A deposit belongs to the booking it was paid for. When you change the booking, the deposit goes with it: NomNom never takes more or gives any back just because a booking changed. The one time money can move on its own is when a booking is cancelled. Here’s what happens in each case, and what to do when the deposit should change too.
When you change a booking
Move it to another day or time, change the party size or give it another table, and the deposit stays exactly as it was. That’s true even if the new day or meal wouldn’t normally ask for a deposit, or would ask for a different one. Moving the date or time emails the guest an updated confirmation, and it still shows Deposit Paid.
- More guests, and you want a deposit for them? Send a payment link for the extra: see Sending a guest a payment link.
- Fewer guests, and you want to give some back? Refund part of the deposit from the booking’s Card & Payments tab. Only admins can refund. See Refunding a deposit or card payment.
When the guest changes it online
If you let guests change their own booking, they can only move to another time on the same day or change the number of guests. A change that would alter the deposit isn’t accepted: the guest sees This change would alter the deposit for your booking, so it can’t be made online. Please contact the restaurant directly. See Letting guests change their own booking online.
When a booking is cancelled
If Automatically refund deposits is on, cancelling refunds the deposit, whether the guest cancels from their email or your team cancels it. A cancellation inside your No-refund window isn’t refunded: the deposit stays for you to refund by hand or keep. With the switch off, nothing is refunded automatically. When a deposit is refunded, the guest’s cancellation email shows the amount.
Only a deposit paid by card through NomNom is refunded automatically. Payment-link payments, final bills, no-show and cancellation charges, and anything you recorded as taken on your card machine or in cash are left alone. The money usually reaches the guest in 5 to 10 business days.
In NomNom Web and the phone app: Settings → Cancellations & No-shows → DEPOSITS & REFUNDS. See Setting your cancellation and no-show policy.
When a cancelled booking is restored
- It was refunded: the refund stands and nothing is taken again. The booking’s Total paid is after refunds, so it now shows nothing paid. Send a payment link if you want the deposit again.
- It wasn’t refunded: the deposit is still on the booking, and the confirmation email the guest gets when you restore it shows it.
See Restoring a cancelled booking.
A card held against the booking
A saved card isn’t a payment, so there’s nothing to refund. It stays with the booking when you move it, cancel it or restore it, so you can still charge a no-show fee later. See Charging a no-show or late-cancellation fee.
Good to know
- Refund from NomNom. Refunds made in your Stripe dashboard can now show on the booking once NomNom support has switched that on for your account, but refunding from the booking in NomNom is still the simplest: the guest is emailed and everything stays in step.
- Card machine or cash deposits are never refunded by NomNom. Give the money back at the till, then record it with Record refund. See Recording card machine and cash payments.
- Changing your deposit rules only affects bookings made afterwards.