ArtistryHost supports three ways to handle payment at booking. You pick the one that matches your venue. You can use different modes for different experiences.
Full prepayment
The guest pays the full ticket price at booking. The transaction is closed. The booking is confirmed.
What the guest sees: "Total: $75. Pay now."
Best for: public classes with a fixed price (candle bar workshops, paint-and-sip, scheduled cooking classes). High-volume, low-cancellation venues.
Trade-offs:
- ✓ Operationally simple. No money to collect day-of.
- ✓ Acts as a commitment device, reduces no-shows.
- ✗ Slightly lower cart-to-confirmed conversion than deposit-only.
- ✗ Higher chargeback exposure. Full ticket can be disputed.
Deposit + balance
The guest pays a percentage of the total at booking. The balance is collected in person at the event via a card-present transaction at your host stand.
What the guest sees: "Deposit: $25. Balance ($50) at the venue."
Best for: private events, parties, larger group bookings. Anywhere the per-event revenue is high enough that chargeback exposure matters.
Trade-offs:
- ✓ Lower processing fees on the balance (card-present rate vs card-not-present).
- ✓ Lower chargeback exposure (capped at the deposit).
- ✓ Lower cart friction at booking.
- ✗ Requires someone at the host stand to collect day-of.
Configure the deposit percentage in Settings → Payments → Deposit %. Most venues use 25–30%. Private events often run 50%.
Card on file
The guest provides a card at booking, but no charge happens. The card is tokenized via Square. The full amount is charged in person at the end of the experience, via the run sheet.
What the guest sees: "Card on file. Pay at the venue."
Best for: pottery studios where final price depends on what the guest makes; cooking schools with variable menus; venues with significant day-of upsells.
Trade-offs:
- ✓ Lowest cart friction. No money up front.
- ✓ Variable pricing is easy.
- ✓ Card-present processing rate (cheapest).
- ✗ Requires staff at end-of-experience to enter the final amount and tap to charge.
- ✗ Slight no-show risk. Card on file is enough commitment for most, but not all, guests.
Mixing modes
Each experience has its own payment mode. Public classes can be full prepay while private events are deposit + balance. You don't have to pick one for the whole venue.
Change the mode for any experience from Experiences → [name] → Payment mode. Already-confirmed bookings keep their original payment terms.
Recommendations by vertical
A starting point. Adjust to your specific situation:
- Candle bars & paint-and-sip: Full prepay for public classes. Deposit + balance for private events.
- Wineries & tasting rooms: Card-on-file works well (low no-show, variable final amount with bottle purchases). Or full prepay for fixed-price tasting flights.
- Pottery studios: Card-on-file for drop-in sessions. Full prepay for scheduled classes.
- Cooking schools: Full prepay for fixed-menu classes. Card-on-file for variable menus.
- Distilleries & breweries: Full prepay for tour-and-tasting packages. Card-on-file for tasting flights billed in person.