Creating and Sending Proposal & Payment Requests for Private Parties and Catering Inquiries

Overview: Proposals & Payments

Proposals & Payments are available only with the Event Planner upgrade. Learn more about Event Planner and how to activate it here.

The Proposals & Payments feature lets you send secure payment requests directly through SpotHopper. Whether you’re collecting a deposit to hold an event date, charging a cancellation fee, or requesting partial/full payment, everything is managed right from the inquiry.

This system replaces guesswork and back-and-forth messaging with professional, trackable proposals your guests can view and pay online.

⚠️ Note: To send proposals or collect payments, you need to have your Stripe account connected to SpotHopper. You can find instructions on how to connect Stripe here.

Setting Up Default Payment Options

Before creating your first proposal, make sure your default payment settings are configured in Event Planner. This ensures your payment types, default amounts, and attachments are ready to use each time you send a proposal.

To start, navigate to the Settings tab on either the "Private/Group Inquiries" or "Catering Inquiries page," then scroll down to the Event Planner section.

Here you will find "Payment & Proposals," where you can:

Set default values for Deposits, Cancellation Fees, Installments, or Full Payments.
Choose the payment type(s) you'd like to be available to use when creating payment proposals.
Upload a Default Proposal Attachment (e.g., your standard payment agreement or terms) that you can send along with your proposals.

These are only default amounts that will automatically show when creating the proposal. You can edit the amount and customize the proposals you'd like to send, directly from the inquiry details page.

Creating and Sending Proposals

You can create and send proposals directly from the inquiry's details page — whether it’s for a deposit, a cancellation fee, or a partial/full payment.

NOTE: The instructions in this article are for the old inquiry details page. If you have already switched to the new view and your page looks like this:

you can find the Proposals/Payments instructions for the new page here.

If you still haven't switched, you can upgrade to the enhanced page for free by clicking the "Switch to New Layout" button.

To start, open the specific inquiry and scroll down to the Proposals & Payments section and click the green "Create New Proposal/Payment Request"

The Proposal Details page will open.

Here you can:

Enter quote details and info and attach a file (optional). This information appears on the Payment Details page where the customer is required to complete the payment.
Choose the Payment Type. You can choose the payment type you wish to request (deposit, cancellation, partial, or full payment).

The payment types available in this drop-down come from the defaults you’ve enabled under Event Planner Settings. If you don’t see the desired option, revisit your settings to update your payment types.
Add a Payment Name. This field is automatically filled, but you can customize it if needed. The payment name appears on the Payment Details page visible to your customer.
Add the Payment Amount. By default, this field will display the amount you've set under the Event Planner settings, but you can customize it as needed.
Include Payment Instructions (optional). These will appear under the Payment Info section, where your customer will be prompted to enter their payment details.
Enter the Payment Due Date. After this date, the payment option will expire, and your customer will no longer be able to complete the payment to secure their booking.
When ready, click the green "Send Payment Request" button in the lower-right corner.
A pop-up will appear with the preview of the message that will be emailed to your customer. Edit it if needed, then hit the Send Proposal button.
You've successfully sent the proposal. Your customer will now receive an email with your message and the link to the Payment Details page.

If you decide not to send the proposal immediately, and hit the back button instead of "Send Payment Request," the system will create the proposal by default, but it will not send it.

Under the Payment & Proposals sections, you will be able to further customize the details and send when (and if) needed.

Reviewing and Editing Payment Proposals

All created payment proposals - whether sent or not - will appear on the Inquiry Details page under the Proposals & Payment section.

Here you can preview the details and further customize if needed:

Preview Proposal - Clicking this button will open the Payment Details page that is emailed to the customer

Copy Link - This will copy the link to the Payment Details page, in case you need to resend it to the customer.

Edit Proposal - You can edit payment proposals even after they’ve been sent. Just edit what's needed, then click the "Resend Payment Request" button.

If you want to resend the proposal to the customer via email, click "Send Proposal." Otherwise, just hit the "Save & Exit" button. This way the customer will see the revised information directly on the payment details page, without getting notified of the change.

Email Proposal – Opens a pop-up to customize the message before sending the proposal to the customer.

Charging and Refunding Payments

The way payments are charged and processed depends on the payment type selected in your proposal — whether it’s a deposit, partial/full payment, or a cancellation fee. They follow a slightly different workflow, giving you flexibility over when and how your customers are charged.

Deposits and Partial/Full Payments

For Deposits and Partial/Full Payments, your customers are charged immediately once they enter their payment details and authorize the transaction.

These payment types are ideal for confirming bookings or collecting advance payments before services are rendered.

💡Best Practice: Use deposits for bookings scheduled more than a week in advance and partial/full payments to secure larger catering orders.

How Does It Work?

Once your customer has provided their payment information and paid the requested amount, you will receive an email notification.

This will also update the payment status under the Proposals & Payment section:

To refund the deposit, simply click the "Refund Payment" button.

A confirmation pop-up will appear. Set the inquiry status and click "Issue Refund."

The funds will be immediately returned to the customer, and the payment status under Proposals & Payments will reflect that.

Cancellation Fees

For Cancellation Fees, customers are not charged automatically when they submit their payment information. Instead, they simply authorize the payment by providing their card details, allowing you to manually capture the charge later if necessary.

💡Best practice: Use cancellation fees for event bookings happening within a few days, as these payments are meant to be captured closer to the event date.

How Does It Work?

Once your customer provides their payment information, you’ll receive a notification email confirming that their payment details have been authorized.

This will also update the payment status under Proposals & Payments.

To charge a cancellation fee, you will need to change inquiry status to "Cancelled." This will charge the customer and the payment status will now show as Captured.

To refund the payment, simply click the "Refund Payment" button. A confirmation pop-up will appear. Change the inquiry status if needed and click "Issue Refund."

Once successfully refunded, the payment status will reflect that.