Booking Fee/Deposit

[Charlie Brown]

Following on from a brief chat I had with Nathan on FB regarding deposits...what do you charge? How do you work it out? Is it the same every time?

I take a £50 booking fee/deposit that is deducted from the final fee.

Nathan takes £30. I thought this was quite cheap.

We take a booking fee/deposit as a deterrent, to prevent the client from cancelling/messing you around/booking someone else.

How do you justify your booking fee?

Over to you. :beer1:

[Leicester Ben]

For weddings we charge a £150 booking fee
On hire of equipment (such as staging, dance floors etc) it's 25%

Hope that helps

[Cowlinn]

For weddings we charge a £150 booking fee
On hire of equipment (such as staging, dance floors etc) it's 25%

Hope that helps

and then deduct the £150 from the final price..?

[Vectis]

£30 isn't a deterrent. £50 isn't a deterrent.

Well... not for proper paying gigs.

To Sid's clients it's a deterrent :)



My justification for my £100 non-refundable booking fee was that it covered the time that was invested by me in the pre-planning of the event. Time spent on customer meetings/discussions, sorting out paperwork, costs incurred in dealing with the same - eg. postage, fuel, heat & light etc..

[Charlie Brown]

Wow! £150 is pretty steep. Perhaps mine is too cheap.

[Vectis]

Perhaps mine is too cheap.

It is.

[Charlie Brown]

It is.

Which means we will have to change it on my site (at some point)?

I thought you were appreciating the peace? :sj:

[Leicester Ben]

£150 would be steep if my wedding clients were paying say £250 but as the weddings are all priced at £350.00 + VAT (£420.00) then it's not too bad I don't think.

I've never had anybody complain :)

[Leicester Ben]

Oh and yes the £150 is deducted from the final fee.

[Dynamic Entertainment]

I used to work on a £50 booking fee, but as my price has risen so has the booking fee...upto £100 now.

[Cowlinn]

Booking fee? What booking fee :D

I've got a lot of thinking to do...

[Charlie Brown]

Booking fee? What booking fee :D

I've got a lot of thinking to do...

That's another debate...

I have had several people ask whether they will get the 'deposit' back.

What do folk call it? Deposit, booking fee, holding fee...

[Vectis]

What do folk call it? Deposit, booking fee, holding fee...



Non-refundable booking fee.

Better to come clean upfront methinks. Tell it as it is, then there's no surprises.

[Dynamic Entertainment]

Yep +1 for "Non-Refundable Booking Fee".

[DeckstarDeluxe]

I've always charged £50 for NRBF's.

[jamesh]

I tend to go for £100 non-refundable booking fee for discos and 25% for equipment/services hire... Both come with a 14 day money back guarentee from date of booking and as of 2011 my terms and conditions have changed to full payment required 30 days before the event. (used to be 14 days)

Both amounts come off the full amount due.

[Peter Lockwood]

I charge a 25% Reservation Fee and give the client a 7 day cooling off period

[wensleydale]

£100+

[soundtracker]

£150.00 retainer fee, only ever had one comment.

[CRAZY K]

£30 isn't a deterrent. £50 isn't a deterrent.

Well... not for proper paying gigs.

To Sid's clients it's a deterrent :)



My justification for my £100 non-refundable booking fee was that it covered the time that was invested by me in the pre-planning of the event. Time spent on customer meetings/discussions, sorting out paperwork, costs incurred in dealing with the same - eg. postage, fuel, heat & light etc..

Spot on ( as usual ) make sure you constantly refer to the NON REFUNDABLE.

I seem to recall Angela felt it made little difference whether it was booking fee or deposit--we still use Non Refundable Booking Fee.

No one has complained yet;) in case that was an issue.

[Shakermaker Promotions]

I think £50.00 isn't enough Charlie.
I charge £100.00 for the booking fee which is then taken off the balance which is due 7 days before the function.
As said already, it covers you for the work you do beforehand and to be honest, if they cancel on you, £100.00 is better having than £50.00.

