Deposits

Rentshelf supports two common deposit patterns: booking deposits and security deposits.

Booking deposits collect part of the rental total today and leave a remaining balance to collect later.

Security deposits are refundable amounts held for damage, late returns or missing items. Customers get them back when the product comes back in good condition.

How Rentshelf handles deposits

Deposit amounts are carried into the picker, cart, Shopify order and booking record as rental metadata. When a booking deposit is used, the amount due today can be lower than the full rental quote.

If you enable automatic remaining-balance collection, approve Shopify draft orders permission so Rentshelf can create a payment-link invoice for the unpaid balance.

Enable default deposit rules

1. Open Rentshelf → Settings.
2. Check Require a deposit by default.
3. Set Default deposit percent (e.g. 20 for 20% of rental total).
4. Click Save.

All new products get this default. Existing products keep their own configuration.

Enable deposits per product

To override the global deposit on a specific product:

1. Open Rentshelf → Products → [your product].
2. In the Deposit section:
   • Pick Booking deposit or Security deposit.
   • Set Deposit percent or Deposit fixed.
   • Set balance due timing for booking deposits.
   • Choose the remaining-balance collection method.
   • Enable Give customers the option to pay in full if customers should be able to pay the whole rental amount up front.
3. Click Save.

How it shows up on the storefront

When booking deposits are enabled, the picker shows the rental quote, due-today amount and remaining balance:

Rental total       $155.00
---
Due today          $77.50
Remaining balance  $77.50

If pay in full is enabled, the customer can choose between paying the deposit today or paying the full rental amount at checkout.

Security deposits are shown separately so customers understand they are refundable protection, not part of the rental fee.

On the cart line

Deposit and payment information is carried as:

• Visible properties such as Due today, Remaining balance and Payment option
• Internal properties such as _rental_deposit, _rental_due_today, _rental_remaining_balance and _rental_payment_option

On Rentshelf-connected cart lines, the product’s normal sale price is hidden and the line total/subtotal follows the rental amount due today.

Refunding

For security deposits or any refundable amount, use Shopify admin → Orders → [order] → Refund:

1. Review the order’s restock option against your Shopify inventory setup; a refund is not a rental-return update.
2. Enter the deposit amount to refund (e.g. $12.00).
3. The customer gets the refund via their original payment method.

Taxes and refunds

Rentshelf deposit settings do not determine the correct tax treatment for your business. Review the actual Shopify order and your applicable tax configuration before collecting or refunding a deposit. Do not assume a line-item label creates a separate tax-exempt item.

Tips

• Keep it simple — a single flat deposit ($50 across all rentals) is easier to explain than percentage-based deposits.
• Set expectations — add a trust badge saying “Refundable deposit” so customers know they’ll get it back.
• Don’t double-charge — a security deposit and insurance both protect against damage. Usually you want one or the other, not both.

Related

• Insurance
• Upsells

Track unpaid balances

Follow Remaining balances and payment links to configure due timing, send an eligible link and distinguish a sent invoice from a paid balance. Marking a rental returned does not by itself refund a security deposit; review the Shopify refund separately.

Check the customer explanation

Use the rental checkout clarity guide to review the rental total, due-today amount and remaining balance together. Compare Rentshelf plans before choosing your payment workflow.