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Damage charges

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When a customer damaged what they rented, you can charge them for it from the ticket: from the security deposit you hold, from the card saved at checkout, with a pay link or at the counter. Nothing is ever charged without a member of staff reviewing it first.

Before you start #

  • Damage charges are on by default. You find them under Maintenance › Settings (General tab), Damage charges, with the Tax of a charge (Standard rate or Not taxed) and Hold the security deposit refund while a “Customer may be charged” ticket is undecided.
  • The ticket must come from a rental (a check-in, an order’s Send to maintenance, or a customer report) and have Customer may be charged ticked.
  • To charge the saved card, the customer must have saved a card at checkout. The Regular edition’s late-fee consent above Place order then also says that damage found when a rental comes back may be charged to it after you review it.
  • To take it from the deposit you need Refundable Security Deposits, with a deposit still held on the order.

While it is undecided #

A ticket with Customer may be charged shows the Customer card: the customer, the rental, the security deposit held, and whether they bought a damage waiver. While you have not decided, the held security deposit is not refunded automatically. No charge decides it the other way: the deposit refund goes now.

The Customer card of a pressure washer ticket: order #599599 for Marco Rossi, the rental dates, Sent to maintenance at check-in, No security deposit held, the note Customer may be charged. The security deposit refund waits until you decide, and the buttons Charge customer… and No charge
The Customer card while the charge is undecided.

Charging the customer #

Click Charge customer… on the Customer card.

The Charge customer dialog on a pressure washer ticket: amount 46.50 USD from the costs ticked Bill to customer, the reason The spray lance was cracked when the pressure washer came back, Collect it with Email the customer a pay link and Paid at the counter (this rental has no security deposit or saved card), a staff note, and the Save for review and Charge buttons
(1) The amount starts at the costs ticked "Bill to customer". (2) The reason the customer reads. (3) How to collect it: the security deposit and the saved card are listed when the rental has them. (4) Save for review, or Charge now.
  1. Check the Amount. It starts at the costs ticked Bill to customer. If the customer bought a damage waiver through Custom Fields, Damage Waiver & ID Verification, it starts at 0 with a note (or at the waiver’s excess, when the waiver has one).
  2. Write the Reason. The customer reads it in the email and on the charge’s order.
  3. Choose how to collect it:
    • Take it from the security deposit: used only when what is left of the deposit covers the whole amount; the rest of the deposit is refunded as usual.
    • Charge the saved card.
    • Email the customer a pay link.
    • Paid at the counter: record a payment you took yourself.
  4. Add a Staff note if you like, then click Charge, or Save for review to decide later.

Each charge is its own WooCommerce order, numbered after the rental (DC-1234-1), so it shows in your orders, reports and accounts as a damage charge, not as a change to the rental. The customer gets “Damage charge: please pay” (with the pay link) or “Damage charge: receipt” when it is paid.

When a card is declined #

A declined card is tried again after 1 day and after 3 days, and the customer gets the pay link at once. A hard decline, an expired card or a bank that asks for 3-D Secure goes straight to the pay link. The Customer card shows each attempt; Retry charge tries again now and Send pay link again resends the email.

Waive and refund #

  • Waive… cancels an open charge, with a reason.
  • Refund… gives back part or all of a paid charge: to the security deposit if it came from there, through the payment gateway for a card or pay link, or recorded only for money you give back yourself.

A charge on an order that was cancelled or refunded is cancelled with it.

Reports #

Billable costs and charges show in Reports › Cost per item (“Billable”). Each damage charge order also appears in WooCommerce’s own order list and reports.

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