WordPress Deposit Payments: 2 Easy Methods

Your skills deserve to be paid for before the work begins, not after everything is done. But many service providers still find it hard to ask clients for payment upfront.

The good news is that there’s a simple and professional way to do this.

Taking deposit payments doesn’t just protect your business – it can actually lead to a better client experience.

When clients pay something in advance, they’re usually more engaged, give better feedback, and value your time more. We’ve seen this work well for hundreds of WordPress site owners.

In this guide, we’ll show you two easy ways to start accepting deposit payments on your WordPress site. Both methods are client-friendly and give you the financial confidence to focus on doing your best work.

Why Accept Deposit Payments in WordPress?

Accepting partial payments and deposits on your WordPress site offers many benefits for businesses and customers, particularly for people selling high-value products or offering personalized services.

Deposit payments act as a form of financial security. They ensure that your time and resources are not wasted on cancellations or no-shows.

For example, if you are a wedding planner, then requiring a non-refundable deposit is essential to secure your time and resources for the event. You can ask for a deposit of 25% to 50% of the total package cost upfront.

This amount ensures the client is committed while covering your initial expenses, including consultations, venue visits, and vendor bookings.

Deposits are especially beneficial for businesses centered around events or extended projects. If your business involves workshops, venue rentals, or large event coordination, securing an initial deposit can shield you from late cancellations.

Integrating deposit payments into WordPress enhances both customer confidence and ease of use. It gives clients a more adaptable payment choice, potentially easing access to more costly items or services.

With that being said, let’s explore the simple ways to enable deposit payments on your WordPress site. We’ll cover a pair of methods in this guide. Use the following links to navigate to your preferred method.

Method 1: Accept Deposit Payments for Services

In this approach, we will guide you through the process of creating a straightforward payment form to facilitate partial payments within WordPress. You can utilize it to collect deposits for various applications like subscription services, individual high-value items, in-home services, and reservations.

For this purpose, you can leverage WP Simple Pay, a leading WordPress Stripe plugin.

We appreciate its extensive collection of ready-made payment templates, its user-friendly builder interface, and its compatibility with a wide range of payment gateways. For a deeper understanding, consult our comprehensive WP Simple Pay review.

To gather a deposit amount, we’ll utilize the ‘Setup Fee’ feature found within WP Simple Pay’s subscription form templates.

To begin, install and activate the WP Simple Pay plugin. Refer to our guide on WordPress plugin installation if needed.

After activating the plugin, a setup wizard will appear. Click the ‘Let’s Get Started’ button to proceed.

Next, you’ll need to input your plugin license key.

You can find this key in your WP Simple Pay account on their website.

After that, connect your Stripe account to the plugin. WP Simple Pay relies on Stripe, so this connection is essential for it to function correctly. You can connect it to either a new or existing Stripe account.

To start the process, click the ‘Connect with Stripe’ button.

You will now be able to log in to your account. For detailed instructions, see our tutorial on how to accept Stripe payments in WordPress.

Once the connection is successful, the setup wizard will guide you in configuring your email settings.

Here, you can choose to enable email notifications for payment receipts, upcoming invoices, and other payment-related events. You should also specify the email address where you wish to receive these notifications.

After configuring your email settings, click ‘Save and Continue’. You can then complete the remaining steps as desired and exit the setup wizard.

Now, navigate to theWP Simple Pay » Payment Forms page from the WordPress admin sidebar.

Go ahead and click the ‘Create Your Payment Form’ button.

This action will redirect you to the ‘Select a template’ page, displaying a selection of pre-designed payment form templates.

Find the ‘Subscription Setup Fee Form’ template and select the ‘Use Template’ option beneath it.

The form builder will then appear.

You can now modify the title and add a description to your form. For example, a wedding planner accepting a deposit before an event might rename the form to ‘Wedding Planning Deposit Fee.’

Next, designate ‘On-site payment form’ as your form type. You may also enable spam protection by checking the box provided.

After that, switch to the ‘Payment’ tab from the left column and select your preferred tax collection rates under the ‘Tax Collection’ option.

Next, specify the price for the product or service offered through the form.

If selling a subscription, select the ‘Subscription’ option and click ‘Add Price’ to include various subscription levels.

For example, you might offer several wedding packages, each with different pricing.

