How Booking Minds works
From "I'd love to talk to that person" to an actual meeting. There are no rate cards and no booking calendars on Booking Minds. Every meeting starts with an offer, every price is agreed between two people, and the money only moves when you have actually met. This page is the whole flow, nothing left out.
The flow in four steps
Open the map
You see who is on the map right now: their face, their profession, what they offer. Architects, dentists, software engineers, marketers, coaches. Search by name or profession, or browse other cities - the map is global.
Send your offer
Pick someone and offer an amount, in your words: "$20 for a coffee about your move to Berlin", "$100 for an hour on my floor plan". The amount is reserved on your card, not charged.
Agree on it
They accept or decline. On acceptance the amount is charged and held safely, and chat opens so you set the time and place. If they decline, nothing is charged - the reservation is released.
Meet and scan
At the meeting one of you shows a QR code and the other scans it. That scan is the proof you met and the moment the payment is released. No scan, no payment.
Two short reads from Mind explain why the flow ends at a real table rather than in a chat: an ask made in person is far more effective than an email, and a voice carries the mind better than text.
What happens to the money, exactly
We say it the same way everywhere because it is the one thing people rightly worry about:
- Offer sent - the amount is reserved on the payer's card. Nothing is charged. The offer expires by itself after 7 days with no answer, and the reservation is released in full.
- Offer accepted - the card is charged and the money is held by Stripe. Neither side can touch it.
- QR scan at the meeting - the payment is released. The person being paid - we call them the host - receives 85%; Booking Minds keeps 15% to run the platform (Stripe fees, identity checks, fraud protection, infrastructure).
- Declined - nothing is charged; the reservation is released.
- Cancelled after acceptance, or a no-show - cancel from Requests and the amount returns to the payer's card minus the 15% fee. When it was not on you, write to us and we refund the fee too.
- Payout - hosts withdraw from $1 whenever they like, once a day; anything left is paid out on the 1st with no minimum. Stripe's payout fee is on us.
The map in reverse: Needs
Don't search for the right person. Let them find you.
Sometimes you don't want to browse. You need something done, by someone who can help, soon. Post it - what, when, and what you'll pay - and it lands as a violet pin at your location. Members are notified; whoever can help raises a hand. You pick the one you trust and send the offer, and from there it is the same protected flow as every meeting: the amount is held when you send the offer, charged when they accept and released by the QR scan when you meet, and the helper keeps 85% with no payout minimum. More on how Needs work.
Events
A dinner for six, a workshop, a morning run with a trainer. The host sets the seats, everyone who wants in proposes their own price to join, and the host picks the room they want at the table. Attendance is confirmed with the same QR scan.
Who can be paid for a meeting
Anyone paid for a meeting has passed an ID check with a liveness test, and one document verifies one account at a time. That is what the blue badge means. Read more on Safety and trust.
Your next good conversation is one offer away.
Free to join. You only pay for meetings you agree to.