Reservation Deposits
Reservation Deposits shows every reservation that has a deposit amount set, letting you record when the deposit is actually collected, mark it settled against the guest's final bill once they visit, or forfeit/refund it if the booking is cancelled or a no-show.
Overview
This screen is entirely sourced from Reservations — it loads reservations within a date range and filters to only those with a deposit amount greater than zero; there is no separate "create a deposit" action here, a deposit is set on the reservation itself (in Reservations or on creation).
Deposit lifecycle: PENDING (default once an amount is set) → COLLECTED (payment recorded) → SETTLED (deducted against the guest's final bill) or FORFEITED / REFUNDED (if the booking falls through).
Recording a payment (COLLECT) asks for the amount actually collected, a payment mode (Cash/Card/UPI/Bank Transfer/Cheque) and an optional transaction reference; this stamps a collected timestamp automatically.
A red urgency marker appears on any still-PENDING deposit whose reservation date is within the next 3 days, plus a top-of-page banner summarising how many deposits are outstanding and their total value.
Forfeiting a deposit requires a reason and gives you the option to instead mark it Refunded if you decide to return the money despite the cancellation.
A printable, thermal-style receipt is available for any COLLECTED deposit.
Stats at the top: Collected (total value of all non-pending deposits), Outstanding (total still pending), Settled (total marked settled), and Records (count of deposit-bearing reservations in range).
Before You Start
- You must have the Billing feature enabled on your plan.
- A reservation must have a Deposit Amount set (in Reservations) before it will appear on this screen at all.
Step-by-Step Guide
1 Record a deposit payment
- Open Reservation Deposits and find the guest's card (still tagged PENDING).
- Click "Record Payment".
- Confirm or adjust the amount, choose a Payment Mode, and add a transaction reference if you have one.
- Click "Record Payment" to save — the card moves to COLLECTED with a timestamp.
2 Settle a deposit on the final bill
- On the day the guest visits, find their COLLECTED deposit card.
- Click "Settle on Bill" and confirm — this marks the deposit SETTLED, meaning it has been deducted from their final bill.
3 Forfeit or refund a cancelled booking's deposit
- On a PENDING or COLLECTED deposit card, click "Forfeit".
- Enter a reason (e.g. "No show" or "Late cancellation").
- Tick "Refund deposit to guest" if you're choosing to return the money despite the cancellation, otherwise leave it unticked to forfeit.
- Confirm — the card moves to FORFEITED or REFUNDED accordingly.
Every Field & Button, Explained
| Field / Button | What it does |
|---|---|
Deposit Status | PENDING, COLLECTED, SETTLED, FORFEITED or REFUNDED — the lifecycle stage of that reservation's deposit. |
Payment Mode | Cash, Card, UPI, Bank Transfer or Cheque — recorded when marking a deposit COLLECTED. |
Transaction Reference | Optional free text for a UPI reference, card last-4 digits or cheque number, recorded alongside the payment. |
Urgency marker | Shown on any deposit still PENDING within 3 days of its reservation date, prompting you to chase collection before the guest arrives. |
From / To date range | Controls which reservations are checked for a deposit amount; defaults to today through 7 days ahead. |
Tips & Best Practices
- Widen the From/To date range if you need to review deposits for bookings further in the future — the default range only covers the next 7 days.
- Print the receipt immediately after recording a COLLECT action while the guest is still on the phone or in front of you, if you want to hand or message them a copy.
- Use the Forfeit action's reason field consistently — it is useful later for tracking why deposits were forfeited across a season.