Deposits, balances and due dates
How the deposit is suggested, how the balance and its due date are set, and how a booking moves between Unpaid, Deposit paid, Partly paid, Fully paid and Overdue.
The deposit is the first part the customer pays to hold the booking. The balance is what is still owed, and it is due on the balance due date. The booking's payment state comes from these three things and changes by itself.
The deposit
On the last step of New booking, Deposit now offers Later, 30%, 50% and Full amount of the total (after any discount). The first time, it starts with Usual deposit from Settings → Preferences (30% unless you changed it). After that, the panel remembers the last choice you made on this browser.
- With a manual method (cash, card machine, transfer …), the deposit is recorded at once with a receipt number.
- With an online method, nothing is recorded yet: a payment link for the deposit is created and copied, and works for 3 days. The payment is recorded when the customer pays.
- With Later, the booking starts Unpaid.
On the booking page, the first payment shows as Deposit in the Payment panel, or Paid in full when it paid everything at once.
The balance
The balance is the total minus what is paid. A refund lowers what is paid, so it raises the balance again. Amounts are rounded to the decimals of the booking's currency, for example 3 decimals for BHD and KWD, 2 for SAR and AED.
The balance due date
- A new booking's balance is due a number of days before departure: Balance due before departure in Settings → Preferences (14 days unless you changed it). It is never set before today.
- You can pick another date while you create the booking, between today and the departure date.
- Later, move it on the booking: Change the balance due date.
The payment states
Take a booking of BHD 1,000.000, due on 20 November:
| What happened | State shown |
|---|---|
| Nothing paid yet, 10 November | Unpaid |
| BHD 300.000 paid (30%) | Deposit paid: something is paid, but less than 35% of the total |
| BHD 500.000 paid (50%) | Partly paid: 35% or more is paid, but not all |
| 21 November and BHD 500.000 still owed | Overdue: money is owed and the due date has passed |
| BHD 1,000.000 paid | Fully paid |
| The booking is cancelled | Cancelled |
Overdue wins over Unpaid, Deposit paid and Partly paid as soon as the due date has passed, by your agency's own clock (its time zone). A booking that is due today is not yet overdue.
Note
Deposit paid depends on the share paid, not on which payment it was. A 50% deposit already shows Partly paid.
Where you see it
- Bookings: the Payment column and the Unpaid, Partly paid, Fully paid and Overdue filters, with "due 12 Nov" or "overdue 3 days" under each balance.
- The booking page: the Payment panel, the Track and the Next step card, which puts overdue balances first.
- The customer's trip page, which asks them to pay the balance by the due date.
- Payments and the reports.
To collect money, see Record a payment and Send a payment link or a reminder.
Related articles
- Change the balance due dateGive the customer more time to pay, or bring the payment forward, by moving the date the booking's balance is due.
- Record a paymentAdd a payment the customer made in cash, by card machine or by bank transfer, and send them the receipt.
- How a booking works, from booked to homeWhat happens to a booking from the moment you confirm it until the travellers are home, and what you can still change on the way.
- The Bookings screenFind any booking, see who has paid and who owes money, send payment reminders to many customers at once and export the list to Excel.