Square Appointments no-show protection in Australia, and what else holds a card
The short answer
Square Appointments’ no-show protection holds a customer’s card for a single appointment, and you can charge the fee up to 14 days after it, according to Square’s Australian help centre (read 2 November 2026). Gaplessly saves the card at booking with a zero-dollar charge, fixes the fee at that moment, and lets you charge it yourself through your own Stripe account once the booking is cancelled or a no-show, with no commission from us.
Square Appointments pricing, side by side with ours
Square Appointments' figures were read off their own pricing page on 2 November 2026. Check them at the source before deciding, and tell us if anything here has gone out of date.
Square Appointments
A free scheduling plan with unlimited staff. Cancellation policies and no-show protection sit on the paid Plus and Premium plans, and card payments run through Square.
- No-show protection
- Holds a card for one appointment
- Their help article says a card held for no-show protection is held for a single appointment and is not saved on file for future charges.
- Time to charge
- Up to 14 days after the appointment
- Stated in the same article. Their cancellation policy page puts it as 14 calendar days after a missed appointment.
- Fee shape
- Flat per appointment, flat per service, or a percentage of each service price
- The article says there is no way to charge a percentage fee across all of your services. We found no maximum on either page.
- Which plans
- Plus and Premium
- Their pricing page lists cancellation policy and fees as "Not included" on the Free plan and included on Plus and Premium. Prepayments are listed on all three.
- Who charges
- The owner, at their discretion
- The card is charged only when the owner chooses to enforce the policy. If it is declined, the owner contacts the client for another card.
- A card kept for later visits
- A separate Card on File feature
- Their Card on File article asks for written authorisation from the customer before a card is saved and says an expired card must be unlinked. Their pages do not settle whether a no-show fee can be charged against a card saved through the booking page’s Save card option, so ask Square before relying on it.
- What the client sees
- The policy, in the booking flow and the confirmation email
- Under the hold-a-card setting. We found no separate tick-box agreement described.
Gaplessly
Published monthly plans. No commission and no fee per cover, on any plan.
- Appointments, from
- A$0/mo
- Solo, one person: free up to 50 bookings a month, A$19 in a busier one.
- Appointments, team
- A$59/mo
- Growth. 3 bookable team members, then A$12/mo each.
- Table reservations, from
- A$0/mo
- Venue Starter: free up to 35 bookings a month, A$49 in a busier one.
- Booking limit
- None on appointment plans
- Fair use is 1,000 a month per team member. Venue plans cover 100, 350 or 1,500 bookings a month.
- Commission on a booking
- None, ever
- Fee per cover
- None, ever
- Customer record limit
- None
- Email confirmations and reminders
- Included, unmetered, every plan
- Text messages
- A$0.09 per text
- On the Growth and Pro plans, because the carrier charges us per text. No activation fee.
- Add-ons
- A$14.99 or A$29/mo each
- All included on the Pro plans.
- Prices shown
- Excluding GST
Source: Square Support Centre (Australia). Figures shown in Australian dollars.
Where we compare, feature by feature
Gaplessly is ahead on 1 of 6, 4 about the same, 1 where Square Appointments genuinely has the edge.
What is kept and for how long
- Gaplessly
- Card saved at booking with no charge; we set no time limit on when you charge it
- Square Appointments
- Card held for one appointment; fee chargeable up to 14 days after
Who decides to charge
- Gaplessly
- An admin, by hand, after the booking is cancelled or a no-show; nothing is ever charged on a timer
- Square Appointments
- The owner, at their discretion
Shape of the fee
- Gaplessly
- A flat amount or a share of the total, fixed at booking, with up to 6 tiers by how much notice the guest gave
- Square Appointments
- Flat per appointment, flat per service, or a percentage of each service price
Plan that includes it
- Gaplessly
- Deposits and no-show protection from Growth up, or A$14.99 a month on Solo
- Square Appointments
- Plus and Premium; not on the Free plan
Telling the client first
- Gaplessly
- The booking page states the fee amount before the guest pays and saves the card
- Square Appointments
- The policy shows in the booking flow and confirmation email
Free plan breadth
- Gaplessly
- Solo is free up to 50 bookings a month for one person
- Square Appointments
- Free plan with unlimited staff and calendars
What Square’s no-show protection does
Square’s Australian help article on cancellation and prepayment policies (squareup.com/help/au/en/article/5493) describes a setting called Hold card in case of no-show. The client has to add a card to complete the booking, the policy shows in the booking flow and the confirmation email, and the card is held for that one appointment. The article says it is not saved on file for future charges.
If the client does not show up, you can charge the fee up to 14 days after the appointment. Charging is at your discretion, and if the card is declined you contact the client for another one. You choose a flat fee per appointment, a flat fee per service, or a percentage of each service’s price. Square’s pricing page lists cancellation policy and fees as not included on the Free plan and included on Plus and Premium.
