how to hold deposit on credit card

[Langosta73]

Hello, I would like to find out how to hold deposit on credit card. I will lent the customer demo product and would like to take a hold on his credit card for the price of the product without really charging it. It is in case the product would be lost or not returned to me. 

[VanKalkerFarms]

Currently, there is not a way to place a hold on a credit card with Square.

[Langosta73]

I thought really that would be basic function... This is done all the time in hotels and other places...

Any chance it would be added in the near future ?

Thank you,

[EJ_]

Hi @Langosta73

It's not something that's currently on our road map, but that can definitely change depending on seller advocacy and other variables. 

How would you use this particular feature for your business? Were you a hotel like you mentioned? 

While we're not actively prioritizing this, we'd love to know how it would help sellers out so we can advocate on your behalf. 

[Langosta73]

Hello, I would use taking deposits all the time as I am an owner of tennis pro shop. I have a demo program and I lend tennis rackets to customers. I need to take deposit from them in case the racket won't be returned back.

[EJ_]

Thanks for sharing and for being patient with us thus far @Langosta73

If anything new comes up in regards to this we'll post an update for everyone. Hopefully one of your fellow sellers can chime in with a workaround that they use to help with this. 

[AMC_Sheds]

We would also really like this feature as well. 

We custom order large products and always take a deposit and then the balance is due when said product is delivered. Its really making more paper than neccesary. 

[karenaa]

On some of my invoices I issue to customers, I require a $50 deposit to be paid immediately (this is very rarely the full amount of the invoice).

How do I process this deposit to the invoice?

[katieand]

Hi @karenaa - I moved your post over here since it's similar to the question asked above. Currently, there is no way to accept deposits, including on invoices. 

I'd love to pass your feedback on to the team about why this would be useful to your business. Could you share some details like EJ asked about above? 

[karenaa]

Thank you Katieand

I am a dressmaker and with the bigger jobs for my clients, I would really like to take a deposit before I start their job.

I also would rather send them an invoice than deal in cash, this way I would have a record of what each client has paid and the balance due on their invoice.

This would be a great addition to Square and very helpful for a lot of your users.

[katieand]

Thanks for sharing that @karenaa! You should also check out this Q&A we did with our Product Manager for Invoices @rohini. She's answered a few questions in that thread about some popular feature requests like you've mentioned and loves hearing from our customers. 😄

[KyleJG]

Here’s a use case:

Warby Parker- 

They sell eyeglasses. People want to try frames on before purchasing, and Warby Parker wants the customer to pick out the frame before they inset the lenses into the frame. 
Warby Parker ships the customer 5 test frames of the customers choosing. The customer tries them on and selects their favorite. They then return all the test frames and place their order. Warby Parker wants these frames back to send to other customers. 
As a business you would want some assurance that the customer is going to return the frames (or else you charge their credit card a fee). 
This scenario can apply to many new similar businesses across different categories as more people are wanting to purchase items online that are otherwise difficult to purchase online. 

[Alex_]

Hi @KyleJG,

Thank you for the additional context. Currently, the ability to accept deposits is a feature request. We definitely see how it could benefit your business model. Our teams are constantly looking through our seller's feedback to make necessary improvements, and we will be sure to let you know if anything ever changes or if new updates are released.