Sometimes you need a guest to pay something after they've booked — a deposit for a big table taken over the phone, a pre-payment for a set menu, or a balance left after the meal. A payment link texts or emails them a secure link to pay an amount you choose, and the payment lands on their booking.
You'll need your Stripe account connected first (in NomNom Web, Settings → Stripe). Without it, the link won't send.
How to send one
1. Open the booking's payments. In NomNom Web, click the booking, then Full details (or right-click it and choose View details), and open the Card & Payments tab.
2. Click Payment link. It sits next to Record.
3. Enter the amount. Type it in the Amount box — anything up to £2,000.
4. Choose SMS or Email. NomNom picks SMS if the booking has a mobile number, otherwise Email, and fills in the guest's details. If you correct the number or address here, the booking is updated too.
5. Click Send. Send stays greyed out until there's an amount and somewhere to send it. You'll see Payment link sent.
On the phone app, open the booking, tap Card & Payments, then tap the small link icon beside Record.
In NomNom Web: click the booking → Full details → Card & Payments → Payment link.
What your guest sees
A text reads Hi from [your restaurant]. Please pay £[amount] using this secure link, followed by the link. An email arrives titled A payment link from [your restaurant], with a Pay £[amount] Securely button.
The link opens a page showing your restaurant, the booking and the amount due. They enter their card and tap Pay £[amount] — they can't change the amount. Stripe handles the card, and the page tells them it will be kept on file against the booking.
Once they've paid, they see Payment received, and if the booking has their email address they're sent a Payment Received email. A copy comes to your restaurant's email address.
How it shows on the booking
The payment appears on the Card & Payments tab labelled Payment link, Total paid goes up, and the booking gets a green paid icon in your bookings list. If the booking had no card on file, theirs is saved to it.
If they don't pay
Nothing happens to the booking — it isn't cancelled, and NomNom doesn't chase the guest. Each link works for 7 days; after that the guest is told it has expired and asked to contact you for a fresh one. You can send another at any time, but only the newest link works: sending a new one switches off the old one.
Saying what a card charge is for
If the booking already has a card on file, you can charge it straight away with Charge on the same tab. The Charge card window asks what the charge is For: Deposit, Final bill, No-show or Cancellation. Charge stays greyed out until you pick one, and if the booking is already marked as a no-show, No-show is picked for you.
The guest's receipt is worded to match — Deposit Received, Payment Received for a final bill, No-show Charge or Cancellation Fee — so nobody is told their no-show fee was a deposit.
Good to know
- Up to £2,000 per link. For more than that, send a second link once the first has been paid, or get in touch with us.
- Before or after the visit. You can collect a balance after the meal, but not send a link for a cancelled booking.
- Cancelling the booking stops the link. If you cancel a booking before the guest pays, their link shows Booking Cancelled instead of the payment page. Restore the booking and the same link works again.
- Texts use your SMS credits, and the text or email shows on the booking's Messages tab.
- Who can send one. Anyone on your team except read-only users. It doesn't ask for a booking PIN.
- Say what it's for. The link and receipt just say "payment", so tell the guest whether it's a deposit or a balance.
- Cancelling doesn't refund it. Only deposits are refunded automatically when a booking is cancelled, and only if you've switched automatic refunds on. To refund a payment-link payment, an admin clicks it on the Card & Payments tab.