Deposits for direct bookings: booking deposits, balances, and security deposits
Two very different things get called a deposit. A booking deposit is part of the price, paid up front to secure the dates, with the balance due later. A security deposit is money held against damage and returned after the stay. A direct booking form has to handle both without confusing the guest. This guide shows how RentalBeam does each: payment schedules for the first, and a clear notice for the second.
Two deposits, two tools
| Booking deposit | Security deposit | |
|---|---|---|
| What it is | Part of the price, paid to secure the dates | Money held against damage, returned after the stay |
| Charged by the form | Yes, as the first payment step | No, shown as an amount and a notice |
| Where it is set | Booking settings, Payments | Booking settings, Guests and Policies |
The booking deposit: a payment schedule
Instead of one charge, RentalBeam lets you split what a guest owes into payment steps. The common shape is a deposit due at booking and a balance due later, but each step can be any share and any method.
- 1
Pick a flow that bills
Payment steps belong to Request now, bill later and Pay in widget. An inquiry-only form never asks for money.
- 2
Add the steps
In Booking settings, Payments, add a deposit step and a balance step. Set each one to card, bank transfer, or cash. You can take a card deposit and settle the balance by bank transfer, or keep every step offline.
- 3
Decide where the first step is paid
With Pay in widget, the card deposit is paid inline in the booking form. With Request now, bill later, you confirm the request and the guest pays through a secure payment link.
- 4
Let the balance follow
A later card step is paid on the same hosted payment page the guest returns to. Bank transfer and cash steps are settled with you directly; record them on the booking so the totals stay accurate.
Card steps need Stripe, offline steps do not
Card payments run through Stripe Connect and need a payout account, finished verification, and a rental currency that matches the account. Bank transfer and cash steps need none of that. If you only ever take transfers, you never connect Stripe. Pro takes no commission and adds no booking fee either way; the only deduction on a card payment is the standard Stripe card-processing fee, paid to Stripe.
The security deposit: a notice, not a charge
A damage deposit is a promise to return money, and a booking form is the wrong place to take it. So RentalBeam shows it rather than charging it.
- Under Guests and Policies, the Security deposit field takes an amount and a short notice.
- Standard is the default wording. Collected at pickup and Cash on arrival are presets. Or write your own.
- Choose No notice to show only the amount, or clear the amount to hide the deposit entirely.
- Standard and the two presets appear in each guest's own language, across all 24 widget languages. A notice you type is shown exactly as typed.
The guest sees the amount and the notice on the form, so nobody arrives surprised, and you collect and return it the way you already do.
Choosing your numbers
- A deposit of a quarter to half the total is common; a 100 percent deposit is a single step, which is fine for short stays.
- Put the balance due date inside your cancellation policy's refund window, so a guest who cancels in time has paid only the deposit.
- Keep the security deposit notice to one plain sentence: how much, when you take it, when you return it.
- Send yourself one real test request and pay the first step before you announce card checkout on your site.
Summary
A booking deposit is a payment step: set it once under Payments, choose card, bank transfer, or cash, and the balance follows on its own. A security deposit is a notice: set the amount and wording under Guests and Policies, and collect it outside the form. Guests see both before they book, which is the whole point.