Blog
Payment processing, written for one industry at a time
Every business type charges differently. These posts cover how payments actually work in med spas, dental practices, salons, veterinary clinics, chiropractic offices and fitness studios — deposits, packages, memberships, patient balances and what the fees really are.
Last updated 10 September 2026
Med spas and aesthetics
Med spa payment processing: what actually matters in 2026How med spa payment processing works: card rates, no-show deposits, prepaid treatment packages, memberships and the fees to watch before you sign anything.
Updated 10 September 2026 · 7 min read
Dental practices
Dental payment software: patient balances, plans and treatment depositsWhat to look for in dental payment software: patient payment plans, treatment deposits, balance after insurance, card-on-file recalls and transparent processing fees.
Updated 10 September 2026 · 7 min read
Salons and barbershops
Salon and barbershop payment software: chair rent, tips and packagesPayment software for salons and barbershops: booking deposits, prepaid blow-dry packages, gift cards, loyalty points and clear fees on top of Stripe.
Updated 10 September 2026 · 6 min read
Veterinary practices
Veterinary payment processing: deposits, wellness plans and split balancesHow veterinary practices take payment: surgery deposits, monthly wellness plans, split balances at discharge, and processing fees shown separately from software costs.
Updated 10 September 2026 · 6 min read
Chiropractic clinics
Chiropractic payment processing: care plans, visit packages and recurring billingPayment processing for chiropractic clinics: prepaid visit packages, monthly care plans, patient balances after insurance, and transparent fees on top of Stripe.
Updated 10 September 2026 · 6 min read
Boutique fitness
Fitness studio payment processing: memberships, class packs and failed cardsPayment processing for gyms and boutique fitness studios: recurring memberships, class packs, failed-card recovery, staff logins and clear platform fees.
Updated 10 September 2026 · 6 min read
Med spas and aesthetics
Med spa membership billing: how to run monthly plans without chasing cardsHow med spa membership billing works: pricing tiers, automatic renewals, failed-card recovery, banked credit for unused months and the fees behind recurring aesthetic plans.
Updated 10 September 2026 · 7 min read
Med spas and aesthetics
No-show deposits for med spas: what to charge and how to make them stickHow to take med spa booking deposits that reduce no-shows and survive chargebacks: deposit amounts, cancellation windows, documentation and how deposits apply to the final bill.
Updated 10 September 2026 · 6 min read
Med spas and aesthetics
Prepaid packages and gift cards for med spas, without the spreadsheetHow med spas sell prepaid treatment packages and gift cards, track remaining sessions and store credit properly, and lower the cost per treatment by taking one payment instead of six.
Updated 10 September 2026 · 6 min read
Dental practices
Dental patient payment plans: collecting large treatment balances over timeHow dental practices set up in-house patient payment plans for crowns, implants and orthodontics: instalment schedules, saved cards, failed payments and what it costs to run.
Updated 10 September 2026 · 7 min read
Dental practices
Dental membership plans: in-house cover that bills itself every monthHow dental practices run in-house membership plans for uninsured patients: pricing the plan, monthly or annual billing, renewals, failed cards and what the software should handle.
Updated 10 September 2026 · 7 min read
Dental practices
Dental front desk collections: getting paid before the patient leavesPractical dental payment software habits that cut outstanding patient balances: card on file, checkout links by text, QR payment at the counter and automatic balance reminders.
Updated 10 September 2026 · 6 min read
Med spas and aesthetics
Med spa payment processing fees: what you actually pay per treatmentA line-by-line look at med spa payment processing fees: Stripe's processing rate, the platform fee, and what a filler, laser or membership payment really costs you.
Updated 10 September 2026 · 6 min read
Med spas and aesthetics
Card on file for med spas: consent, storage and rebookingHow to keep a card on file at a med spa properly: written consent wording, where the card is actually stored, and using it for deposits, balances and rebooking.
Updated 10 September 2026 · 6 min read
Dental practices
Dental payment software vs. your practice management systemWhere practice management systems stop and dental payment software starts: patient balances, plans, deposits and card handling that clinical software was never built for.
Updated 10 September 2026 · 6 min read
Dental practices
Collecting the patient portion after insurance paysHow to collect the patient portion once a dental claim settles: card on file with authorisation, automatic balance charges, texted links and reminders that work.
Updated 10 September 2026 · 6 min read
Med spas and aesthetics
Med spa POS: taking payment in the treatment room, not at the front deskWhy the front desk is the worst place to collect at a med spa, and how a QR or saved-card charge in the room closes the visit and the rebook together.