[Vectis]

I charge a 25% Reservation Fee and give the client a 7 day cooling off period

Of course. For brevity I didn't mention this earlier but to comply with DSR you have to offer this as well as advising the client of their right to cancel.

http://www.oft.gov.uk/about-the-oft/legal-powers/legal/distance-selling-regulations/


The responses to date also don't deal with short-notice bookings.

My balance payment terms were 14 days prior to the event unless by prior arrangement (ie the occasional "daddy's paying" client) but for events booked and executed within 30 days full payment was required.


Then there were the cancellation clauses.

Events cancelled over 30 days away forfeited the NRBF.

Events cancelled between 30 and 14 days would be invoiced 50% of the total fee minus the NRBF.

Events cancelled within 14 days would be invoiced 100% of the total fee minus the NRBF.

Clients were advised to take wedding or event insurance which would cover. amongst other things, my fees in case of a claim scenario.


Until a NRBF was received and cleared there was no booking. On receipt of cleared payment the countersigned contract was returned.

[Charlie Brown]

Ohhh, you're so proper Martin.

[leelive]

£100 deposit to secure a booking. This is really helpful. Especially during January (my quietest month). Got £600 worth of deposits.
Lee

[Vectis]

Ohhh, you're so proper Martin.

Charlie - you've not been doing this long enough to realise how many ways people will try to shaft you and mess you around.

It might seem 'proper' but it's self-preservation really :o

Hope it helps influence your own policies.

[yourdj]

£150.

[Shakermaker Promotions]

Charlie (here we go again), I'm not getting at you mate but it's comments like that - "Ohh, you're so proper..." that make me laugh.
I KNOW it was meant in jest and I KNOW you do what you do seriously but come on mate...
You asked the question about Booking Fees / Deposits and then you say you take £50.00. Someone asking for £30.00 is apparently too cheap and someone asking for £150.00 is apparently asking a bit much?

Look at it like this.... You get a £400.00 booking in and you take £50.00 booking fee. That date is now booked until one day, for whatever reason, the booking is cancelled and within the cancellation charges period (if you have one?). You are left with no booking and just £50.00 for your trouble.
Now, that may be ok for YOU seeing as you are (luckily and fair play) still living at home and don't have a mortgage, vechile to run and all the other stuff BUT for the likes of myself and a fair few others on here, we DO have those.

£100.00 works for me. As said already, January is pretty quiet and to be honest, what with the Tax Man needing to be sorted out, lack of bookings as it's generally quiet etc etc....a few £100.00 booking fees coming in can really help out (my booking fees have covered my bills this month already....if I took £50.00 booking fees (like I first did when I started), I'd more than likely be struggling this month).

I also think that a higher booking fee actually helps the customer because they get a chunk of the payment out of the way and it makes the balance less for them to pay off.

[Mark Wild]

My deposit fee was £50, but after reading this I'm now going to make it £100, cheers lads :)

[Charlie Brown]

My deposit fee was £50, but after reading this I'm now going to make it £100, cheers lads :)

:agree:

Quite a handy thread TBH.

[Mark Wild]

:agree:

Quite a handy thread TBH.

Very handy indeed :beer1:

[musicologydisco]

I don't take a deposit and very rarely had any probs.

[Charlie Brown]

I don't take a deposit and very rarely had any probs.

Incoming. :zip:

[Mark Wild]

I don't take a deposit and very rarely had any probs.

So, as a businessman, how would/do you protect yourself against last minute cancellations?

[djtrev]

Just as a matter of interest.
You have an enquiry,agree a fee and then ask for a deposit.What would your reaction be if the client said the deposit was too much and offered less.
Knowing you had a confirmed booking,would you decline.

[Vectis]

Just as a matter of interest.
You have an enquiry,agree a fee and then ask for a deposit.What would your reaction be if the client said the deposit was too much and offered less.
Knowing you had a confirmed booking,would you decline.

