This article is for anyone who needs to use any of the above but is not sure what they do, their limitations, and their general usage.
Holds are meant to be short. A customer was at the register and remembered something back in the aisle so left to go grab it but the clerk needs to put that sale on hold and ring up another customer in line. These are automatically cleared out so should not be used for long-term saving of the sale.
Layaway lets a customer start to pay on an item without taking it home. If they fail to pay depending on the contract they may be out any money paid on it. This is for larger purchases
Quotes are for quoting a price and guaranteeing that price for a given amount of time. The customer may come in asking about a large birdcage or aquarium but wants to price shop other stores or may not have the money right then. You can print out a quote of the sale price and guarantee that price for them for a given number of days.
House Accounts are used for recurring sales with clients or good credit or are well known to the store. For example if someone buys a large amount of feed on a regular basis and just needs to stop in grab some and then be billed at a scheduled time. At either a dollar amount or a scheduled date, depending on their credit or other reasons, they will need to pay off a given amount or be cut off from new purchases. Some users also set house accounts to be taxed at different rates or get a percentage off depending on the situation.
House account use examples :
Owner who regularly gets items at cost from their store.
Rescue or charitable org that gets items at discount and then pays at the end of the month.
Small level farmer or large animal owner who stops by regularly to pick up bags of feed and then pays off at the end of the month.
Bar owner who keep a tab for one of the regulars and cuts them off until they pay it off after hitting a certain amount owed.