Balance 
Deposits for bike shops
A custom build means ordering a frame, a groupset and wheels on the customer's word. A deposit turns the word into commitment, and the balance collects itself when the bike is built.
At a glance
How a bike shop usually sets this up, before any of the detail below.
- Typical deposit
- 30% to 50%
- Balance charged
- When you mark the order ready
- Outer limit
- 180 days for a slow frame
- Held until paid
- Yes, fulfilment hold
- Per-order fee
- None
- Shopify plan
- Any paid plan
Everything on this page is one plan attached to your custom build products. You are not changing checkout, you are adding a second purchase option underneath the buy buttons.
Where the money lands
A £4,500 gravel build on a 30% deposit, which is the shape most shops land on.
Enough to cover the frame and the groupset you have to order in.
The outer limit on the plan, in case a part is back-ordered.
The charge, then retries after 1, 3 and 7 days.
The deposit is a real payment through your own Shopify Payments or gateway, into your own account, on the day of the order. The balance is charged to the same saved card later without the customer doing anything.
The build, stage by stage
Nothing here needs a diary reminder. The only manual step is the one you were doing anyway.
- 1
Customer orders the build
£1,350 taken
They pick the deposit option on the product page and pay the deposit at checkout. The order lands in Shopify like any other, with the balance recorded against it.
- 2
Parts go on order
Nothing charged
The order shows as a deposit order with the outstanding amount on it, so whoever is ordering parts can see what is committed and what is still to come in.
- 3
Frame is late
Nothing charged
Because the balance is tied to the order being ready rather than to a date, a six-week delay costs you nothing but patience. No charge goes out early and no customer gets a reminder for a bike that is not built.
- 4
Build is finished
£3,150 charged
You mark the order ready in Shopify. Within minutes the balance is charged to the saved card and the customer is emailed a receipt.
- 5
Card declines
Payment link sent
The customer gets a Shopify payment link that accepts any card, and the charge retries after 1, 3 and 7 days. The bike stays on hold in the meantime.
- 6
Bike goes out
Paid in full
The hold releases itself once the order is paid and the order can be fulfilled or collected as normal.
What this replaces
Most shops are already taking deposits. The question is what the paperwork costs.
Taking the deposit on the card machine
A deposit on the terminal lives outside Shopify, so the order either does not exist yet or exists as a note. Stock is not reserved, the till does not balance against the order and the build sheet is a separate piece of paper.
- The deposit is a line on the order, not a separate transaction to reconcile
- Shopify reserves the units at the point of sale
- The build sheet is the order, with the outstanding figure on it
Chasing the balance by hand
Phoning somebody three months after they ordered, finding the right figure, taking the card over the phone and writing it down. It works until you have nine builds in the workshop at once.
- The balance is charged to the saved card when you mark it ready
- The reminder and the receipt are sent for you
- A failed card gets a payment link and three automatic retries
Letting the bike leave unpaid
The real cost is not the admin. It is the Saturday where somebody else is on the shop floor, the customer says they will settle up next week, and the bike goes out of the door.
- Shopify will not let the order be fulfilled while the balance is open
- Release the hold by hand if a regular is paying at the counter
- Take the payment on POS and the hold clears itself
Setting it up
About fifteen minutes, most of which is deciding on the deposit percentage.
- In Shopify, check Settings, Payments: capture must be automatic at checkout or manual, not per fulfilment.
- Create a plan in Balance Due: 30% percentage deposit, balance rule when the order is ready, outer limit 180 days to cover a slow frame.
- Attach the plan to your custom build products. A product carries one plan at a time, so keep builds, pre-orders and stock bikes as separate products.
- Add the Deposit option block to your product template once, under the buy buttons. It only appears on products that carry a plan, so it can stay there permanently.
- Place a test order with Shopify's Bogus Gateway on a development store and watch the schedule email, the hold and the balance charge.
Do the test order on a development store rather than your live shop. You want to see the balance charge land before a customer does.
Which balance rule for which product
The rule is the one decision worth getting right, and it depends on whether you know the date.
| What you are selling | Balance rule | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Custom build, parts ordered in | When the order is ready | The ready date is unknowable until the last part arrives. Nothing is charged until you say so. |
| Pre-order frame, container date known | Exact date | The storefront line can read 'balance on 14 March', which is far easier to sell than something vague. |
| Pre-order frame, date keeps moving | When the order is ready | Avoids the awkward email where you charged on a date and the bike is still at sea. |
| Limited e-bike drop | Exact date | Everyone in the drop is charged on the same day, so reconciliation is one job rather than fifty. |
| Stock bike, customer wants a week or two | A number of days after the order | Fixed and predictable. Seven or fourteen days after the order, no fulfilment trigger involved. |
You can change the rule on a plan later, and existing orders keep the schedule they were sold on unless you reschedule them yourself from the order.
