Bonds on the card rails
Every bond has a kind, picked with the amount when you write the contract. Manual is money you collect and refund yourself - the only kind without the Online Payments module. With the module and payouts connected, the picker offers two more.
Held on card
A pre-authorisation: the bond is reserved on the renter's card at signing and never taken. Card holds lapse after about a week, so this is offered only on a fixed-dates hire returning within 6 days.
- At signing the card box shows the bond as its own hold (not charged) line beside the rent.
- At a clean return, Release hold lets the whole reservation go - no money ever moved.
- Or Capture part of it with a reason; whatever you don't capture goes back to the card by itself.
Charged to card
Real money, taken at signing with the rent and refundable at return. Ending the contract offers Deduct & refund rest: each deduction is a ledger entry with your reason, and the balance goes back to the renter's card. If you pass card fees on, the bond's surcharge is its own line - and surcharges are not refunded.
Tip: A failed bond never blocks signing. The agreement still signs, the renter is told you'll arrange the bond with them, and your side shows a plain manual bond owed.
The Bonds view in Payments is every bond you hold, whatever its kind: what has been deducted, what is still refundable, and the full history.
Related guides
- Take and record payments - Record what each renter pays, and see every bond you are holding.
- How weekly billing works - Rent on a cycle: what falls due, what you record, and late fees.
- Card payments online - Renters pay by card from their portal, at signing, and from reminder emails.
- Autopay and direct debit - A saved card or bank account pays the rent on its due date.