You know the scene. The slot's been booked for three weeks, you've prepped the stencil, laid out your inks. 2pm. 2:15. Nobody. No message. Just an empty chair and half a day you'll never bill.
A no-show isn't "bad luck." It's a hole in your calendar you could have sold, plus the prep time already burned. The only real protection is a deposit. The catch: a lot of artists don't dare ask for one, afraid they'll come across as tight-fisted. Let's fix that.
A deposit doesn't scare your clients away
The real client — the one who genuinely wants your line on their skin — isn't going to bail over a small deposit. They pay the deposit without a second thought: they booked, they're coming. So who bails? The undecided ones, the "we'll see" crowd who cancel the day before. Those people, you're not losing them. You're filtering them out. And a calendar with no tire-kickers is a calendar that holds.
A deposit isn't a barrier to entry. It's a seriousness test — and serious people pass it without batting an eye.
How much to charge and stay fair
Always spell one thing out in black and white: the deposit comes off the final price. It's not an "extra," it's an advance. Put it that way and nobody flinches. As for the amount:
- 0% — allowed, but you're taking the no-show gamble back on yourself.
- 10 to 20% — a light filter, reassuring for a first contact.
- 30% — a middle ground, fair for everyone.
- 50% and up — for big pieces, full days, and travel.
The detail that changes everything: the money goes STRAIGHT to you
Some booking tools take a cut or add a fee along the way. Not us. With Inkkore, 0% commission on your tattoos: the deposit lands directly on your payment methods — PayPal, Zelle, Venmo, Cash App, bank transfer, Revolut… Whatever your client puts down lands with you, full stop. No middleman pot, no percentage nibbled away. It's your money, right away.
Asking for it without the awkwardness
- Set the rule at the moment of booking, not after — nobody feels cornered.
- Same rule for everyone: it takes out the guesswork, and with it the awkwardness.
- Explain the why in one sentence: "it holds your slot just for you."
- Remind them it comes off the total — not a cost on top.
On your public link inkkore.com/yourhandle (a single link in your Instagram bio), your deposit rule is clear from the start: when the client accepts your quote, the deposit request goes out on its own, with your payment methods and a unique reference. They pay via your method, and you confirm receipt in one tap. Not a single awkward conversation — the system asks the question for you. You set the percentage in a few clicks, with 11 languages on the client side. The result isn't "fewer clients": it's fewer empty chairs, and people who show up because they committed. You just tattoo.