Feature Request: Ability to take a deposit - currently using discounts

[LuckyBird]

The title of this thread has been edited

from the original: Re: Discount % applied to tax! Tax should be calculated on actual product total and not discounted!

Is there a way that Square will update this Discount issue?  We run tattoo parlor which we do not add sales tax to our services, just our sales items.  However, when we subtract the client's down payment deposit (which we created with Discount) it subtracts the tax added to the sales item.  We need the receipt to show that we took off the clients deposit and not manually enter it.  Please make a disount appliable after taxes.

[#2]

Hi everyone - we noticed that this group was requesting the ability to apply discounts post-tax specifically because discounts were being used as a workaround for taking a deposit. We wanted to update this group, in case some of you haven't heard that you can request a deposit for a portion of an invoice using Square Invoices!

You shouldn't need to use discounts in order to subtract an amount paid towards a total, as you can instead send an invoice requesting a deposit payment. When your customer receives the invoice you send over, they can pay the deposit first, and the remaining balance can be paid at a later date.

[nika]

@LuckyBird No updates to report here. 😔 But I can assure you that if something does change, we'll share an update on this thread!

[Valentina]

Hi everyone - we noticed that this group was requesting the ability to apply discounts post-tax specifically because discounts were being used as a workaround for taking a deposit. We wanted to update this group, in case some of you haven't heard that you can request a deposit for a portion of an invoice using Square Invoices!

You shouldn't need to use discounts in order to subtract an amount paid towards a total, as you can instead send an invoice requesting a deposit payment. When your customer receives the invoice you send over, they can pay the deposit first, and the remaining balance can be paid at a later date.

[LuckyBird]

@Valentina ,

The deposit request is a good concept, however the deposit is just to hold our client's appointment date for their tattoo.  The tattoo artist informs us of the total at the end of the client's appointment and we deduct the deposit amount from their total and that way it will be reflected on their receipt so the client has proof that we took that amount off of their total.  We mainly want this to be able to show our clients that their deposit is being deducted.  If they purchase any merchandise at that point, the sales tax is also deducted due to the discount.  Our solution for the last few years has been to run two separate transactions which obviously charges us more in transaction fees which we've been fine with assuming that Square would come up with a solution for this issue.  Unfortunately this solution does not work for us.  Please let us know what else can be done.  Thank you

[Valentina]

Thank you so much for elaborating on how your business works, and what you're looking for when it comes to taking deposits for your business. Based on my research, the only workarounds I could come up with would require knowing the total amount of the tattoo at the time of charging a deposit. The issue with this lies in that, in my experience with tattoo shops, the total amount is typically unknown prior to the date of the appointment or prior to appointment completion.

From what I understand, you are looking for a feature that will allow you to take a deposit towards a future, unknown amount. Once the appointment is completed, your customer owes the shop for the work completed - by time, size, etc. You would like to be able to apply the already paid deposit towards the total of the tattoo (on the existing transaction), so that the deposit is shown as a paid portion towards the appointment. Additionally, I think you're wanting to be able to adjust whatever amount is charged at the end in the edge case that less work than expected is done in a given session.

Please let me know if this sounds like what you're asking for, @LuckyBird. I do have a follow-up question: does your shop charge deposits per-tattoo or per-appointment?

[LuckyBird]

@Valentina I appreciate your response and your research in our industry.  Everything is correct expect that the deposit is require simply to secure their appointment in the event that were to cancel or no show, the deposit is forfeited to the artist for their time.  Since projects can change based on when the client arrives - size, details, etc. it is difficult to give an exact total when the tattoo appointment is booked.  We merely guess on how much time might be needed.  The deposit is subtracted from the total at when the client is finished so they can be shown that the deposit does go towards their total and came off the total price.  The problem is if the client needs to purchase aftercare products or merchandise.  When we deducted the deposit by doing a discount, the taxes on the tangible items of products and merchandise are altered being less than the standard 6% (which is what we owe on sales tax).  Obviously we don't want to be charging clients less than what we owe the government and the solution so far has been to process a separate transaction for those items, which in turn still costs us more in transaction fees.  I would like to be able to run everything in one transaction in order to show all of the detail for the client's transaction on the receipt.  

I hope this has helped shed more light on our situation.  Please let me know your thoughts and again I appreciate your help.

[Valentina]

I really appreciate your confirmation that accepting a deposit on an invoice doesn't make much sense for the way most tattoo shops function, as it's almost never possible to know the total cost of the work at the time of scheduling the appointment. Additionally, if your client needs to purchase aftercare products or merchandise, I understand that you would like to be able to run everything in one transaction to show all purchases related to the tattoo on one receipt - deposit included. 

I've had a number of tattoo appointments and am familiar with the process of paying a deposit beforehand to hold my place. From my experiences, my artist processes a payment for the deposit similarly to how you have been: I pay the deposit online using my card. However, once the session is over, my artist charges me the difference between the deposit amount and what I actually owe - rather than discounting my total. If I'd like to purchase any aftercare, they typically add it to my transaction for the work done during the session. The main difference is that my artists does not "discount" my deposit from my paid total in-shop.

Personally, I've never thought twice about the deposit not being physically visible on my final receipt, as I know my artist subtracts that amount from the total rate. It sounds like your customers would like assurance that you are taking their deposit into consideration when charging them. Have you considered printing a receipt of the deposit paid and attaching that to their receipt for in-shop work plus merchandise?

I would be curious to learn if you know of an artist that is able to process a payment for an entire tattoo shop visit in one fell swoop - that could be great information to share with our team!

[LuckyBird]

@Valentina If our artist is able to accommodate a walk-in tattoo (unscheduled), then a deposit is not needed and the shop is able to process a payment for the entire visit in one transaction.  However, most of our artists (we have 9 artists) stay pretty booked out ranging from 1-2 weeks out or even up to a few months booked out.  So being that the appointment may not be within the same week time period, we would prefer to have the deposit discounted on the total for the sake of complete transparency as well as ensuring there are no errors with our cashiers as they ring up the client.  There is just too much room for error not giving the total amount and then subtracting the deposit to have a remaining balance visible on the receipt. 

We are also a paperless shop so the idea of printing out a deposit form and attaching it a non-existent paper receipt does not work for us as well.  Going paperless was one of the big perks for using Square and cutting down on waste.

It's been a few years of waiting for a simple solution and it has been great having you responding to the thread and offering some ideas, but what we are waiting for is a solution that allows us to display a grand total showing the discounted deposit and being able to apply taxable items all in one transaction.  One receipt for a client to look over if they had any discrepancies.  Most clients will not care, such as yourself with your tattoo experience, however it just takes one client to complain or make accusations that ruins it for everyone and that is what we want to avoid.

I appreciate all the help and suggestions you have offered.  It definitely seems like there are a lot of others interested in the same thing we are asking as well and it has been a few years of anticipation.  I'm hoping that this is a real possibility from Square and if not, I am hoping that you will tell us or at least explain to us the major concerns Square has creating this solution.  Thank you again and I look forward to hearing back from you.

[Valentina]

Thank you for taking the time to reply again with so much thought and description, @LuckyBird. I absolutely understand what you're saying, and I know what you mean when you say that it just takes one customer to comment on this issue (one bad apple spoils the bunch). Your unique outlook and attention to detail has been incredibly helpful, and has provided me with a lot to work with when it comes to this Feature Request and our Product Team. I appreciate your time, and I'll be sure to post updates in this thread as I have them.

[LuckyBird]

@Valentina I appreciate your thoroughness as well and your attentiveness to this request.  Thank you for all of your responses and I look forward to hearing from you again.