Blinko

How to collect advance payments for an upcoming product or service

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.

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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.

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    Go to the Engage tab and tap [+]
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    Select automations and choose "Collect Payment (Fixed)"
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    Configure it: the advance amount you want to collect and a description of the product or service
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    A Payment button automatically appears on your business's screen in every customer's app
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    Customers tap it and complete the payment — confirmation (or failure) with the receipt arrives as a DM with the customer's information
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    The 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").

Requires your payment account linked to your Blinko business account (see "Payments: connect and request payments"). And note the family: Collect Payment (Fixed) is for a known amount from many customers; for one customer's itemized bill, that's an invoice (see "How to generate invoices and collect payments from a customer"); for paying in person, the payment QR (see "How to collect payment in person").

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