💳 Partial Payments for Rentals: Collect a Deposit Now, the Balance Later

🧭 Overview
High-value rentals, like vehicles, vacation homes, equipment, and others often book best when customers can reserve with a deposit and settle the rest closer to the rental. Partial Payments lets you collect a deposit at booking and charge the balance before the rental starts. You set it up once in Global settings, and your customers see exactly what they pay today and when the rest is due.
🚀 What's New?
✅ Deposit now, balance later
In Global Settings, choose a deposit percentage (1–99% of the booking total) and whens the balance is due. The plan applies to new bookings across your listings.
✅ A clear payment plan at checkout
Customers see "Due today" and "Due [date]" in the order summary, with a tooltip explaining that the balance is charged automatically, so there are no surprises later.
✅ Balance collected automatically
On the due date, the balance can be charged to the card used for the deposit automatically (if enabled). 
✅ Security deposits that fit your process
When security deposits are set to be collected upfront, you get the choice to decide if it's due at the time of booking or with the final balance payment.
✅ Last-minute bookings stay simple
If the balance due date has already passed when a booking is made, the booking becomes a single full payment. The customer completes checkout without an error, and the booking is never blocked.
✅ Payment status at a glance
The booking shows each payment with its due date, amount, and status, such as "Payment 1 of 2 · Paid" and "Payment 2 of 2 · Pending", giving you a quick summary of the payment status.
✅ Collect payments with a clear breakdown
You can always collect one payment schedule or several together, on or before the due date manually.
✅ A schedule that keeps up with changes
When you edit a booking's amount, the payment schedule adjusts automatically. If the deposit is already paid, the balance absorbs the difference.
If you add an item after the booking is fully paid, an "Additional charge
" is created for the difference, and you collect it manually.
If you change the rental dates, the balance due date moves with the new start date.
🧩 How to Use It
Go to Calendars → Calendar settings → Rentals → Global settings → Payment settings
. Make sure Require Payment at Booking is on, then turn on Enable partial Payments.
Set the deposit percentage and the number of days before the rental starts that the balance is due. The deposit is calculated on the booking total, including taxes and fees but excluding the security deposit.
If you collect security deposits, choose whether they're collected with the booking deposit or with the final balance, or saved as Card on File.
Save. New bookings now follow the plan. Existing bookings aren't affected.
Manage payments from the booking sidebar. Use Actions → Collect Payment to collect manually at any time. If a booking has no card on file when the balance comes due, you can charge it manually.
🎯 Why This Matters
A smaller upfront payment makes it easier for customers to commit to higher-value rentals, so more of those bookings get completed.
Automatic balance collection means less time spent chasing payments before a rental.
You stay in control with clear payment status, alerts when a charge needs attention, and manual collection whenever you need it.
Security deposits fit the way you already work, whether you charge them upfront or hold a card on file.
Customers always know what they pay today and when the rest is due.