Take a deposit now, collect the rest later
Custom cakes, catering orders, special orders and repairs often start with a deposit. SeroPOS lets you take less than the invoice total and keeps track of what is still owed.
Partial payments in SeroPOS
Pay less than the total
Type an amount below the invoice total and confirm, and the sale is saved as partly paid.
Clear warning first
The till asks whether you meant to take less than the total, with Go Back or Ok Continue.
Balance due tracked
Recent Transactions and the back office show partial and due sales with their balance.
Collect the rest later
Record the remaining payment against the sale or the customer in the back office.
Due on customer ledgers
Each customer's ledger and the dashboard list what is owed and when it falls due.
Any tender
Deposits and balances can be taken in cash, by card or with any custom tender.
When you need a partial payment
Some sales are not paid in one go. A bakery takes half up front for a wedding cake. A caterer asks for a deposit to hold a date. A repair shop collects a parts deposit before ordering. A furniture store takes a down payment and the rest on delivery. In each case the sale is real, but the money arrives in stages, and you need to know exactly how much is still owed.
SeroPOS handles this on the normal payment screen. Ring up the order as usual, attach the customer, and enter the amount they are paying today. The sale is recorded in full, so stock and sales are correct, while the payment status shows it as partly paid with a balance due.
Taking a deposit at the till
On the tablet payment screen, choose the payment mode and type the amount received. If it is less than the total, SeroPOS shows 'Payment Amount is Less than Invoice Total' with two choices. Go Back returns to the payment screen to correct the amount. Ok Continue records the payment as a partial payment and completes the sale.
Always attach a customer to a sale with a balance due, so you know who owes it. Search or add the customer from the home screen before starting the order. The receipt shows what was paid, and if your receipt layout shows the balance due, the customer leaves with a clear record of what remains.
- Attach the customer
- Ring up the full order
- Enter the deposit amount
- Tap Pay and choose Ok Continue
Tracking what is owed
In the app, Recent Transactions can be filtered by Paid, Due, Partial or Refunded, so staff can find every sale still waiting for money. In the web back office, the All Sales list shows the payment status and amount due for every sale, and the dashboard has a Sales Payment Due table for balances falling due within the next seven days, based on the customer's pay term.
Each customer record has a ledger showing their sales, payments and running balance. You can send the ledger by email for a date range, which works well as a reminder for larger balances. The customer and supplier report totals what each customer owes, which helps at month end when you chase outstanding balances.
Collecting the balance
When the customer comes back, record the rest of the payment in the web back office. Open the sale from All Sales and add a payment, or open the customer and use Pay due to settle what they owe across one or more sales. Once the balance is paid, the sale's status changes to paid and it drops off the due lists.
Payments recorded later appear in the sell payment report on the day they are received, so your cash-up for that day includes the balance even though the sale was made earlier. Notification templates in the back office include a Payment Received message, so customers can get a confirmation by email or text when the balance is paid.
Frequently asked questions
How do I take a deposit in SeroPOS?
Ring up the full order with the customer attached, open the payment screen and enter the deposit amount. SeroPOS warns that the payment is less than the invoice total. Tap Ok Continue to record a partial payment. The sale is saved with the balance shown as due.
Where can I see sales with a balance owing?
In the app, open Recent Transactions and filter by Due or Partial. In the web back office, the All Sales list shows payment status and amount due, the dashboard lists payments due soon, and each customer's ledger shows their running balance.
How do I collect the remaining balance?
Record the balance in the web back office. Open the sale and add a payment, or open the customer and use Pay due to settle what they owe. The payment can be cash, card, cheque or another method, and the sale changes to paid.
Does SeroPOS support layaway?
There is no separate layaway screen, but partial payments cover the common case. Record the sale with a deposit, keep the goods aside, and take further payments against the sale in the back office until it is paid in full. The balance stays visible on the customer's ledger.
Can I set a due date for the balance?
Yes. Give the customer a pay term, in days or months, on their customer record in the back office. Sales with a balance then show a due date, and the dashboard's Sales Payment Due table lists those falling due within the next seven days.