When one held card is enough
For a new client with a first appointment, a card held for that appointment covers the risk you actually have. If most of your no-shows are first-timers, and you charge promptly, Square’s version does the job and you can stay put.
It is thinner for a regular who books weeks ahead and cancels late on the third visit. The hold covers only the appointment it was taken for. Square has a separate Card on File feature for keeping a card for later, which asks for the customer’s written authorisation first, and its pages do not say whether a no-show fee can be charged against a card saved through the booking page’s Save card option. Ask Square before you rely on it.
What Gaplessly does instead
- In Booking rules, open Deposits & no-show protection and choose Card on file instead of Deposit required. The two are exclusive; your Stripe account has to be connected first.
- At booking the guest’s card is saved with a zero-dollar charge through Stripe, and the fee is fixed at that moment. The booking page tells the guest the amount before they pay.
- Optionally set up to 6 fee tiers by how much notice the guest gave, so a day’s notice costs less than a no-show.
- Nothing is charged automatically. Once a booking is marked cancelled or no-show, an admin sees a Charge no-show fee button, confirms the amount and the card is charged.
- If the bank declines it, the button becomes Retry charge. If you change your mind, refund it from Payments, Transactions.
The money goes to your own Stripe account. We take no commission on it, and Stripe charges its own fees there.
Where Gaplessly falls short
- Deposits and no-show protection are included from Growth up or A$14.99 a month on Solo. Square’s Free plan has unlimited staff, which ours does not match.
- Only an admin can charge the fee. A staff login cannot.
- The charge happens when the guest is not there, so a bank can decline it or ask for a verification the guest never sees. We cannot retry it for you automatically. The tool shows the error from Stripe and leaves the button live.
- A guest can still dispute a charge with their own bank. That is between you, them and Stripe.
When Square Appointments is the right choice
You already take payments on Square, your priority is scheduling that costs nothing for a large team, and holding a card for the one appointment and charging up to 14 days later is all the protection you need. Staying put is simpler than moving, and their free plan is a real plan. If your no-show problem is regulars who cancel late a few visits in, a card held for a single appointment is the part to weigh.
The contract, in plain terms
- Cancel any time
- Paid plans renew until you cancel. You can cancel at any time from the dashboard, with no exit fee, and your plan keeps working to the end of the period you paid for. Terms of Service.
- Price rises
- We email you at least 30 days before a price change applies to you, and a change never applies to a period you have already paid for. On a yearly plan you can cancel first and we refund the unused months. Billing Schedule.
- No commission
- We take no commission on bookings, deposits or no-show fees. Stripe charges its own card fees to your own Stripe account, and the Payments Terms say we would give 30 days’ notice before that ever changed. Payments Terms.
Common questions
Does Square Appointments have no-show protection in Australia?
Yes, on the Plus and Premium plans. Square’s Australian help article describes holding a card for a single appointment and charging a cancellation fee up to 14 days after it, at the owner’s discretion. Their pricing page lists cancellation policy and fees as not included on the Free plan. Read from squareup.com on 2 November 2026.
Can I charge a no-show fee on Square more than 14 days after the appointment?
Square’s no-show protection article says up to 14 days after the appointment, and that the card is not saved for future charges. Its separate Card on File feature stores a card for later, with the customer’s written authorisation, but its pages do not settle whether a booking-page no-show fee can use a card saved that way. Ask Square before relying on it.
How does a card-on-file no-show fee work on Gaplessly?
The guest’s card is saved at booking with no charge and the fee is fixed at that moment. After the booking is cancelled or marked a no-show, an admin presses Charge no-show fee and confirms. The card is charged through your own Stripe account. If the bank declines it you can retry, and you can refund it from Payments. Nothing is charged on a timer.
Does Gaplessly take a cut of a no-show fee?
No. We take no commission on deposits or no-show fees. The fee is paid to you through your own Stripe account, and Stripe charges its own fees there. Our Payments terms commit to at least 30 days’ notice before that ever changes. The cost to you is the plan, or the Deposits and no-show protection add-on on a plan that does not include it.
Can I cancel Gaplessly any time?
Paid plans renew until you cancel. You can cancel at any time from the dashboard, with no exit fee, and your plan keeps working to the end of the period you paid for.
How much notice do I get of a price rise?
We email you at least 30 days before a price change applies to you, and a change never applies to a period you have already paid for. On a yearly plan you can cancel first and we refund the unused months.
Does Gaplessly take a commission?
We take no commission on bookings, deposits or no-show fees. Stripe charges its own card fees to your own Stripe account, and the Payments Terms say we would give 30 days’ notice before that ever changed.
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