How a deposit-based booking flow helps venues limit no-shows

For a venue that rents pitches by the hour, a reserved slot where the customer never turns up is lost revenue, because there is rarely enough time to sell it to another group. When bookings rest on a verbal promise, the owner has no hold over the customer beyond personal trust.

This post describes how Sol26 Sport ERP is designed to attach every booking to a defined status and a deposit, together with a refund policy that players see before they book.

Why empty slots are costly

A sports pitch is an asset rented by time slot. Once a slot has passed it cannot be sold again, while electricity, staff and surface maintenance costs still apply. The loss is most visible at peak hours, when other groups wanted the slot but were turned away.

When a reservation carries no deposit, the customer bears almost no cost for not showing up. The owner only finds out when the pitch is still empty at kick-off, with no time left to find a replacement.

The five statuses of a booking

In the venue owner app, each booking is designed to move through five statuses. Owners and staff can see at a glance which step a booking is at and what needs to happen next.

1. 1Pending confirmation: the player has just submitted the booking and the owner checks and confirms the slot.
2. 2Awaiting deposit: the booking is confirmed and the system waits for the player to transfer the deposit.
3. 3Deposited: the deposit has been recorded and the slot is held for the customer.
4. 4In play: the match is under way on the pitch.
5. 5Paid: the player pays the balance and the booking is closed.

Separating pending confirmation from awaiting deposit lets the owner tell a new request apart from a booking backed by money. Only bookings in the deposited status should be treated as slots that are certain to be used.

Deposits when creating a match

For players who use the create match feature to find opponents, the platform is designed to allow a match to be created only after a pitch booking and a 30% deposit. Every match in the match list is therefore tied to a slot that is actually held at a venue.

The payment screen shows the pitch, time, location, number of players, total amount and total after any voucher. Players review all of this before transferring the deposit, which reduces price disputes after the match.

Refund policy for cancellations

A deposit only works when the refund rules are clear. Sol26 Sport ERP is designed with a cancellation policy based on the following cut-offs.

• Cancelled within 1 hour of paying the deposit: 100% of the deposit is refunded. The time is counted from when the deposit was paid in the app.
• Cancelled more than 1 hour after the deposit and more than 7 days before kick-off: 70% of the deposit is refunded.
• Cancelled more than 1 hour after the deposit and 7 days or less before kick-off: the deposit is not refunded.

The first hour lets players correct a mistaken booking without losing money. After that, the refund falls as the match date approaches, in line with how much harder it becomes for the owner to resell the cancelled slot.

Payment and deposit reconciliation

Players can pay through a payment gateway, in which case the service fee is increased by the gateway's percentage fee. If they pay with coins from the in-app wallet, they pay only the service fee with no payment charge. Coins are used for vouchers and in-app transactions and cannot be withdrawn as cash.

In the operations back office, a bot is designed to check player bank transfers and update the amounts in the system. Owners do not need to search bank statements to see which bookings have been deposited.

Reminders before kick-off

The admin system has an automatic push notification template sent to players for every match, alongside SMS, ZNS and chatbot channels. Reminders help players who have paid a deposit remember when they are due to play.

For matches created by players, the match chat runs from the moment the booking succeeds until 24 hours after the match ends. Members use it to agree on arrival times and to give early notice of any changes.

Frequently asked questions

Can venue owners set their own refund percentages?

The platform is designed with a single cancellation policy using 1-hour and 7-day cut-offs. Venue-specific refund rates are discussed during deployment.

How much is the deposit when creating a match?

To create a match and find opponents, a player must book a pitch and pay a 30% deposit.

Can venue staff see the booking schedule?

The venue staff app is designed to show pitch status by booked and free time slots. Staff receive confirmations from the owner account.

Can wallet coins be withdrawn as cash?

No. Coins are only used for vouchers, bookings and other in-app transactions. The transaction history shows coins received and coins spent.