You can protect online bookings in two ways: ask guests to leave a card, or ask them to pay a deposit. Paying the whole bill up front isn’t a separate option, but a deposit can do the same job. Here’s how the three compare.
A card hold
The guest enters their card on your booking page and nothing is charged. NomNom saves the card against the booking. Nothing is reserved on their account either: the card is simply kept on file.
- Good for: most tables, and busy nights where a no-show hurts. Guests book happily when nothing is taken.
- If they don’t turn up: you can charge a no-show or late-cancellation fee from the booking. NomNom never does this by itself — see Charging a no-show or late-cancellation fee.
- The catch: that charge happens when the guest isn’t there, so their bank can decline it if it wants them to approve the payment, and cards expire. A card hold makes guests think twice, but it isn’t money in the bank.
A deposit
The guest pays when they book, either Per person or as a Flat fee for the whole table. Their card is saved too, so you can still charge a no-show fee on top if you need to.
- Good for: big groups, Christmas bookings and any date you can’t afford to lose.
- What guests are told: that the deposit will be deducted from their final bill. NomNom isn’t linked to your till, so your team takes it off — see Taking the deposit off the guest’s final bill.
- If they cancel: nothing goes back unless you’ve switched on automatic refunds, or an admin refunds it by hand — see Refunding a deposit or card payment.
Paying in full up front
There’s no pre-payment setting as such. For a set menu or a tasting night, ask for a deposit of the full price instead:
1. Open the meal’s Payments tab. In NomNom Web, click Configuration, choose Meals, click the meal and open Payments.
2. Ask everyone. Under Deposit requirement, set Minimum guests to 1+ guests.
3. Choose Per person and set the full price. For a £45 tasting menu, set Amount to 45. A table of four then pays £180 when they book.
Guests still see the word deposit, and are told it comes off their final bill — which is right if the menu is all they’re paying for. You can’t change that wording, so say anything else, such as drinks being extra, in your terms. Children count towards the party, so each child pays the full per-person price too.
In NomNom Web: Configuration → Meals → pick a meal → Payments. In the phone app: Configuration → Meals → tap a meal → Payments.
Where to set each one
- A regular meal: its Payments tab, as above. You can mix the two: a card from 6+ guests and a deposit from 10+, say — see Setting up deposits and card requirements on a meal.
- An event: the event’s own Require a card from and Require a deposit from settings — see Setting up events and sharing their booking link.
- One booking: to take any amount up to £2,000 from one guest, send a Payment link from the booking — see Sending a guest a payment link.
Good to know
- Stripe comes first. Cards and deposits need your Stripe account connected and able to take payments — see Connecting card payments with Stripe.
- These rules are for online bookings. A booking your team takes by phone is saved without a card and marked Awaiting card — see Taking a deposit for a booking made over the phone.
- Refunding a pre-payment. With automatic refunds on, a cancellation outside your no-refund window gives back the whole amount.
- Tell guests about a no-show fee. A no-show charge you set under Settings → Cancellations & No-shows is shown on the card step, so guests see it before they enter their card — see Setting your cancellation and no-show policy.
- Fees. NomNom doesn’t add a fee to deposits. Stripe’s usual card fee comes out of what you receive.
- Google’s Reserve button. Reserve with Google can’t take a card, so while any meal has a card or deposit rule, your venue can’t be offered that button — seeGetting the Reserve button on Google (Reserve with Google).