If you’re booking appointments online and want to get paid up front (or just stop chasing invoices), you need a system that handles both scheduling and payments—without eating your whole day. This guide is for freelancers, consultants, coaches, and anyone else tired of awkward payment conversations. We’ll walk through how to set up payments in Appointlet, what actually works in practice, and where to watch out for headaches.
Step 1: Understand What Appointlet Payments Can (and Can’t) Do
Let’s start with the basics. Appointlet is an online scheduling tool that now lets you collect payments when customers book with you. It isn’t a full-blown invoicing app or a replacement for a real accounting system. Here’s what you can expect:
What works: - Collecting payment before the appointment—no more chasing no-shows. - Paid bookings for one-on-one and group appointments. - Integration with Stripe (the only supported payment gateway as of 2024).
What doesn’t work (yet): - No PayPal, no Square, no crypto. - No recurring/subscription payments. - Limited to collecting a flat fee per appointment (no “pay what you want” or tipping). - No built-in tax calculations or invoicing. You’ll need to handle that elsewhere.
Bottom line: If you just want to take a card payment when someone books, Appointlet is solid. If you need more complex billing, look elsewhere.
Step 2: Connect Your Stripe Account
Appointlet uses Stripe to process payments. No Stripe account, no payments. Here’s how to link them up:
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Create a Stripe account
If you don’t have one, go to stripe.com and sign up. It’s free, but you’ll need to provide your business details and bank info. -
Go to Appointlet’s payment settings
In Appointlet, head to Settings > Payment Collection. Click “Connect with Stripe.” -
Authorize Appointlet
Log into Stripe, and authorize Appointlet to access your account. This is safe—Appointlet won’t see your bank details, just what it needs to process payments. -
Test the connection
Appointlet should show you’re connected. If not, double-check you used the right Stripe login.
Pro tip: If you run multiple businesses, you can link different Stripe accounts to different booking pages—just don’t try to overcomplicate things unless you really need to.
Step 3: Set Up Payment Collection on Your Appointment Types
Now it’s time to actually charge for your appointments. You do this per appointment type, so you can have some free slots and some paid—it’s flexible.
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Edit (or create) an appointment type
In Appointlet, go to Appointment Types and select the one you want to charge for. -
Enable payment collection
Scroll to the Payment section and turn on “Require payment to book.” -
Set your price
Enter the amount to charge. This is a flat fee (e.g., $50 per session). You can set the currency here, too. -
Optional: Add a payment description
This helps customers know what they’re paying for. Keep it simple: “Initial consultation (1 hour)” or “Dog training session.” -
Save your changes
Don’t forget this step—nothing updates until you hit save.
Heads up: You can’t do fancy pricing (like discounts, coupons, or sliding scales) directly in Appointlet. If you need that, you’ll have to handle it manually or look at other tools.
Step 4: Customize Your Booking Flow
Before you go live, make sure your booking page makes sense. The payment step is baked into the flow, but it’s worth checking:
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Preview your booking page
Click “View Booking Page” and run through the process as if you’re a client. You should see the payment page show up after the appointment details. -
Test with a real payment
Use a low price (like $1) and book yourself. Make sure the payment goes through and you get the right confirmation emails. -
Check confirmation messages
Appointlet sends a confirmation email after successful booking/payment. You can customize this under Notifications.
What to ignore: Don’t worry about customizing every little thing right now. Get the basics working, then tweak as you go.
Step 5: Managing Payments and Tracking Bookings
Once payments are coming in, you need to keep things organized. Appointlet and Stripe work together, but each handles different parts:
In Appointlet
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See who paid (and who didn’t):
On your dashboard, paid appointments are clearly marked. You can filter or export bookings if you need a spreadsheet. -
Refunds:
Appointlet lets you trigger a refund, but it’s really just a shortcut to Stripe. All the real refunding happens in Stripe.
In Stripe
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Payment history:
Log in to your Stripe dashboard for full details: payment amounts, customer info, payouts to your bank, and more. -
Export reports:
If you need to do accounting or taxes, export from Stripe—not Appointlet. -
Handle disputes/chargebacks:
If a customer disputes a charge, Stripe handles it. Appointlet doesn’t get involved.
Pro tip: Stripe fees are automatically taken out of each payment. Expect to lose ~2.9% + 30¢ per transaction in the U.S. Double-check your local rates.
Step 6: Handling Cancellations, No-Shows, and Refunds
This is where things can get messy. Here’s what actually works:
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Set a clear cancellation policy:
Appointlet lets you add custom text to booking confirmations and reminders. Spell out whether you refund for cancellations, and under what conditions. -
Manual refunds:
There’s no “auto-refund” if someone cancels. You’ll need to process refunds in Stripe (or via Appointlet’s link to Stripe). -
Partial refunds:
Want to refund only part of a payment? Do it in Stripe, not in Appointlet. -
No-shows:
Appointlet doesn’t block refunds for no-shows. It’s up to you to enforce your policy.
Avoid drama by making your terms clear up front. If you’re strict, say so early.
Step 7: Tips, Limitations, and Common Gotchas
Some stuff is only obvious once you’ve used the system for a bit:
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No recurring billing:
If you sell packages or subscriptions, Appointlet isn’t built for that. You’ll need a real subscription tool, or invoice people manually. -
Can’t split payments:
Customers can’t pay a deposit now and the rest later. It’s all or nothing. -
No built-in receipts:
Stripe sends a payment confirmation, but Appointlet doesn’t do tax invoices. If you need them, set up custom receipts in Stripe. -
Multi-user setups:
If you’ve got a team, you can assign payments per team member. But all money goes to the connected Stripe account(s). -
International payments:
Stripe handles lots of currencies, but double-check if you’re outside the U.S. Some countries have weird rules or extra verification. -
Customer support:
Appointlet’s support is decent but not instant. Stripe support is hit-or-miss, especially for disputes.
Step 8: Alternatives (If You Outgrow Appointlet Payments)
If you find Appointlet’s payment features too basic, you’ve got options:
- Calendly: Similar scheduling, but their payment features aren’t much deeper unless you pay for higher tiers.
- Acuity Scheduling: More robust payment, coupon, and package support, but steeper learning curve.
- Standalone invoicing tools (like PayPal, Wave, or QuickBooks): If you need full accounting or recurring billing, you’ll probably need one of these alongside your scheduler.
Don’t jump ship unless you really need to. Complexity adds headaches.
Keep It Simple—And Iterate
Taking payments through Appointlet is straightforward if you stick to the basics: connect Stripe, set your fee, and make your policies clear. Don’t get bogged down automating every detail on day one. Get the core workflow working, see how your clients use it, and tweak as you go. Sometimes, simpler really is better—especially when it comes to getting paid on time.