to the limit.
Deposits
A deposit is a small amount charged at the time of booking. It filters out speculative bookings before they ever take a slot - someone who won’t commit a card usually wasn’t going to show up anyway. Set a deposit per service under Services → [service] → Payment settings, either as a fixed amount or a percentage of the price.
Deposits add a small amount of friction to booking, so they work best on services with high prep cost or a history of no-shows, rather than across the board.
Card Protection
Card Protection saves a customer’s card at booking without charging it. If they don’t show up, you can charge a no-show fee against that saved card from the booking - no chasing, no awkward conversation about a missed cash payment. It’s the lower-friction alternative to a deposit: nothing is taken up front, so it doesn’t cost you speculative bookings, but you still have recourse if someone doesn’t turn up.
Which one should you use?
A reasonable default: Card Protection on by default for every service, deposits reserved for new clients or high-value bookings where a no-show costs you the most. Both require Rexabook Payments to be connected.