Why would it be too much?

"Too much" as in they think it's too high a proportion of the fee? Then I'd suggest they are not committed to using you in which case the answer is obvious.

"Too much" as in they can't afford to pay it now? Then I'd offer to take instalments but the booking isn't confirmed until the full NRBF is banked. I'd also probably insist on improved (in my favour) settlement date - maybe 60 or 90 days if it was a way-off gig.

I certainly wouldn't accept less!

[Shaun]

I've stated a £100 NRBF for several years, it's never been a problem. As last year was a record year for cancellations I've been considering upping the NRBF to 50% of the total fee.

[soundtracker]

Just as a matter of interest.
You have an enquiry,agree a fee and then ask for a deposit.What would your reaction be if the client said the deposit was too much and offered less.
Knowing you had a confirmed booking,would you decline.

Doesn't and wouldn't happen because the retainer fee is stipulated at the same time as the price.

[djtrev]

I realise I am talking hyperthetically but I find the idea of NRBF a bit extreme and final.
Ignoring the 'we found someone cheaper' scenario what if there was a genuine reason for cancellation would you not think that £150 was a bit extreme,£100 would be pushing it but £50/75 would be more acceptable.
I realise that there are other factors to consider,self employed loss of other potential work and time spent on the initial enquiry but in reality I would not think that this would be a regular occurance.
I am not saying you are wrong to do business the way you are,I am just trying to widen the discussion and cause debate.

[yourdj]

I cant understand why someone would not take a booking fee (not a deposit as that is legally unsound)
and then take payment before the event (one month or a week perhaps).

I have never had any issues with this and it shows a clients commitment.
Whats to stop someone turning round and getting someone else last min cos their mate does it for £100 (if you have no contract).

Your open for problems especially for people who get payment after the event when everyone is drunk.

[Vectis]

would you not think that £150 was a bit extreme,£100 would be pushing it but £50/75 would be more acceptable.

£150 is a bit extreme on a £200 booking :o

But not on a £450/£500 booking where it's just about a third :)

[soundtracker]

I assume you mean hypothetically. LOL If someone is serious about making a booking, then I see no problem. I take a booking now, and guarantee to the client that the date is theirs, if two or three months down the line they decide to cancel, then I have some compensation for the fact that by this time I may have been able to sell the date elsewhere, it may also be that I don't get any further enquiries for the date which would then leave me kicking my heels!
As for genuine reasons, then I will always work with the client to be as flexible as I can in re-booking, however at the end of the day, this is a business and my living, so ultimately I will not be dis-advantaging myself.
Imho £50 is insufficient a penalty for cancelling at any stage.

[Jonathan Ford]

I realise I am talking hyperthetically but I find the idea of NRBF a bit extreme and final.
Ignoring the 'we found someone cheaper' scenario what if there was a genuine reason for cancellation would you not think that £150 was a bit extreme,£100 would be pushing it but £50/75 would be more acceptable.
I realise that there are other factors to consider,self employed loss of other potential work and time spent on the initial enquiry but in reality I would not think that this would be a regular occurance.
I am not saying you are wrong to do business the way you are,I am just trying to widen the discussion and cause debate.

I suspect that the majority of posters have the sense to treat each individual situation appropriately. In my case, on occasion, I have waived the booking fee when it felt like the right thing to do. More often than not, I'll agree to hold the booking fee against a future booking.

[Shakermaker Promotions]

I can't understand the mentality of some that are saying that either don't take a Booking Fee (you need to cover yourself and the customer) or that some of the Booking Fees are too high.

When someone books you and signs the Contract / Booking Form, the majority of people these days will know that there is some kind of Booking Fee / Deposit that they must pay to keep that date. When someone books me, I ask for a Booking Fee because I am making a date secure for them. It covers me if the Booking doesn't come off.

