---
{"title": "How to take payment for a paid booking type", "description": "How solo service providers set up a paid booking type, take the payment at booking, and match each charge to the appointment.", "url": "https://uncommoncomforts.com/how-to-take-payment-for-a-paid-booking-type-for-solo-service-providers/", "date": "2026-10-20"}
---
How solo service providers set up a paid booking type, take the payment at booking, and match each charge to the appointment.

To take payment for a paid booking type, set a price on the booking type so a charge is created when a client picks a slot, connect a card payment service account so the money has somewhere to go, share the booking link, and confirm each charge against the booked time. Check both the tool's fee and the card payment service's fee before you open bookings.

| Option | Fee the tool charges | Card payment fee |
|---|---|---|
| Connections Booking | Not published | Not published |
| A scheduling app that charges at booking | Not published | Not published |
| A card payment link sent after booking | Not published | Not published |

## What you need before you start

To take payment for a paid booking type, a solo service provider needs a few things ready before the first booking page goes live. You need a way to charge a client when a booking is made, which usually means a card payment service you connect. Decide which payment methods clients can use, such as a card or an online payment link. You need to know what a booking type can charge for, so you can set the price where a client chooses a time. Keep a record of each paid booking, because you must match the payment to the booked time and to any later change or cancellation. Have a cancellation policy in place so a paid booking has a clear rule for who keeps the money if a client cancels. Confirm that you can see and change a booking from your side, because managing a paid appointment after it is booked matters as much as collecting the money. Before you start, check how each tool you consider charges its own fee and what the card payment service charges, because both come out of what you collect.

## Step by step

1. Set the price on the paid booking type. A booking type is the slot a client picks, and a paid booking type creates a charge when that slot is chosen. Put the price where the booking form shows a time so the client sees what they will pay.

2. Connect a payment account. A paid booking tool passes the charge to a card payment service, such as Stripe, the card payment company, that handles the actual card payment. Connect your own account with that service before you open bookings, because the tool can only collect through an account you control.

3. Check both fees before you choose. The tool may add its fee on top of the card payment service's fee, and both reduce what you keep.

4. Share the booking link. Send clients the booking page as a link so they can pick a time on their own. A client should be able to choose a slot and pay without you doing the work by hand.

5. Take the payment at the time of booking. The charge should happen when the client picks the slot, not later by invoice, so the money is collected before you give away the time.

6. Confirm and record the booking. After payment, send a confirmation the client can add to a calendar, and keep the charge matched to the booked time.

7. Manage the booked appointment. Use the booking record to reschedule, cancel or mark a no-show so the payment stays matched to what actually happened, and follow your cancellation rule if the client cancels.

## Tools that can do it

Connections Booking is made by the team that publishes this site. A booking type can have a price, and it charges for it, so a paid booking type takes the payment when a client picks a slot. [^1] Clients open your booking link and pick a time without logging in. [^1] The booking request includes a manage or reschedule token. [^1] A client can give a reason when cancelling, and the host's cancellation email shows it. [^1] Hosts can reschedule, cancel or mark a no-show from the booking. [^1] Each booking can get its own Google Meet link. [^1] Booking uses Google Calendar busy times and writes events to it, so free and busy times come from that calendar. [^1] Overlapping bookings are refused, so a client cannot take a time already given away. [^1] Hosts can list dates that are closed or open only for set hours. [^1] Hosts can add their own questions to the booking form. [^1] Clients can pick their own time zone, and the slots show in it. [^1] The confirmation has an Add to calendar option. [^1] The booking page can be embedded on a website. [^1] Hosts set a cancel notice, a daily cap and buffers before and after each booking. [^1] A host opens Booking links at /bookings. [^1]

If you choose a different scheduling app, check that it takes the payment at booking time, connects to a card payment service you own, and lets you set a price per booking type. A card payment service on its own, such as Stripe, the card payment company, can make a payment link you send after the client books, but the link does not reserve a time for you, so you still need a calendar that refuses overlapping slots. An invoicing tool collects payment after the work is done, which is later than at booking, so check whether that timing suits a fee you want to collect up front.

## Common mistakes to avoid

Setting a price but never connecting a payment account means the price shows but no charge is collected. Opening a paid booking before a cancellation rule is set leaves the refund decision with no answer when a client cancels. Choosing a tool by the price on the booking type alone, without checking the tool's fee and the card payment service's fee, means you keep less than the price you set. Sending a payment link after the client books, instead of collecting the charge at booking, leaves some bookings unpaid. Letting a client take a time that overlaps one already given away creates two paid claims on the same hour. Not keeping a record that matches each charge to its booked time makes a cancellation or a no-show hard to settle. Each of these is easy to catch before the first booking if the price, the payment account, the cancellation rule and the fee check are done up front.

## Things to check before you choose

Ask each tool these questions before you commit a paid booking type to it. Does it charge the client at the moment of booking, or does it bill you and you bill the client? Confirm the payment flows through a card payment service you connect and own. Find out its fee and the card service's fee, because both come out of what you keep. Check how a cancellation is handled, whether the client can give a reason, and who keeps the money. Confirm that overlapping bookings are refused so a paid client keeps the time they chose. Ask how the client sees their own time zone and how they add the booking to a calendar. For any feature that matters to paid work, ask before you open the first booking rather than after a paid client finds the gap.

## Frequently asked questions

### How much does a paid booking type cost to set up?

Setup has no published fee. The booking price is what the client pays, and what you actually collect is that price minus the tool's fee and the card payment service's fee, so the amount you keep is lower than the price a client sees. Each tool and each card payment service publishes its own rates. Check both before you open bookings, and set the price high enough that you keep the amount you want after both fees.

### Does a paid booking type need a separate payment account?

A paid booking tool charges a card through a payment service you connect, such as Stripe, the card payment company. You need your own account with that service so collected money has somewhere to go. The tool can only collect through an account you control, so set the account up before you share the booking link. Without it, the price can show but no charge is taken.

### Can a client cancel a paid booking and get a refund?

A client can cancel a paid booking if the tool offers a manage or reschedule link. With Connections Booking, a client can give a reason when cancelling. [^1] Whether they get money back is your decision. Decide a cancellation rule before you open the booking, and set the notice period a client must give. The money you refund and any fee you do not get back depend on the timing your rule sets.

### What happens if two clients pick the same time?

A tool that refuses overlapping bookings stops a second client from taking a time that is already gone. Check that the tool prevents doubles before you rely on it for paid work, because a double booking on a paid slot means refunding or moving one client. With Connections Booking, overlapping bookings are refused, so a client cannot take a time already given away. [^1]

### When is the client charged for a paid booking?

The client should be charged when they pick the slot, before you give away the time. A paid booking type creates the charge at booking rather than by invoice after the work. That timing is what makes a paid booking different from an invoice, which is sent later. Check that the tool you choose collects the payment at the moment of booking, not after.

Connections Free costs $0, and going over a limit stops the feature rather than billing you. [^1] Connections Pro, the first paid plan, is $39.99 a month and adds premium features across every Connections product. [^1] - [Visit Connections Booking](/go/how-to-take-payment-for-a-paid-booking-type-for-solo-service-providers)

## Sources

[^1]: Connections Booking's own description of itself (the product of this site's publisher) (/go/how-to-take-payment-for-a-paid-booking-type-for-solo-service-providers)