Flash & Custom Requests
InkFronts supports two distinct booking flows. Here's how each one works and when to use them.
Flash bookings
Flash is for pre-designed pieces with a fixed price, size, and duration. Clients browse your gallery and book a specific piece — no back-and-forth required.
Deposit required at booking
When a client books flash, they're immediately sent to a Square Checkout page to pay the deposit. No deposit, no booking. This keeps your calendar free of uncommitted holds.
15-minute payment window
The client has 15 minutes to complete payment. A timer is shown on their screen. If they don't pay in time, InkFronts automatically cancels the appointment and releases the slot for someone else. This ensures your calendar only contains serious bookings.
Managing your flash library
Go to Dashboard → Flash to upload and manage your pieces. Each piece has a title, price, duration, size, and optional category. Flash is organized per-artist — if you're part of a multi-artist shop, your flash is yours alone unless you add it to the shared shop gallery.
Setting your deposit percentage
Your deposit percentage is set in Dashboard → Settings. It applies to all flash bookings. For example, a 25% deposit on a $200 piece means the client pays $50 upfront and you collect the remaining $150 on the day.
Custom requests
Custom requests are for original tattoos where the price, design, and details need to be worked out with the client first. InkFronts handles the intake — you handle the confirmation.
What clients submit
The custom request form collects placement, size range, reference images, and any notes. All of this is visible in Dashboard → Bookings alongside the Square appointment.
No automatic deposit timer
Unlike flash, custom requests don't trigger an immediate payment. The appointment is created as pending and sits until you're ready to act on it. You review the request, decide on pricing, and then send a deposit invoice when you're ready to confirm. In the meantime, use Square Messages to communicate with your client — it's the best place to go back and forth on sizing, placement, or reference images before you settle on a price.
Sending the deposit invoice
In Dashboard → Bookings, open the request and click Send Invoice. This sends the client a Square invoice for the deposit amount you specify. Once they pay, you accept the appointment in Square to confirm it.
Declining requests
If you don't want to take a request, cancel the appointment in Square. There's no penalty — it just frees the slot. Consider sending the client a message via Square so they know what happened.
Which should I use?
| Flash | Custom | |
|---|---|---|
| Price | Fixed | You set it after review |
| Design | Pre-made | Original per client |
| Deposit | Collected at booking | Collected after you review |
| Payment timer | 15 minutes | None — you control the pace |
| Calendar hold | Immediate on payment | Immediate on submission |
| Your time | Hands-off | Requires your review |
Most artists use both. Flash fills your calendar with low-friction, pre-confirmed bookings. Custom requests handle the work that needs a conversation first. See How Bookings Work for a full walkthrough of each flow.