In a Property Management System (PMS), a security deposit is a sum of money collected from a guest at the time of booking. Its main purpose is to protect the property owner or manager against potential damages, unpaid fees, or violations of rental terms.
In Sympl, you can find the Security Deposit module under the Finance menu option.
Security Deposit Type
You can create Security Deposits using two different methods:
Automatic
Manual
1. Automatic Security Deposit
You can find the automatic security deposit option in Rental Settings at the rental level. If a security deposit is set at the rental level, then whenever a Security Deposit Automation rule is triggered, the deposit will be created based on the amount defined on the Rentals → Automatic Security Deposit tab.
Amount: Specifies the amount for which the security deposit will be created and charged to the guest.
Type: Indicates whether the Amount is a flat value or a percentage of the booking total.
Modality: Defines how the security deposit is applied to the booking.
2. Manually Adding a Security Deposit
You can manually add a security deposit using the Security Deposit List View.
Security Deposit List View
Here, you will see stats from the last 30 days, a list of existing security deposits, along with the option to create a new deposit or security deposit Automation.
Creating a Manual Security Deposit
Click on the Create Manuel Security Deposit button.
Select the rental name, the inquiry, and add the amount for the security deposit.
Security Deposit Statuses
Authorized – A hold has been placed on the guest’s funds.
Captured – The guest’s card has been charged.
Refunded – Previously captured funds have been refunded (transaction fees may apply).
Canceled – The hold has been released.
Requires_Action – The guest needs to enter their card details and authorize the hold.
Missing Gateway – The assigned payment gateway could not be found or is missing.
Failed – The card payment attempt was unsuccessful.
Once a Security Deposit is created, it will appear like this:
Preview opens a view showing how the deposit will appear to the guest.
Capture will deduct the security deposit amount from the guest’s credit card.[This button does not appear when security deposit status is "Missing Gateway" or "Cancelled"
The Logs tab displays the full history of the security deposit, such as when it was captured, held, or refunded.
Security Deposit Automation
Security Deposit Automations allow you to automatically capture deposits based on predefined rules, reducing manual work and ensuring consistent protection for each booking. Click on the Automation button to set this up.
Security Deposit Automation rules are designed to automatically capture a security deposit from the guest’s credit card when certain conditions are met.
To create a new automation, click on the Add Automation button.
On the Add Security Deposit Automation pop up, select the information to create the rule to your requirements then click Save. One important item to select on this screen is Deposit Type. You can choose from the following deposit types:
Flat Amount - Set a fixed security deposit amount for all bookings.
% of Booking Value - Calculate the deposit as a percentage of the total booking value.
Rental Default- The security deposit is calculated based on the rental-level setup in Rental Settings → Automatic Security Deposit tab.
Field Explanations (Security Deposit Rule Create View)
* Amount - Enter the specific deposit amount to be held or charged (this field is only visible when the "Flat Amount" option is selected).
* Percentage - Define the percentage of the booking total to use for the deposit.
* Minimum Deposit Amount - The lowest amount required for the deposit.
* Maximum Deposit Amount - The maximum amount required for the deposit.
*These fields are only displayed when the "% of booking value" option is selected.
When to place hold - Choose when the deposit hold should be applied (e.g., before check-in or after check-in).
No. of days - Set how many days before or after check-in the hold should occur.
For these Channels - Specify which connected channels the rule applies to (leave this empty if you want it to apply to all channels).
For these Rentals - Select the rentals that this rule will apply to (leave this empty if you want it to apply to all rentals).