Setting up layaways

Layaway is a service that some stores provide where customers pay a deposit for items they want to purchase, and the store holds the items in a secure back office or storage area until the outstanding balance is paid in full by the customer.

Stores typically require customers to pay the outstanding balance on layaway orders within a specified period of time, such as 30 days. Depending on store policy and local laws, customers may be entitled to cancel a layaway order before it is fully paid for and have a portion or all of their layaway deposit returned to them.

Note: Layaway items are identified as Committed on the Inventory tab of the Items screen.

Setting the expiration date and minimum deposit amount

1. Click File | Configuration.
2. Click Ordering rules.
3. In the Layaway section:
a. In the Expiration field, enter the maximum number of days the customer has to pay off the total layaway amount before the layaway agreement with the store expires.
b. In the Deposit field, enter the percentage of the total layaway amount that the customer must pay as a minimum deposit when they put the items on layaway.

Tip: The best practice is to set the expiration to 30 days. This encourages customers to pay off layaway items quickly. It also ensures you do not have to keep a large number of layaway items in the back office or warehouse, where they occupy valuable storage space and could potentially be stolen or damaged. Most stores require at least a 20% deposit on layaway items. Similarly, to avoid costly transaction fees, many stores set policies that require layaway deposits and payments to be paid with cash, direct deposit, or check.

4. Click Save And Close.

Selecting the layaway receipt format

1. Click Setup.
2. Expand Hardware.
3. Click Receipt Formats.
4. Double-click the store's general receipt format.
5. Ensure that a template is selected for Layaway. If a template is not already selected:
a. Click the Browse icon.
b. Go to where you have saved your templates and select a template.

Note: Templates must have a .xml file extension. You cannot use templates that have another file format, such as .rct.

c. Click Open.
d. If required, click Properties and make any adjustments to the template.
6. Click Save And Close.