Stock, pre-orders and the container
Balance Due plans are built on Shopify selling plans in the pre-order category, so pre-order frames sit alongside your normal stock and Shopify reserves the units at sale rather than letting you oversell them. When the container lands, check it in, mark the orders ready, and the balances are charged within minutes.
If only part of the shipment arrives, mark ready only the orders you can actually fulfil. The rest sit untouched with nothing charged.
A half-full container is the normal case, not the exception. That is the whole argument for a ready trigger over a date.
The same applies to a build waiting on one wheel. The order is not ready, so the customer is not charged, and nobody has to remember that.
When the spec changes
Upgrades, substitutions and the groupset that is out of stock until spring.
Spec goes up
Edit the order in Shopify to add the deeper wheels. The outstanding balance goes up with it and the customer's payment page shows the new figure.
Spec goes down
A substitution for a cheaper part reduces the balance. If the deposit now covers the whole order, there is nothing left to charge and the plan closes.
Order is cancelled
Cancel the plan from the order and nothing further is collected. Refunding the deposit is your policy and is handled in Shopify as normal.
Because the figure is always read from the order rather than stored at the time of sale, the conversation at collection is about the bike rather than about the invoice.
What it costs
Nothing per order and nothing per transaction. The Free plan covers three bikes with an open balance at any one time, which is enough for a small shop running a couple of builds at once, and Starter covers thirty.
The limit counts open balances, not orders a year, so a bike paid in full stops counting the moment it clears. A shop turning around twenty builds a year rarely has more than three or four open at once.
Deposits taken through Balance Due are ordinary Shopify payments, so your normal gateway rates apply and nothing is deducted by us. See pricing for the plan limits.
Collection day
The fulfilment hold means the order cannot be closed off as collected in Shopify until it is paid, which is a useful backstop on a busy Saturday when somebody else is handing the bike over. Release it by hand if a regular is paying at the counter, or take the payment in Shopify and the hold releases itself.
If the customer pays the balance on POS, Balance Due sees the outstanding amount drop to zero and closes the plan, so there is no risk of charging the saved card afterwards.
Related
Pre-order deposits on Shopify
Fixed dates and slipping dates.
Deposits
Percentage versus fixed amounts.
Fulfilment hold
The backstop for collection.
Furniture makers
Deposit on order, balance when the piece is ready, nothing leaves the workshop unpaid.
Upholsterers
Fabric is cut to order and cannot go back: the deposit covers it before you order a metre.
Jewellers
Bespoke and engagement pieces: the deposit covers the stone, the balance lands on completion.
Questions
Can the customer pay the balance in store?
Yes. Take the payment in Shopify against the order, on POS or by marking it paid, and Balance Due sees the outstanding amount drop and closes the plan.
Do pre-order deposits work with an arrival date?
Use an exact date on the plan and the storefront line reads 'balance on 14 March'. If the date slips, reschedule the payments from the orders and each customer gets a fresh reminder.
What happens if a frame never arrives?
Cancel the plan from the order and nothing further is collected. Refunding the deposit is your policy and is handled in Shopify as normal.
Can I take a deposit on a service like a bike fit?
Yes, if it is sold as a product. For appointment bookings with deposits a booking app is the better fit, because you also need a calendar.
We sell Cycle to Work. Does that clash?
Cycle to Work vouchers are a payment method at checkout, not a purchase option, so a customer paying by voucher is not using a deposit plan. Keep voucher sales as ordinary products.
What if the customer's card expires during a six-month build?
The charge fails, they are emailed a Shopify payment link that accepts any card, and it retries after 1, 3 and 7 days. The bike stays on hold until it clears.
Can a customer order a build and a stock item in the same basket?
Yes. The deposit applies to the line that carries the plan and the rest of the basket is paid in full at checkout, so the balance recorded against the order is the part still owed on the build.
Does the deposit option show on every product?
No. The block only renders on products that have a plan attached, so you can add it to your product template once and leave it there.
Not on the list?
If your customers commit before the work is done, Balance Due fits. Tell us what you sell and we will suggest a plan.