Once you are done, just click the ‘Configure’ link next to the ‘Automatically activate a recurring subscription’ option.

A window will appear, beginning with the selection of a billing period. This indicates the duration for which a customer is charged for a product or service. It’s the time between billing cycles, such as monthly, quarterly, or yearly. The customer is billed for the next period’s product/service after each billing period.

For instance, for a premium software subscription billed annually, customers pay every twelve months for product access.

Alternatively, provide an installment option where clients pay incrementally. For instance, a $1,200 item could be paid in twelve $100 monthly installments.

To include a deposit, input the deposit amount in the ‘Setup Fee’ field.

For example, event or wedding planners can use this for consultation fees or pre-event organization deposits.

Next, select the ‘Update’ button.

If you offer varied pricing, configure this setting for each price level.

Then, navigate to ‘Payment Methods’ and select your preferred payment gateways.

There, you can integrate card payments, ACH transfers, AliPay, Klarna, CashApp, and other payment methods.

Afterward, go to the ‘Form Fields’ area; add fields from the dropdown, customize settings, and arrange the layout via drag-and-drop.

The Amount Breakdown field is pre-configured; it itemizes the deposit, installment, and processing fees for customer clarity.

Make sure you’re changing the label ‘Total Amount’ to read ‘Total due with one-time deposit.’

WP Simple Pay calculates the deposit automatically; however, clarifying the label assures users understand the added amount is a deposit.

Navigate to the ‘Payment Page’ tab and select the ‘Enable a dedicated payment page’ option. This enables creation of a customized payment page without manually adding a new page.

The plugin provides customization options for the form, including setting a permalink, choosing a color scheme, adding an image, and specifying footer text.

To save your configuration, click the ‘Publish’ button.

After publishing, preview the form on your website to ensure it is ready to accept payments.

Alternatively, to embed the form in an existing page, click the ‘Publish’ button after adding the form fields to that page.

From the WordPress dashboard, open the desired page or post and select the ‘Add Block’ (+) button. Locate and insert the WP Simple Pay block from the block menu.

Then, from the dropdown menu, select the form you previously created.

After selecting the form, save your changes by clicking the ‘Update’ or ‘Publish’ button.

Then, preview the form on your live website.

Method 2: Accept Deposit Payments in WooCommerce

This method is suitable for accepting deposits on products within your WooCommerce store, particularly useful for high-value or custom items, and potentially boosting sales.

To implement this, install and activate the WooCommerce Deposits plugin, following our installation guide for WordPress plugins.

After activating the plugin, access theProducts page in your WordPress dashboard and select the ‘Edit’ link for the product you want to modify.

This action will launch the WooCommerce editor. Navigate to the ‘Product Data’ area, then select the ‘Deposits’ tab.

In the ‘Enable Deposits’ dropdown, choose ‘Yes- deposits are optional.’

A new tab will appear with additional settings. Begin by specifying the deposit type: percentage, a set amount, or a payment schedule.

Next, input the deposit amount in the designated field. Then, set ‘Pay Deposit’ as the ‘Default Deposit Selected Type,’ enabling users to pay the initial sum.

Return to the top and select ‘Publish’ or ‘Update’ to finalize the changes.

Go to the product page to see that customers now have the choice to either pay the full price or only the deposit.

Bonus: Offer “Buy Now, Pay Later” to Make Purchases More Accessible

In addition to deposits, providing a ‘Buy Now, Pay Later’ (BNPL) option, such as Klarna, can enhance affordability.

Unlike deposits that you manage, Klarna compensates you fully and allows customers to repay them in installments.

This approach is effective for increasing conversions on higher-priced items.

If customers opt for Klarna, they’ll have multiple payment options to consider.

Consider ‘Pay Later,’ which lets your customers buy now and pay within a timeframe like 2–4 weeks. Another option is ‘Pay in Installments,’ dividing the total into equal payments over several months.

Klarna often provides these services without interest or fees if payments are timely, presenting a strong benefit.

To integrate Klarna payments into WordPress, consider WP Simple Pay, a leading Stripe plugin.

Refer to our guide on integrating Klarna payments in WordPress for comprehensive instructions.

We trust this guide clarified how to enable deposit payments within WordPress. Explore our beginner’s instructions on integrating a PayPal payment form into WordPress, alongside our recommended credit card processing plugins.

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