You can capture deposits (AKA down payments, diagnostic fees, bench fees) for work to be completed or physical goods not yet in stock.

Table of Contents

Enable Deposits
Category Creation
Deposit Product Creation
Taking a Deposit
Adding Charges
Troubleshooting
FAQ

Enable Deposits

To start, you need to activate the feature.

1. Go to More > Admin > Inventory - Preferences.
2. Turn on the Enable the Deposits feature checkbox.
3. Click Save.

Once the deposit feature is activated the system will create a “Deposit” category in your inventory settings. Do not delete this category as it is integral to the integration. You can view this in More > Admin > Inventory - Preferences under the Category Editor. If someone accidentally delete this category, just click Add, then name it Deposit.

Deposit Product Creation

Next, you need to create one or more deposit products to use with the ticketing/invoice system.

There are two forms that deposits can take. One is a static (constant) priced deposit that is used for certain job types, like computer repair or diagnostic charges. The other is a variable deposit. This is handy if you have cases where the deposit amount can change from job to job.

Static Deposit Amount Creation

1. Head to the Inventory tab.
2. In the upper right, click New Item.
3. Give it a Name and Description. If you plan to have multiple deposits, make the names specific, such as Diagnostic Deposit.
   
    
4. Enter the amount you want to charge for the deposit in the Price field.
5. Click the Category dropdown > Deposit.
6. Fill in any other details you want and click Create Product.

Variable Deposit Amount Creation

1. Head to the Inventory tab.
2. In the upper right, click New Item.
3. Give it a Name and Description. Since you can only create one variable deposit item, we suggest a generic name, such as Deposit.
   
    
4. Leave the Price field BLANK.
5. Click the Category dropdown > Deposit.
6. Fill in any other details you want and click Create Product.

Taking a Deposit

Now that you have everything configured, you are ready to collect a deposit. Deposits are tied to tickets first, but use the invoice/payment system to take the payment.

When you are on a ticket, in the upper right, click Actions > Take Deposit.

You will then be taken to the Take Deposit screen. If you are collecting a pre-defined static amount, click the appropriate button up top. Otherwise, enter the desired amount in the Other Amount field and click Use Other Amount.

Once you choose the amount to collect, you are taken to the Payment Capture screen where you collect the customer's money for the deposit. After that, you are taken back to the ticket.

There are some things to note. The Deposit is listed in the Add/View Charges as a negative amount on the ticket. You'll see why down below. The other thing to note is that the Deposit invoice is linked on the ticket.

Adding Charges to the ticket

You can now add additional charges to the ticket as you perform your service. Those charges will collect alongside the credit until the ticket is ready to have its final invoice created.

Once the final invoice is ready to be created, click Make Invoice from the ticket.

When the invoice is generated, all of the ticket charges in the Add/View will be brought over to the invoice, including the deposit line that will be applied against the other charges.

If you head back to the ticket, you will now see 2 invoices linked. You will see the original invoice where you took the deposit and the final invoice containing the credit.

Troubleshooting

Variable Pricing not showing field

If you find that your Variable Deposit amount entry field is NOT showing, this is likely because you have two Deposit products without a price specified. You can only have ONE Deposit Product with an empty or 0.0 Price field. Add a price to one of the products and click Update Product to fix it.

FAQ

Q: Taking a deposit does not check if the deposit has been paid?

A: The second you hit Take Deposit in the ticket screen it will add the deposit as a credit to the ticket in the ticket charges even if the payment for the deposit was not completed.

Q: How do I refund an invoice that has a deposit attached?

A: See our article on Refunding invoices with deposits.

Q: I want to use deposits but only want a single invoice on the ticket. How do I do that?

A: In order to use the deposit feature correctly you have to have a separate invoice for your deposit, an invoice is generated automatically in the background once you hit to take a deposit. It is recommended that you do not add anything to the deposit invoice as this charge has been added as a credit to the Ticket Charges.

The correct workflow would be to take deposit then you can add new ticket charges to the ticket, once you are done adding charges to the ticket click on make invoice to create the final invoice. This will automatically add all ticket charges and the deposit to a new invoice. You will see the deposit come up on the second invoice as a negative amount that is deducted from the second/final invoice.

Q: Can I add a deposit to an invoice as a line item?

A: No, a deposit should only be taken from the ticket and should not be added to an invoice. Adding a deposit to an invoice would break the flow.

Q: Can I add a deposit to the ticket charges?

A: No, the deposit should be added via the take deposit button.