--- id: "layaway" lang: "en" title: "Layaway: hold items while a customer pays over time" summary: "Hold goods for a customer who pays over time: a deposit today, more payments later, each item handed over once enough is paid. The last payment makes it a normal sale." area: "Selling at the till" kind: "task" url: "https://zeropos.shop/help/layaway" alternate: "https://zeropos.shop/help/layaway?lang=es" markdown: "https://zeropos.shop/help/md/en/layaway.md" screens: ["/pos/sale","/backoffice/layaway","/backoffice/layaway/[id]"] where_to_find: ["New Sale","BACKOFFICE › Layaway"] related: ["make-a-sale","find-a-customer","close-the-day","worth-a-call","gift-cards"] updated: "2026-10-16" --- # Layaway: hold items while a customer pays over time Hold goods for a customer who pays over time: a deposit today, more payments later, each item handed over once enough is paid. The last payment makes it a normal sale. A layaway is one sale paid for in parts. It starts at the till with a deposit, lives under [BACKOFFICE › Layaway](https://app.zeropos.shop/backoffice/layaway) while it is open, and becomes a normal invoice when the last payment is taken. When the customer pays in parts and collects later. Taking back a finished sale is a different job: [Refund a sale](https://zeropos.shop/help/refund-a-sale). Where to find it: New Sale; BACKOFFICE › Layaway. ## Before you start - A named customer: the till won't start a layaway without one ([Find a customer](https://zeropos.shop/help/find-a-customer)). - A deposit above zero, and no more than the ticket total. - Gift cards can't pay any part of a layaway. ## Steps ### Start it at the till 1. On **New Sale**, build the cart and add the customer. 2. Select **Layaway sale** under the totals. The button changes to **Start layaway**. 3. Select a payment method and type the deposit the customer pays today. - The totals show **Paid now** and **Balance due**. 4. Tap **Start layaway** and print the **Layaway receipt**. - Nothing leaves the shop yet: the goods stay in stock. ### Take a payment 5. Open [BACKOFFICE › Layaway](https://app.zeropos.shop/backoffice/layaway) and tap **Collect payment** on the customer's row. - Any seller can take it, whoever started the layaway and at any shop in the region. 6. Choose the **Method**, then type the amount. 7. Tap **Collect instalment**. - **Paid so far** and **Balance due** update straight away. ### Hand items over 8. On the layaway's page, find the item under **Products — hand over when paid enough**. 9. Tap **Hand over +1** for each unit the customer takes today. - It works once payments cover the item's minimum price. **Handover budget** shows how much can leave. 10. Give the customer the item; its line now counts it as handed over. ### Give the customer a copy 11. Open [BACKOFFICE › Layaway](https://app.zeropos.shop/backoffice/layaway) and tap **Collect payment** on the customer's row. 12. Under **Layaway receipt**, tap **Print receipt (80mm)**, **Print to thermal printer** with an Epson, or **Print at …** with a cloud bridge. - The receipt shows **Paid so far** and **Balance due**. 13. To email it, check the address under **Email receipt to** and tap **Send receipt**. - The emailed copy shows **Paid so far** and **Balance due** too. ### Finish 14. For the last payment, choose the **Method** and tap **Pay full balance (…)**. 15. The layaway completes itself: anything not yet handed over is handed over, and it becomes a normal invoice. 16. To end it without completing, an owner or manager taps **Cancel layaway** and confirms. - It reverses every payment on the books and restocks anything already handed over. - Give the customer back by hand what they paid in cash, by card or any other way. A layaway with any store credit paid towards it can't be cancelled: it is only ever finished, by taking the rest of the payments. ## What happens next - Stock: nothing leaves at the start. Each hand-over takes one unit off, and completing takes off the rest. - Money: each payment counts in that day's close under the method used, and only what was paid ([Close the day](https://zeropos.shop/help/close-the-day)). The **Payments** report counts it on the same day. - Sales: the whole layaway counts once, on the day it is completed, in **Sales** and the other sales figures ([The Sales report: sales, refunds, VAT and margin](https://zeropos.shop/help/sales-report)). - Commission: the sellers on the ticket earn on each payment, on the day it is taken. - Customers who still owe on a layaway show up in [Worth a call: who to phone this week](https://zeropos.shop/help/worth-a-call). ## Common questions ### A colleague started the layaway. Can I take the payment? Yes. Every seller sees every open layaway in the region and can take a payment or hand an item over, whoever started it. ### The customer wants to stop. What do I do? An owner or manager uses **Cancel layaway** on its page (sellers can't by default). The refund screen is not for layaways. A layaway with any store credit paid towards it can't be cancelled: take the rest of the payments to finish it. ### Why can't I hand an item over? Payments so far don't cover that item's minimum price yet. Take another payment first. ### Can the customer pay with a gift card? No. On a layaway the till hides **Gift card**, and a later payment can't be taken with one either ([Gift cards](https://zeropos.shop/help/gift-cards)). ## If you see this - “**A customer is required for layaway sales.**” — What to do: Pick or add the customer before you tap **Start layaway**. - “**Enter a deposit before starting the layaway.**” — What to do: Type a deposit above zero in the payment method's amount. - “**Deposit cannot exceed the ticket total.**” — What to do: Lower the deposit. If the customer is paying everything today, clear **Layaway sale** and sell it normally. - “**A layaway can't be paid with a gift card. Take the deposit another way.**” — What to do: Use another payment method for the deposit or the instalment. - “**Not enough has been paid to hand over that product yet (minimum price rule).**” — What to do: Take another payment, then hand the item over. - “**Amount exceeds the remaining balance.**” — What to do: Type no more than the **Balance due**, or tap **Pay full balance (…)**. ## Good to know - **Suggest half (…)** fills in half of what is still due. - Choose the **Method** before tapping **Pay full balance (…)**: that button takes the payment at once. ## Related guides - [Make a sale](https://zeropos.shop/help/md/en/make-a-sale.md) - [Find a customer](https://zeropos.shop/help/md/en/find-a-customer.md) - [Close the day](https://zeropos.shop/help/md/en/close-the-day.md) - [Worth a call: who to phone this week](https://zeropos.shop/help/md/en/worth-a-call.md) - [Gift cards](https://zeropos.shop/help/md/en/gift-cards.md)