Deposits, balances, and refunds

A booking is paid in two moments: the deposit when your client signs, and the balance after that. BounceDay works out which one is due and shows your client that one only.

The deposit is whatever you set on the quote. If it is larger than the total, your client is asked for the total instead — never more than they owe.

Once the deposit is recorded, what is left is the balance. That figure comes from what has actually been paid against the booking, so a partial payment or a payment you recorded by hand is always counted.

Nothing is ever charged before a signature. Your client signs your contract first, with your waiver and weather policy in it, and only then is there anything to pay. That order is not configurable.

Card is offered first on the deposit, because it clears at once and locks the date. Bank transfer is offered first on the balance, because it is cheaper and there is usually time.

Bank transfers take about four business days to clear. Inside a week of the event, the bank option disappears on its own and the page says why — a payment that lands after the party is not a payment.

While a bank payment is clearing, your client sees a plain "processing" note. It is not a confirmation and it is not styled like one; if the transfer fails, they are told plainly that the date is unconfirmed again.

Refunds are done in Stripe, not in BounceDay. Open your Stripe dashboard from Settings, then Payments and payouts, and refund the payment there. The platform fee on a refunded payment comes back to you as well.

After you refund, record the change against the booking so your numbers stay straight. A refund in Stripe does not rewrite the booking for you.

You can always take money another way — cash, a check, your own payment link — and record it against the booking by hand. Those never pass through us.