A security deposit is an amount collected at checkout with each rental of a product. If the item comes back damaged, you have funds to cover repairs. If it comes back in good condition, you refund the deposit.
When you’d use this
- Hold money against damage or loss on high-value rentals.
- Charge a cleaning fee or damage waiver that’s never refunded.
- Take a deposit per unit, or one deposit however many units are rented.
Add a security deposit
Deposits are set per product:
- Edit the product and scroll to the Rental product data box.
- Click the Deposits tab.
- Enter the Security deposit amount.
- Choose the calculation and tax options if the defaults don’t suit.
Each field is defined in set up a rental product.
At checkout, the deposit is added as its own fee line and included in the order total. With the default labels, it reads "Security deposit #1 (refundable) – Camera", numbered for each rental in the cart that has a deposit. Change the words "Security deposit", "Refundable" and "Non-refundable" on the Labels settings tab.
Fixed or per-quantity deposits
Two calculation methods are available in Security deposit calculation:
- Quantity (the default): the deposit is multiplied by the quantity rented. A $200 deposit on 5 cameras is $1,000.
- Fixed: the same deposit whatever the quantity. Rent 1 camera or 5, the deposit is $200.
Per-quantity deposits suit high-value items where each unit is at risk. Fixed deposits suit lower-value items where the batch is the concern.
Tax on deposits
Deposits can be taxed or tax-exempt, depending on your jurisdiction:
- Taxable (the default): tax is calculated on the deposit using the Security deposit tax class.
- None: no tax on the deposit. Common where refundable deposits are treated as held funds rather than revenue.
Check with your accountant on the right treatment for your location. Set it with Security deposit tax status on the Deposits tab.
Non-refundable deposits
Some stores use a deposit as a cleaning fee or damage waiver that’s never refunded. Tick Security deposit non-refundable to label the deposit "non-refundable" instead of "refundable" in the cart, checkout and order. It’s still a fee line you could refund; the label tells the customer what to expect.
Deposits on variations and bundles
- Variations: each variation can have its own Security deposit amount. Leave it empty to use the parent product’s. The calculation and tax options always come from the parent.
- Bundles: a rental bundle charges its own deposit, set on the bundle’s Deposits tab. The bundled products’ deposits aren’t charged when they’re rented as part of the bundle.
Payment is taken in full at checkout
The deposit is part of the order total, so the customer pays it at checkout with the rental. Rental Products doesn’t place payment holds or pre-authorizations for deposits, because most payment providers only keep a hold for around seven days, which would expire before many rentals start.
Two things follow from this:
- Payment processor fees apply to the full amount, including the deposit. On a $500 rental with a $200 deposit, you pay fees on $700, and most processors don’t return their fee when you refund the deposit. Factor this into your deposit amounts or rental prices.
- Capture card payments immediately. Keep your payment methods on their usual "authorize and capture" setting rather than authorizing now and capturing later, as the capture window may expire before the rental starts.
Deposits are always per product. To take a deposit based on the whole order total, remove the deposits from your products and use a cart fee plugin or code instead.
Refund a deposit
Deposits are never refunded automatically. When the rental comes back in good condition, refund the deposit’s fee line through WooCommerce’s standard refund:
- Open the order in WooCommerce » Orders.
- Click Refund.
- Enter the amount to refund against the security deposit line.
- Refund through your payment method.
Partial refunds work if you need to deduct for damage: refund $150 of a $200 deposit and keep $50 for repairs. Refunding the deposit doesn’t change the rental’s stock reservation; to free the dates of a rental that’s ended early, see manage rental orders.
Pay part now with Deposits & Partial Payments
A security deposit is held against damage; it doesn’t split the rental into installments. To take part of the payment now and the rest later, use Deposits & Partial Payments for WooCommerce by Acowebs instead of security deposits. While that plugin is active, the product’s Deposits tab suggests leaving the security deposit empty and setting deposits there. With the free version, the tab recommends the premium version, which handles tax.
Rental Products works with it in one way: an order that plugin marks Partially Paid holds its rental stock and counts as paid. Payment plans and schedules are that plugin’s features.
If that plugin’s fully paid order status is set to Completed while Return rentals in completed orders is on, Rental Products shows an admin error: completing the payment would mark the rentals as returned. Change one of the two settings.
Common issues
The deposit isn’t charged
Check the product’s Security deposit amount, and on variable products the variation’s. A product inside a bundle doesn’t charge its own deposit; set one on the bundle.
The deposit is charged several times
With Security deposit calculation set to Quantity, the deposit is multiplied by the quantity. Set it to Fixed for one deposit per rental line.
Keep learning
- Set up a rental product (the deposit fields)
- Manage rental orders (returns, refunds and order changes)
- Set up rental pricing