tilkbook + Stripe integration

What does connecting Stripe to tilkbook actually do?

tilkbook’s Stripe integration is an optional payments add-on that lets you collect card payments directly through your booking page. Without it, clients simply pay on-site at their appointment — tilkbook works perfectly well as a free scheduling tool with no Stripe account required. When you enable payments, clients can pay a deposit or the full service fee during the booking flow before they even walk through your door.

The integration uses Stripe Connect Express, which means your money goes directly to your own Stripe account — tilkbook never holds funds on your behalf. Every transaction that flows through tilkbook carries tilkbook’s platform fee alongside Stripe’s standard processing fees. You keep the rest. Setup takes about five minutes, and clients can pay with any major card, Apple Pay, or Google Pay.

This add-on is designed for service businesses that deal with no-shows, late cancellations, or clients who forget their wallet: hair salons, massage therapists, personal trainers, tattoo studios, chiropractors, and any other appointment-based business where a client’s time slot has real cost.

How does the deposit and full-payment flow work?

For each service in your tilkbook catalog, you choose one of three payment options:

• No charge at booking — clients pay on-site; the booking is confirmed immediately with no card required
• Deposit — clients pay a fixed amount or percentage upfront; the remaining balance is due at the appointment
• Full payment at booking — clients pay the entire service fee before the appointment is confirmed

When a client selects a service that requires a deposit or full payment, they are taken to a Stripe Checkout step embedded in the tilkbook booking flow. Stripe Checkout handles PCI compliance, 3-D Secure authentication, Apple Pay, and Google Pay automatically — you do not need to handle any card data yourself.

The client’s payment method is saved against their booking record. This is what powers the no-show fee and late-cancellation fee features described below.

How does the no-show fee work?

If a client does not show up to their appointment, you mark the booking as a no-show in your tilkbook dashboard. tilkbook then charges the configured no-show fee against the client’s saved payment method via Stripe — without requiring the client to be present or take any action. Clients are shown the no-show policy at booking time before they pay, so there are no surprises.

The charge is processed off-session, meaning it happens after the appointment time through a saved payment intent. If the card requires 3-D Secure re-authentication, tilkbook surfaces a step-up link so the client can complete it without involving you manually.

If you decide to waive a no-show fee — for a first-time lapse or a genuine emergency — you can excuse the no-show from the booking detail view. Excusing a no-show cancels the pending charge entirely.

Late-cancellation fees work the same way: if a client cancels inside the cancellation window you configured, the late-cancel fee is charged automatically to their saved card.

How do refunds work?

From the tilkbook Payments dashboard, you can issue a partial or full refund on any transaction. tilkbook sends the refund instruction to Stripe, which processes it back to the original payment method. Partial refunds are useful when a service is cut short or a client cancels after a deposit has already been collected.

Refunds appear in both the tilkbook payment history and your Stripe dashboard. For disputed payments (chargebacks), tilkbook surfaces an evidence submission view with the booking record, client contact details, and the cancellation policy the client accepted at booking — all the information Stripe needs for a dispute response, in one place.

What about tips and discount codes?

When payments are enabled, clients can optionally add a tip during the checkout step. Tips flow through Stripe the same way as service fees and appear separately in your transaction history.

Discount codes work through the same payment path. You create codes in tilkbook with a fixed or percentage discount, and clients enter them during checkout. The discount is applied before the Stripe payment intent is created, so the client pays the discounted amount directly — there is no post-payment credit or refund involved.

Do I need Stripe to use tilkbook?

No. Online payments via Stripe are an opt-in add-on. tilkbook’s core booking features — unlimited bookings, calendar sync, staff management, email reminders, waitlist, digital business card — are all free with no Stripe account required. Payments is an add-on for businesses that want to collect money at booking time.

If you run a business where clients pay on-site and you have no no-show problem worth protecting against, you may never need to connect Stripe at all. Compare that to tools like Square Appointments or Acuity Scheduling, which bundle payments more tightly into their subscription model. With tilkbook, the booking tool is always free; payments is added when you need it.

How does Stripe Connect Express work with tilkbook?

Stripe Connect Express is Stripe’s model for platforms that facilitate payments on behalf of their users. When you connect your Stripe account to tilkbook, you are authorising tilkbook to create payment intents on your behalf. The money charged to your clients flows directly into your Stripe account, not into tilkbook’s account. Payouts from Stripe to your bank account follow your normal Stripe payout schedule.

tilkbook deducts its platform fee from each transaction at the time of capture. The remaining amount is settled to you by Stripe. Your Stripe dashboard shows gross amounts; the net after fees is visible in tilkbook’s Payouts view alongside the expected next-payout date.

For multi-staff businesses, payments are associated with the booking rather than the individual staff member — all revenue lands in the single connected Stripe account for the business.

Setting up Stripe on tilkbook

1. Open Settings → Payments in your tilkbook dashboard (or go to Settings → Integrations → Stripe)
2. Click Connect Stripe — you will be redirected to Stripe Connect’s onboarding flow
3. Complete Stripe’s identity and banking details — if you already have a Stripe account, sign in; otherwise Stripe walks you through creating one
4. Return to tilkbook — the integration is confirmed and your Stripe account ID is linked
5. Configure per-service payment settings — for each service, choose No charge, Deposit, or Full payment at booking
6. Set no-show and late-cancellation fees (optional) — configure the fee amounts and cancellation window in Settings → Booking rules

Clients who book services with payment required will see the Stripe Checkout step during booking. Clients who book pay-on-site services go through the normal booking flow with no payment step.

For more on what tilkbook charges and what is included for free, see pricing. For a full list of integrations, see the integrations directory. Questions about how availability and booking rules interact with paid services? See features overview.