Set a fixed amount once with the Collect Payment automation, and every customer gets a payment button — deposits and pre-orders flow in with receipts in your DMs and funds in your linked account.
schedule3 min read
The pain: taking commitments without money is how no-shows and abandoned orders happen. You block the date, buy the ingredients, or reserve the slot — and carry all the risk. But collecting a deposit the traditional way means invoicing gymnastics or awkward "can you send it to my payment app?" texts.
The Blinko way: the Collect Payment (Fixed) automation turns a set amount — a deposit, a pre-order price, a reservation fee — into a one-tap payment button your customers see.
- checkGo to the Engage tab and tap [+]
- checkSelect automations and choose "Collect Payment (Fixed)"
- checkConfigure it: the advance amount you want to collect and a description of the product or service
- checkA Payment button automatically appears on your business's screen in every customer's app
- checkCustomers tap it and complete the payment — confirmation (or failure) with the receipt arrives as a DM with the customer's information
- checkThe money deposits automatically to your linked account
Picture a caterer heading into the holidays: she configures "Holiday tray reservation — deposit" and broadcasts it to all her customers with a message: "Reserving December orders now — deposit holds your date." The taps roll in; each paid deposit is a DM with a name and a receipt, her December calendar fills with committed orders, and the funds are already in her account.
The other two doors: a photographer agreeing a session in a DM conversation attaches the payment automation right in the thread — scope agreed, deposit paid, date locked, all in one conversation. And the button sitting on your spot works around the clock: a follower discovering your limited pre-order at midnight can commit on the spot (see "Blinko DM: direct messaging between your business and customers" and "Blinko Local app: the Engage tab").