Updated 10 September 2026 · 6 min read
Med spas and aesthetics
Selling injectable series: deposits, staged payments and expiry rulesHow to sell a course of injectables or laser sessions as one package: deposit up front, staged payments, session tracking and expiry rules clients accept.
Updated 10 September 2026 · 6 min read
Med spas and aesthetics
Med spa patient financing: payment plans without a lender contractHow med spas offer patient payment plans in house — staged charges against a card on file — and where a third-party financing provider is the safer route instead.
Updated 10 September 2026 · 6 min read
Med spas and aesthetics
Chargebacks in aesthetics: the four disputes med spas actually loseThe four chargeback patterns that hit med spas — unrecognised descriptors, no-show fees, unused packages and unmet expectations — and the evidence that wins each.
Updated 10 September 2026 · 6 min read
Med spas and aesthetics
Multi-location med spas: one account, separate books per locationHow to run payments across several med spa locations: one platform account, per-location reporting, staff access per site, and one set of memberships that travel.
Updated 10 September 2026 · 6 min read
Med spas and aesthetics
Tips and commission for injectors: splitting payouts cleanlyHow to record tips and provider commission at a med spa so payroll is accurate: attribute every payment to a provider, report per person, and keep payouts auditable.
Updated 10 September 2026 · 6 min read
Med spas and aesthetics
Moving a med spa off its old system without losing membershipsA practical order of operations for switching med spa payment systems: migrate clients and packages first, re-authorise memberships, then move new payments across.
Updated 10 September 2026 · 6 min read
Med spas and aesthetics
Med spa gift cards: liability, expiry and redemption trackingHow to run a med spa gift card program properly: treat the sale as a liability, track redemption on the client record, and set expiry rules that comply and convert.
Updated 10 September 2026 · 6 min read
Med spas and aesthetics
Selling skincare at checkout: retail in a treatment businessHow to sell skincare alongside treatments without turning your med spa into a shop: bundled checkout, storefront reorders and subscriptions for consumables.
Updated 10 September 2026 · 6 min read
Med spas and aesthetics
Med spa payment processing: the annual review checklistAn annual checklist for med spa payment processing: fees against volume, membership churn, package liability, dispute rate, staff access and descriptor accuracy.
Updated 10 September 2026 · 6 min read
Dental practices
Treatment plan deposits: getting the yes before the chair timeHow dental practices use treatment plan deposits to confirm large cases: how much to ask for, when to take it, and how to handle refunds and reschedules fairly.
Updated 10 September 2026 · 6 min read
Dental practices
Text-to-pay for dental practices: balances paid the same dayWhy texted payment links collect dental balances faster than statements, what the message should say, and how to schedule follow-ups without chasing by phone.
Updated 10 September 2026 · 6 min read
Dental practices
Dental payment software for multi-provider practices and associatesHow to run payments in a practice with associates: attribute collections per provider, control staff access, and produce the reports associate agreements depend on.
Updated 10 September 2026 · 6 min read
Dental practices
Recall and hygiene reminders that include a payment linkHow to combine dental recall and hygiene reminders with outstanding balance links, so patients book and clear what they owe in the same message.
Updated 10 September 2026 · 6 min read
Dental practices
Orthodontic contracts: long payment plans that don't fail silentlyHow to run 18 to 24 month orthodontic payment plans without silent failures: authorisation, retries, card expiry handling and a monthly exception list.
Updated 10 September 2026 · 6 min read
Dental practices
Dental practice card fees: where the money actually goesA clear breakdown of dental credit card processing fees: Stripe's processing rate, the platform fee, and the collection costs that dwarf both.
Updated 10 September 2026 · 6 min read
Dental practices
ACH and bank transfer for large dental casesWhen to offer ACH instead of card for large dental cases, how settlement timing differs, and how to present bank payment as the default on high-value invoices.
Updated 10 September 2026 · 6 min read
Dental practices
Refunds, credits and overpayments in a dental ledgerHow to handle dental refunds and overpayments cleanly: refund to the original card, use credit where the patient is returning, and keep the ledger honest.
Updated 10 September 2026 · 6 min read
Dental practices
DSO and group practice reporting across locationsWhat group dental practices and DSOs need from payment reporting: per-site collections, provider attribution, receivables ageing and exports the finance team can use.
Updated 10 September 2026 · 6 min read
Dental practices
Dental payment software: the yearly collections auditAn annual collections audit for dental practices: same-day collection rate, receivables ageing, failed plans, refunds outstanding, fees against volume and access review.
Updated 10 September 2026 · 6 min read