Customer deposits

Take a deposit at the point of booking, so the first week of work is already paid for.

macOS — coming soonSee the 2 automations
SMB / AUTOMATE.md

When a new booking lands in the calendar, draft a deposit request for 30% and email it with the booking details.

Ready-made: Booking deposit request

The job, and what good looks like.

### What breaks Bookings are confirmed by a text message and the customer pays at the end, so the owner buys the materials and does the labour first. A late cancellation then costs the week twice: the money never arrives and the slot is gone. ### What the workflow does - Request a deposit at the moment the booking is made, rather than at the end of the job. - Track which deposits are paid, which are outstanding, and which job each one belongs to. - Chase an unpaid deposit a couple of days before the appointment, while the slot can still be released. - Write the deposit against the invoice when the job is finished, so the balance is obvious. ### What stays human You set the deposit percentage and the jobs that are exempt, and you approve the wording of the request before it is sent.

When it is handled

  • Deposit requested when the booking is made
  • Deposits tracked against each job
  • Fewer unpaid bookings

Works with tools like

  • HoneyBook
  • Acuity Scheduling
  • Calendly
  • Stripe

Ready-made automations. Pick the one that fits.

Each one is a plain-language document. Run it as it is, or change the timing, the rules and the tools to match your team.

Booking deposit request

When a new booking lands in the calendar, draft a deposit request for 30% and email it with the booking details.

When a new appointment is booked

Unpaid deposit reminder

Two days before each appointment, check unpaid deposits and email anyone who has not paid yet.

2 days before an appointment with an unpaid deposit

You stay in charge.
At every step.

It does the admin. You decide what reaches a customer.

  • Nothing sent without your OK

    Reminders and replies wait in your drafts until you send them.

  • Undo what you don't want

    Every step is recorded, and a file it changed can be put back.

  • Only what you connect

    Each automation reaches only the email, calendar and folders you give it.

Booking deposit request

Approve before it saves the document and sends the email?

ReviewApprove

Before you download.

Where does it run?
On your Mac or Windows computer, in the background. It keeps working after you close its window, and only reaches the folders and apps you connect for each automation.
How does it connect to our CRM and other tools?
Through each app's own connection where it offers one, signed in once by you, or by using the app in a browser the way you would. Each automation gets only the connections you give it, and the tools a page names are examples you can swap for your own.
Does it run when my computer is asleep?
It keeps your computer awake while a job runs and just before a scheduled one. While the computer is closed or off, nothing runs; when it wakes, it checks the inbox, calendar and other sources it watches for anything that arrived meanwhile.
How does my team use it?
Each person who runs automations installs the app. Keep a project in a shared folder, such as Google Drive or a network drive, and teammates can open it and follow every run, while one person owns it and runs it.
Do I need anyone technical to set it up?
No. Download the app, add an automation in plain words, and connect only what that job needs. Nothing runs until you switch it on.

Already have tools for this? Here is the difference.

The features in your invoicing or booking app

Sending standard reminders inside that one app.

They stop at that app's edge and can't follow your own rules or exceptions.

Flowchart automation tools

Connecting apps if you have the time to build and maintain the flow.

Most owners never have that time, and every exception becomes another branch.

Doing it in the evening

Full control, every time.

It waits for you, and it slips when the week gets busy.

AUTOMATE.md

Your routine, written in plain words. It runs on its own, follows your rules, handles the exceptions a flowchart can't, and asks you when it matters. The file stays yours, whichever AI model runs it.

Related workflows.

Appointments and no-shows

Confirm every booking, recover the ones that get missed, and keep the calendar honest.

3 automations

Getting paid faster

Send the invoice the day the work is finished, with a payment option attached to it.

2 automations

Onboarding paperwork

Collect signatures, policies, and details before a new client or a first day begins.

2 automations

Start with one job.
Make it your own.

macOS — coming soon
  1. 1

    Get the app

    It runs on your computer, next to your files.

  2. 2

    Add the automation

    Paste the instructions into the app, or save them as a file next to your work.

  3. 3

    Try it, then turn it on

    Run it once and check the result. It only runs on its own once you switch it on.

macOS — coming soon