Tips: let customers add a little extra, properly

Tipping used to mean loose change or an awkward "can I add a bit on?" at the card machine. From today, BookAppointment asks for you — politely, once, at the moment the customer is already paying.

Where customers see it

• At the counter — when you take a card payment in the Business app, tip buttons appear above the total.
• Online — when a customer pays for their appointment on your booking page.

They tap a percentage, or type their own amount if you allow it, or tap No tip and move on. No pressure, no haggling.

You decide how it works

Open Payments › Tips in your admin:

• Switch tipping on or off, and choose whether it shows in person, online, or both.
• Pick the percentages shown as buttons — 5, 10 and 15 by default.
• Allow (or block) a custom amount.
• Choose who the tip belongs to: the team member on the appointment, or the whole team as a shared pot.
• Write the message customers see, for example "Happy with your cut? Add a tip for Mark."

Tips stay yours

Deposits never carry a tip — nobody should tip before the work happens. And our fee is only ever calculated on the service amount, so the tip passes straight through to you.

Seeing the money

Reports now has a Tips section for whatever dates you're looking at: total tips, service takings, the tip rate as a percentage, and a breakdown per team member. Team members see their own tips only, so there's no awkwardness in the staff room.

Tipping suits barbers, salons, spas, tattoo studios and pet grooming. It's deliberately switched off for businesses where tips make no sense — estate agents and clinics, for instance.