Holds, Layaway, Quotes, House accounts, and when to use them

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. Someone may have left their wallet or checkbook at home so will hold the sale until they get back later that day. Regular holds are not removed automatically and should be, ideally, addressed before the close of business same day - ESPECIALLY if a payment has been applied. If a payment has been applied, and the invoice is held to the next day, the client loses the ability to void the payment. This can get very messy, which is why the functionality to require (or warn) held invoices to be closed before closing out the drawer was added.

For Holds read this : Cash Register - how to create and clear a hold

Layaway lets a customer start to pay for 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 and has been a traditional way of letting people with poor credit slowly pay off an item before letting them take it with them. Animals or things that may expire are not recommended for this unless the timeframe for the layaway is short. Layaways will automatically get removed the following day after being created if no down payment was applied.

Quotes are for quoting a price and guaranteeing that price for a given amount of time. The default timeframe is 7 days but it can be changed. 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. Quotes will have an end date specified and will automatically get purged at that time.

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.

Store that uses store items at cost for services such as aquarium cleaning and needs to settle up at the end of the month for inventory/accounting purposes.