Security deposits help protect your business from damaged, lost, or unreturned items.
Unlike regular deposits, security deposits are separate from the transaction total and are collected in addition to rental charges.
This article covers how to create security deposits, apply them to transactions, and manage them throughout the rental process.
What Is a Security Deposit?
A security deposit is an amount collected or authorized in addition to the transaction total.
Security deposits can be:
Collected as a payment
Authorized as a temporary hold on a customer's card
Many companies prefer authorization because it avoids collecting and refunding funds when no damages occur.
Creating a Security Deposit
Go to Settings.
Select Financials / Payments.
Click Security Deposits.
Click the green Add Security Deposit button.
Configure the Deposit
When creating a security deposit, you'll enter:
Title
Unit Type (Dollar Amount or Percentage)
Rate
If using a percentage-based security deposit, you can calculate the percentage from:
Rental value
Replacement cost value
Note: Replacement cost calculations require replacement costs to be entered on your inventory items.
Setting a Default Security Deposit
You can create multiple security deposit options and select one as the default. To mark a security deposit as the default, click the gray circle with a check mark under the Actions column and when the security deposit is the default the circle will turn green.
The default security deposit is automatically applied to new transactions unless another deposit is selected.
Editing or Removing Security Deposits
Click the Pencil icon to edit a security deposit.
Click the Trash Can icon to delete a security deposit.
How Security Deposits Affect Transactions
When a security deposit is added to a transaction, it is included in the total amount due but remains separate from the rental charges.
This allows you to easily identify and manage the security deposit independently from the order total.
Authorizing a Security Deposit
Authorizing creates a temporary hold on the customer's card instead of charging it immediately.
When sending a Request Review, you can choose to Authorize the Security Deposit.
During checkout:
The rental charges are collected normally.
The security deposit is authorized as a soft hold.
Or when managing a transaction within your Rentopian interface, you can click the Authorize Payment option in the payments section in the left hand actions options of the order view screen.
This authorized amount can later be:
Captured (charge the card)
Voided (release the hold)
Returning an Order with an Authorized Security Deposit
If the security deposit was only authorized and not captured:
You can release the authorization if no charges are needed.
You can capture all or part of the authorization if charges need to be collected.
The transaction will continue to show the authorized amount until it is either captured or voided.
Returning an Order with a Collected Security Deposit
If the security deposit was fully collected:
The system will prompt you to refund the security deposit when the order is returned.
If no damage or additional charges exist, the full security deposit can be refunded.
Damage Charges and Security Deposits
If damaged or missing items are identified during the return process, the system can apply those charges against the collected security deposit.
When this happens:
Damage fees are deducted from the security deposit.
Only the remaining balance is refunded to the customer.
This helps simplify the process of recovering costs for damaged or lost inventory.
Helpful Tips
Authorization can help avoid unnecessary credit card refunds or payment processing fees.
Ensure replacement costs are entered if using replacement-cost-based percentages.
Review damage charges before releasing or refunding security deposits.
Create separate security deposit options for different types of rentals if needed.
Need Help?
If you have questions about creating or managing security deposits, contact us at [email protected].