Instalments and deposits for small shops: a clear way to do it

A washing machine paid in four parts. A wedding kandura with AED 300 down and the rest at the fitting. A phone held for a customer until salary day. Small shops have always done this, usually with a handwritten note stapled to an invoice copy. It works until two customers have the same name, a payment is taken by a cashier who did not know about the plan, or the shop needs to know how much money is promised for next month.

Two different things

• A deposit (advance) is money taken before the sale is complete: the goods are not handed over yet, the order is not ready, or the item is held. The customer can usually get it back on agreed terms.
• An instalment sale is a completed sale: the customer takes the goods today, pays part now and the rest on agreed dates.

Treat them differently at the till, because they are different in your accounts.

Deposits

1. Take the deposit on the customer's account, with a note: "blue phone held", "kandura order".
2. Give the customer a slip showing the amount and what it is for.
3. When the sale happens, the deposit is used first and the customer pays the rest.
4. If the order is cancelled, refunding the deposit needs a manager, and the refund is recorded.

Whether VAT is charged when the deposit is taken depends on your situation; ask your accountant. Your till should be able to do either: issue a tax invoice for the advance and deduct it on the final receipt, or keep the deposit as customer money until the sale.

Instalments

1. Sell the item to the customer as a normal sale, on their account. The receipt is a normal receipt or tax invoice for the full amount, VAT included as usual.
2. Type the down payment, the number of instalments, weekly or monthly, and the first due date. The till works out the schedule.
3. Print the schedule after the receipt. The customer keeps it.
4. Payments are taken on the customer's page, oldest instalment first; part payments are fine.

If you add a charge for paying later, state it clearly on the schedule. Many shops prefer not to.

Keep the promises visible

The useful screen is not the plan; it is the list of what is due this week and what is overdue, across all customers. Look at it every Monday. Call or message the customers before the due date, not after. Combined with the credit book's polite reminders, most payments arrive on time.

Rules of thumb

• Ask for a real down payment — a fifth or a quarter of the price — so the customer is committed.
• Keep plans short: three to six months for a small shop.
• Copy of an ID for larger plans, as your policy says.
• Do not deliver custom work (tailoring, engraving) before the deposit is paid.

For tailors, repair shops and laundries

Job orders often start with a deposit: the work is done later, the customer collects and pays the rest. A job ticket with the deposit printed on it keeps the two together.

In CreekPOS

Instalments and deposits are in CreekPOS Online. Switch them on in Settings → Instalments, choose whether a stated mark-up is allowed and the most instalments in a plan, then at the till press Credit → Instalments / deposit with the customer chosen. The Instalments page lists what is due this week and what is overdue. Deposits can be invoiced as advance payments. See the manual and the tailoring page.