Question 1

Can different stylists have different schedules?

Accepted Answer

Yes — every staff member has their own calendar, working hours, off-days, and service menu. Karen works Tuesday-Saturday 10am-7pm and only does cuts and colours. Mei works Wednesday-Sunday 11am-8pm and does cuts, colours, and treatments. A customer asking for a Friday afternoon balayage only sees stylists who actually offer balayage and are available that afternoon. The matching is automatic.

Question 2

How do deposits work? Do I get the money upfront?

Accepted Answer

Yes. The moment a customer confirms a booking, Cadence sends a Stripe checkout link via WhatsApp for the deposit amount you set (e.g. S$30 flat, or 30% of the service). The deposit lands in your Stripe balance immediately and gets credited toward the final bill at the appointment. If the customer no-shows, you keep the deposit — your policy, communicated clearly upfront so there's no awkward dispute later.

Question 3

I run a cleaning service with recurring weekly bookings — can it handle that?

Accepted Answer

Yes — recurring contracts are first-class. Define the schedule (weekly Tuesday 9am, fortnightly Friday 2pm, whatever fits) and the rate. Stripe auto-invoices on each cycle, your crew dispatch list updates automatically, and the customer's WhatsApp gets a friendly heads-up the day before each visit. Customer wants to skip a week or move the slot? They reply to the WhatsApp thread, Cadence handles it, and the next invoice pro-rates correctly.

Question 4

For repairs, I sometimes need to update customers mid-job. How?

Accepted Answer

Your tech on the floor messages the Owner Agent in natural language: 'update job 4471, found extra issue with the timing belt, additional S$180, asking customer to approve.' Cadence sends the customer a clean WhatsApp message with the quote and a yes/no approval. When they reply yes, the job moves forward and the new total is recorded. No phone calls during the job, no information lost between the workshop and the front desk.

Question 5

Do I need to use a separate business phone?

Accepted Answer

You'll need a dedicated business number for the customer-facing AI (this is a WhatsApp Business Account requirement). For most salons, barbers, and shops we work with, that's the shop's existing landline-converted-to-WhatsApp or the number on your shopfront sign. Your personal WhatsApp stays totally separate. The Owner Agent runs on a different private number that only you and your senior staff see.

Question 6

How does this work for walk-ins vs appointments?

Accepted Answer

Walk-ins still walk in — Cadence doesn't change your physical-door flow. But for everyone who messages first (which is most customers in SG/MY now), the AI handles the booking, the deposit, and the reminders. You can also have your front desk register a walk-in directly into the dashboard so the calendar stays accurate and any future communication with that customer flows through WhatsApp.

Question 7

What about cash payments — does Cadence handle that?

Accepted Answer

Cash settlement at the appointment is fully supported. Cadence collects the deposit via Stripe (so you've got skin in the game) and the balance settles however you want — cash, PayNow, card on a terminal, all fine. Your stylist or front desk marks the appointment as paid in the dashboard and the audit log records it. End-of-day reporting shows you Stripe revenue and cash revenue separately for clean bookkeeping.

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