When you’re running a WooCommerce store, you’ll need to find ways to accept payments from your customers. One popular method is to accept deposits. This allows customers to pay a portion of the total cost upfront, with the balance due later.
There are a few different ways to set up deposits in WooCommerce. You can use the built-in settings, or you can install a plugin. Let’s take a look at both methods.
Built-in Settings
WooCommerce has a built-in setting for accepting deposits. To find it, go to your WooCommerce dashboard and navigate to Settings > Products. Under the ‘General’ tab, you’ll see an option for ‘Enable deposits’:
Check the box next to this option, and then you can set the default deposit amount and whether it’s a percentage or fixed amount. You can also choose whether the deposit is refundable or not.
1. Deposits are non-refundable, so be sure that your customer is aware of this before proceeding.
2. Be sure to configure your deposit settings correctly, as incorrect settings could result in overcharging or undercharging your customers.
3. If you are using a payment gateway that charges transaction fees, be sure to factor this in when calculating the deposit amount. Otherwise, you may end up losing money on the transaction.
Once you’ve saved your changes, deposits will be enabled for all products on your site. If you want to offer a deposit for only certain products, you’ll need to edit those products individually and select the ‘Enable deposits’ option:
Now that we’ve looked at the built-in settings, let’s take a look at how to set up deposits using a plugin.
Plugin Method
There are a few plugins that add deposit functionality to WooCommerce. One of the most popular is the Deposits for WooCommerce plugin:
With this plugin, you can choose whether to enable deposits globally or on a per-product basis. You can also set the default deposit amount and whether it’s a percentage or fixed amount. The plugin also adds some additional features, like the ability to offer partial refunds on deposits, and automatic deposit calculations at checkout.
Once you’ve installed and activated the plugin, go to Settings > Deposits to configure it: