Deposits taken, topped up, used and refunded
Every confirmed hire that asks for a deposit gets its own deposit record, held on a liability account. You take it, top it up, use it for what the customer owes and refund the rest. The order cannot be closed while money is still held.
PLANSEvery plan
The problem it solves
- The deposit for a premium car is noted on a sticky note or in a cash book, and nobody knows what is still held.
- Damage or a toll is taken from the deposit by hand, and the books never show where the money went.
- A customer asks for their refund weeks later and the counter cannot say how much is left.
How it works
- Set the deposit on the rate plan. Choose No Deposit, a Fixed Amount, or a number of periods of the rate (for example two months of rent). The order adds it up when you confirm, or you type your own.
- When the order is confirmed, a deposit record is made by itself in To Take, with the amount asked.
- Press Take when the money comes in: the amount, the journal it came through (bank, cash or card) and a reference. The money goes to your rental deposit account, and the deposit is Held.
- During the hire press Top Up for more, or Ask Online to send a pay link for what is still to take. With a provider that captures by hand, it is held on the card.
- At the end press Use for what the customer owes: an entry moves that amount to their account, where it pays their invoices. Press Refund for the rest.
- When nothing is held, the deposit is Settled and the order can be closed.
Everything it does
Where the amount comes from
- On each rate plan: No Deposit (the default), Fixed Amount, or Periods of the Rate with the number and the period (month to start with)
- The order's Deposit field fills itself on confirm when empty; type your own amount before confirming to change it
- One deposit record per order, made when the order is confirmed; a cancelled order cancels a deposit still To Take
Movements
- Take, Top Up, Use (Use for What Is Owed) and Refund, each with an amount, a date, a reference and a note
- Take, Top Up and Refund make a posted payment through the journal you choose: bank, cash or card journals
- Use posts an entry from the deposit account to the customer's receivable, in the deposit entries journal
- Statuses: To Take, Held, Settled, Cancelled; Cancel only while nothing was taken
Paid online or held on the card
- Ask Online makes a payment request for what is still to take; the customer pays with your own payment provider
- A paid request records a Taken or Topped Up movement by itself, with the provider's reference
- Where the provider captures by hand, the amount is Held on the Card instead. Take from Hold takes part or all of it, Release Hold lets it go
Checks on the money
- An order cannot be closed while a deposit still holds money: use or refund it first
- The order shows Deposit Held as a button; Rental > Billing > Deposits and Credits > Deposits lists them all
Who uses it
Counter staff (Rent User)Take, top up, use and refund deposits, and send a pay link for the deposit.
Rent ManagerSets deposits on rate plans and can delete deposit records.
CustomerPays or holds the deposit online from a pay link, the customer pages or the app.
Where you use it
- Web: Rental > Billing > Deposits and Credits > Deposits, and the Deposit Held button on each order
- Web: Rental > Configuration > Prices > Rate Plans for the deposit of each plan; Rental > Configuration > Settings > Deposit account
- Customer pages and the SmartMy Rental app: the deposit request under payments, with Pay (built and in testing, not in the app stores yet)
- Not automatic: return charges are not taken from the deposit by themselves; staff press Use
What you control
Settings
- Rental Deposit Account and Deposit Entries Journal: per Entity, empty until you set them (the first general journal is used when no journal is set)
- Deposit on each rate plan: No Deposit to start with
- Give Money Back When an Order Is Cancelled: on to start with; card holds are released either way
Notifications
- Rental Payment Link and Rental Payment Received: to the customer when a deposit is asked online and when it is paid. WhatsApp first where you have a WhatsApp provider and message credits, otherwise email, then SMS, and in-app
- Both go out at once; a person can switch off a channel, never the message, and in-app notices always arrive. App push is built and not switched on yet
- Messages to customers come with Growth; on Starter, copy the pay link and send it yourself
Questions
Can we hold the deposit on the customer's card instead of taking it?
Yes, when your payment provider captures by hand. The deposit asked online is then held on the card. At the end you take what is owed from the hold and release the rest.Is the deposit taken off the damage bill by itself?
No. Return charges go on the next bill. Staff press Use on the deposit for the amount owed, which pays the customer's invoices, then Refund the rest.Related features
BILLING AND PAYMENTSPay links, card holds, saved cards and mandatesAsk for money with a pay link on your own payment provider. Hold a deposit on the card, and charge a saved card or mandate each billing cycle. Every request follows its payment to Paid, Held, Failed or Refunded by itself.CHECKSCharges from return checks: fuel, AdBlue, kilometres and damageWhen the return check is signed, what the customer owes is worked out from it. That covers kilometres or hours over the allowance, missing fuel, AdBlue and charge, a lost key, and new damage marked to charge. Damage waits for a manager; the rest goes on the next bill.BILLING AND PAYMENTSBilling in advance or in arrears, with Bill NowBill short hires at once with Bill Now, and long hires on a weekly, monthly, quarterly, yearly or end-of-hire cycle. Bill in advance or in arrears, grouped as you like. Rent stops at the call-off or return, and time billed ahead and not used comes back as a credit.RATESRate plans by hour, day, week and month with the cheapest mixPrice each class or car by the hour, day, week, month or year in one rate plan. For every rental the system works out the cheapest mix of those periods. The same plan holds a shortest rental, a grace time on return and the deposit.CUSTOMERSOnline booking page and website widgetEach Entity gets its own booking page, which also sits inside your website as a widget. Customers find a free car or class, choose cover and extras, give their licence details, book and pay. A booking not paid in time is cancelled and the car freed.TOLLS AND FINESTolls and fines matched to the renterTolls, speeding, parking and other notices come in by plate and time, one by one or from the operator's file. SmartMy finds the hire the car was on at that moment. It charges the customer with your admin fee, on the next bill or at once by saved card or pay link.
See your fleet on it.
Tell us how many cars or machines you hire out, from how many depots, and how bookings reach you today. We will set up your fleet with you on SmartMy Rental.