Paying in parts: split payments, down payments and paying the rest later

Renta does not have one "payment plan" switch, but there are three real ways to collect a booking's money in pieces. Which one you need depends on who is splitting the payment and when.

• The customer pays with more than one method at once, for example $150 cash and $50 on a card. Use Split across methods.
• You want part now and the rest later. Charge a smaller amount now, then charge or schedule the remainder.
• You want online customers to pay only a down payment when they book. Set Payment Due at Checkout on the item.

Where to find it

• Taking or scheduling a payment on an existing booking: Bookings → open the booking → Payments & Documents tab → Payment Log → Charge. The button is hidden once a booking is cancelled, expired or refunded.
• While creating a booking yourself: the same Payment window opens at the payment step of Bookings → New booking.
• Down payment for online bookings: Fleet → open an item → Pricing step → Payment Due at Checkout.

Splitting one payment across methods

In the Payment window, the Charge amount column has an Amount box and a When to charge setting. When it is set to Charge now, a Split across methods button appears under it.

1. Press Split across methods. The column becomes Split rental. 2. Each row has a method (Cash, Other or Card), a dollar amount, and an optional note. A Card row also asks which saved card to use, or you can pick + Add a new card. Card only appears if the customer has a saved card or you can add one. 3. Press + Add method for another row. The x on a row removes it. Remove rows until one is left and the split closes. 4. Watch the status next to + Add method. It says Fully allocated when the rows add up exactly, otherwise "$X remaining" or "$X over". The text under the rows reads "Splitting the $X rental charge due now. Legs must sum to this amount." 5. The main button now reads Record Split Payment. It only works when there are at least two rows, every row has an amount, and the total is exactly right.

When the Hold deposit column is set to Hold now, it has the same control, called Split deposit, so a security deposit can also be split across methods.

What happens when you submit

• Card rows are charged first. If a card is declined, Renta stops before it records any Cash or Other row, so you are never left with cash recorded for a payment whose card part failed. If you split across two cards and the second one fails, the first card may already have been charged, so check the Payment Log.
• Before anything is charged, Renta checks the rows against what the booking still owes. If they add up to more, it refuses and nothing is charged. It tells you the two amounts so you can fix them, or you can record the payments one at a time.
• In the Payment Log the whole split shows as one Split payment row with a breakdown such as "$150.00 cash + $50.00 card".

Taking part now and the rest later

The Amount box in the Charge amount column starts at what the booking still owes. You can type a smaller amount.

1. Open Charge, type the amount you want now (for example the deposit), leave When to charge on Charge now, choose the method and press the button. 2. The rest stays on the booking as a balance due. 3. Later, open Charge again. The amount starts at what is left. Take it right away, or schedule it.

To schedule, change When to charge (the three-dot button next to it, Charge timing) to one of:

• Before pickup, then pick 1, 2, 3, 5 or 7 days before.
• On a specific date.
• At pickup.

Scheduled payments use a single method. You can choose Charge card (a saved card), Send link, and, for At pickup only, Cash or Other, because the customer is there. The main button reads Schedule Charge.

What happens on the day

• Renta checks scheduled charges every 15 minutes. If you chose a saved card, it charges that card.
• If the card is declined, or you chose Send link, Renta emails the customer a payment link for that amount instead.
• Just before charging a saved card, Renta checks the booking again. If the booking was cancelled, nothing is owed any more, or the scheduled amount is now more than what is owed, the charge is skipped instead of taking money that is not due.
• At pickup with Charge card but no saved card does not charge anything. The pickup-date charge sends the customer a payment link instead, and the window says so.
• Every waiting charge is listed at Bookings → Scheduled. See Upcoming and pending charge attempts.

A single submit has one rental amount and one timing. To take part now and schedule the remainder, do it in two steps as above. The rental and the deposit hold can be handled together in one submit, for example rent now and the deposit hold at pickup.

Letting online customers pay only a down payment

On an item's Pricing step, the Payment Due at Checkout card sets what customers pay when they book:

• Full payment - 100% due at checkout (the default).
• Percentage down - partial payment upfront, with a Down payment percentage.
• Fixed down payment - set dollar amount upfront, with a Down payment per unit that is never more than the rental price.

Add-ons, delivery, fees and tax are always collected at checkout. Only the rental lines can be deferred. The part not paid stays on the booking as a balance due, and the booking is confirmed once the down payment lands. The down payment applies to the customer's first online payment only. A later payment link asks for the full balance.

Example

A customer rents a pontoon boat for $600 and wants to pay $100 cash now, $200 on their card, and the rest at pickup. At Charge, you type $300 in Amount, press Split across methods, set one row to Cash for $100 and one to Card for $200, and press Record Split Payment. The booking now owes $300. You open Charge again, choose At pickup, and press Schedule Charge.

Good to know

• Stripe cannot charge a card for less than $0.50, so a card amount below that shows a warning. Use Cash or Other for very small amounts.
• A saved-card charge adds Renta's booking fee on top where one applies. The split rows show it for each Card row.
• Paying a balance with a link is covered in Sending a customer a payment link.
• Does Renta offer installment plans or a "pay later" option? See Payment plans, installments and pay later.
• What counts as paid before a rental can start is covered in Starting a rental.