I know someone that has a £25.00 Booking Fee but has also had a number of cancellations. He doesn't understand and won't take advice about upping that because he is under the impression that anything higher would be too much. I think that's rubbish and my point is proved because he has lost bookings (I don't know why and it's none of my business).

One of my friends is a Tattooist. Up until recently he never had Booking Fees. He got so narked off with people booking time with him and then cancelling that he asked what I do. I told him to charge a £20.00 Booking Fee so that if people wanting Tattoos wanted him personally to do their ink work, they would need to pay to book him and that £20.00 would come off the bill once the job is done. Since then, his cancellations have dropped big time.

Although it's a totally different scenario and the prices are a lot more than I charge, my wife takes 50% upfront from all of her customers. She designs and makes Bridal Wear and the 50% takes care of the material and work involved. The balance is then payable on completion.

I think the main thing here is that when someone books you and pays a Booking Fee, it shows commitment from both sides. Our side in that we are securing the date and their side in that they are securing our services.

[soundtracker]

I can't understand the mentality of some that are saying that either don't take a Booking Fee (you need to cover yourself and the customer) or that some of the Booking Fees are too high.

When someone books you and signs the Contract / Booking Form, the majority of people these days will know that there is some kind of Booking Fee / Deposit that they must pay to keep that date. When someone books me, I ask for a Booking Fee because I am making a date secure for them. It covers me if the Booking doesn't come off.

I know someone that has a £25.00 Booking Fee but has also had a number of cancellations. He doesn't understand and won't take advice about upping that because he is under the impression that anything higher would be too much. I think that's rubbish and my point is proved because he has lost bookings (I don't know why and it's none of my business).

One of my friends is a Tattooist. Up until recently he never had Booking Fees. He got so narked off with people booking time with him and then cancelling that he asked what I do. I told him to charge a £20.00 Booking Fee so that if people wanting Tattoos wanted him personally to do their ink work, they would need to pay to book him and that £20.00 would come off the bill once the job is done. Since then, his cancellations have dropped big time.

Although it's a totally different scenario and the prices are a lot more than I charge, my wife takes 50% upfront from all of her customers. She designs and makes Bridal Wear and the 50% takes care of the material and work involved. The balance is then payable on completion.

I think the main thing here is that when someone books you and pays a Booking Fee, it shows commitment from both sides. Our side in that we are securing the date and their side in that they are securing our services.

Pure common sense

[yourdj]

In my case, on occasion, I have waived the booking fee when it felt like the right thing to do.

Same here. with enough warning I will get booked again for the date.
Having said that the two times i have had cancelations I have kept the fee and offered a discount if they book again in one year.

Relationships are funny thing and many people get married when they are not ready or feel they need too.

Or take the night off and join one of my DJ's for a change :beer1:

[[email protected]]

We don't take deposits or booking fees.

The clients are advised quite clearly from the initial enquiry stage, bookings are confirmed by a non-cancellable contract, which if they cancel can be liable for anything up to 100% of the contracted fee, we explain in simple terms why this cancellation charge will be made.

They then get told about the cancellation clause again on the confirmaiton email we send to get all the details to issue a contract.

They then digitally sign the contract.

We ask for payment 14 days prior to the event (or following the event for a regular customer or corporate customer, following a successful credit check).

Is there a hard hat smilie anywhere?

[Mark Wild]

Pure common sense

Indeed lol

[Vectis]

we explain in simple terms why this cancellation charge will be made.

It might help the OP and others to see what these entail. I've tried :o

[Shakermaker Promotions]

I think waiving the Booking Fee is acceptable in extreme cases, whatever they are but at the end of the day, they are there for a reason.
I had a Wedding booked with me for October 2010. For personal reasons the customer had to cancel but they re-booked it for April this year. As far as I was concerned, it's just a booking that had been re-scheduled so all of the details more or less remained the same. I sent out new booking forms and added a note to them that the booking fee had been paid already.

