No-show protection that releases in minutes, not business days.
The real test of any upfront protection is not collecting the money. It is what happens when plans change and you need to give it back. Petboost gives you both tools. A deposit is charged when the customer books, so a cancellation refunds automatically, though banks still take 5-10 business days to show it. A pre-authorisation reserves the funds without charging them, so a cancellation simply releases the hold and there is no refund to process. Take a deposit when you want the money in hand, and use pre-authorisation when you want the protection with less admin.
Pre-authorisation: the same protection as a deposit, released in minutes not days.
72 hours before: card verified, funds reserved (not charged)
Invalid card or insufficient funds: you AND customer notified immediately
Customer cancels: hold releases automatically (no refund needed)
Released funds return to the card in 30 minutes to 24 hours, not 5-10 business days
No-show: capture the held amount as compensation
Service completes: hold converts to payment
80%+ reduction in no-shows reported by businesses
Combine with a longer cancellation period for high-value or boarding bookings
