How security deposits are billed and returned

A security deposit is money set aside from a customer's card as protection against damage or a late return — it isn't part of the rental price, and it isn't revenue for your business.

Where to find it

Deposit amounts are set on each fleet item's Pricing tab, and shown per booking on the booking's detail page.

A booking's deposit hold amount shown on the booking detail page

How it works

• A deposit is held (authorized, not charged) separately from your rental price and any taxes — it doesn't count as part of your subtotal.
• Because it's not part of the subtotal, a deposit is never taxed as revenue.
• When the hold goes on the card is set in Pricing → Fees & policies → Deposit / percentage down: for online bookings, "3 days before pickup" now places the hold 3 days before pickup (it used to behave like 1 day before). See How and when you collect a security deposit.
• A deposit still applies even if you mark an item as a free rental — the rental price and any add-ons drop to $0, but the deposit hold stays in place, so you can still protect against damage on a free or comped booking.

For example: if you comp a friend a free afternoon on a jet ski but still want a $200 security hold in case it comes back damaged, marking the rental as free doesn't remove that hold.

Good to know

• A deposit being "held" means the money is authorized on the customer's card, not actually taken — it's released back to them, or converted to a real charge if something needs to be deducted. When staff finish a return, Renta asks them to decide what happens to an open hold; it is not released automatically at that moment.
• The total amount currently held across your business shows up on your dashboard — see Deposits, balances, and refund exposure at a glance.