I have only ever had one problem as far as I can remember which was for another Wedding last November where the customer got his wires crossed. He had paid the £100.00 Booking Fee and then an extra £100.00 on top by accident as he was transferring the money online and did it twice by accident. He was also under the impression that I was doing the function myself when I never said that and I never do until I have met the customer and found out what it is that they want.

On that occasion the customer cancelled the booking and expected £200.00 back. I stuck to my guns and my T&C's and refunded him £100.00 which was the £100.00 he'd paid off the balance in error.

[Danno13]

We don't take deposits or booking fees.

The clients are advised quite clearly from the initial enquiry stage, bookings are confirmed by a non-cancellable contract, which if they cancel can be liable for anything up to 100% of the contracted fee, we explain in simple terms why this cancellation charge will be made.

They then get told about the cancellation clause again on the confirmaiton email we send to get all the details to issue a contract.

They then digitally sign the contract.

We ask for payment 14 days prior to the event (or following the event for a regular customer or corporate customer, following a successful credit check).

Is there a hard hat smilie anywhere?

The thing with that is it's a lot harder to get money from people after a cancellation, than it is to simply keep hold of money they're already given you, as this puts the ownus on them to chase you for the money, rather than the other way round.

The other thing that I don't think has been mentioned, is that for the full-timers, booking fees provide money to live off in the quiet months!

[[email protected]]

It might help the OP and others to see what these entail. I've tried :o

Sure. :)

So, enquiry / booking process generally follows like this.

Get enquiry, send quote with a 'how to book' bit on the bottom of the quote. This explains booking process, advise that the contracts don't provide for cancellation.

Get the client to confirm they would like to book.

Send confirmation email, which contains a link to our TOB (incase they haven't read them before that time).

Which contains the following text:-
"Once we have received the above information our system will generate the contracts, which again I have to point out, are legally binding contracts that do not provide for cancellation this means when the act / DJ / Band accepts the booking the date is blocked out in their diary and starts turning work down, if the booking were to be cancelled following the issuing of contracts, cancellation charges may apply (these cancellation charges could be as much as 100% of the contracted fee) if the act is unable to find an alternative booking on the date."

Recieve confirmation email back with the blanks filled in.

Generate contracts & they e-sign it.
And that's it.

[soundtracker]

The thing with that is it's a lot harder to get money from people after a cancellation, than it is to simply keep hold of money they're already given you, as this puts the ownus on them to chase you for the money, rather than the other way round.

The other thing that I don't think has been mentioned, is that for the full-timers, booking fees provide money to live off in the quiet months!

More common sense

[simonp]

Mine is standard whatever the price or event.
My price is 25% of the total price. I also say the deposit secures the booking. If the customer has said I want to book you but can't pay the deposit until the end of the month or words to that effect, I tell them it will be a 'pencil' booking and the date will be held in the diary for 14 days.

[ppentertainments]

My deposit fee was £50, but after reading this I'm now going to make it £100, cheers lads :)
Same here, never really give it much thought until now :)
Personally prefer a 'fixed fee' but I see many use percentages.

[Charlie Brown]

I don't mind pencilling things in..

...keep their contract details and if somebody else enquiries about the date in question, I will give the original guys a courtesy call to let them know the score.

[Wayno]

I used to be in the £50 booking fee and balance 14 days before the event date camp.

I am now in the £100/25% booking fee camp and balance 28 days before the event date.

The exception the rule is the "Basic" Two Hour Kids Parties on an afternoon of with a value less than £150, in these cases I now ask for full payment on booking as it is not worth the time and effort involved in raising invoices for £25 and just to confirm no one has raised a question as to why i ask for full payment upfront.

I had a couple meet with me yesterday with a view to booking me for their wedding and they mentioned that they felt "very reassured" because of the higher than average booking fee, eveyone else who they had spoken with was in the £0/£25/£50 camps.