Most guests today prefer to pay with a credit card, but particularly for higher-end properties, some guests would rather pay by check. Some owners also prefer this, as it avoids credit card fees.
OwnerRez does not support ACH or e-checks, for a variety of technical and accounting reasons. This functionality may be added at some point in the future, but it's much more complicated than you might think. Even if you are using a payment processor gateway that claims to support these payment methods, they cannot work automatically with OwnerRez.
Configuring OwnerRez to Accept Checks
You can add an entry for the manual Check Payment method under Settings > Payment Methods > Connect a Payment Method:
This screen provides you the ability to enter instructions that will be displayed to your guests:
Your guests need to know:
- The name to make their check out to
- The address to mail it to
- Any other relevant instructions
In the Options section further down, you can select which properties should offer the check option.
It is not currently possible to have multiple Check Payment options per property - you can only offer one. So, you'll need to have a consistent set of instructions.
Save your changes to create and activate the Check Payment method.
Check Settings for Properties and Bookings
There are special settings that control how the check option is presented and made available to your guests. These are available in the Property Rules:
This is how OwnerRez addresses the inherent problem with accepting checks:
- OwnerRez is designed to require payment in order to hold open dates
- But, it takes time for the check to show up in the mail and clear your bank
By default, OwnerRez allows two weeks (14 days), which should normally be sufficient. During this time, a booking whose guest has selected the Check Payment option, will be held in Pending status. You can change this to a different time if you prefer.
At the end of the specified time, if payment has not been recorded, the booking will be automatically cancelled, and the guest notified, if you've selected the "auto cancel" option.
Quotes and Bookings automatically inherit the settings from the Rules for their Property; this appears in the Rules tab of each. If you like, you can modify them there without changing the main Property Rules.
Recording Payments
When the check shows up in the mail, OwnerRez has no way of knowing that on its own - you have to manually tell it. Do this by going to the Booking, Transactions tab, and using the Payments dropdown button:
This allows you to enter the essential information, like the amount and date received. You can also enter notes and information about the type of payment:
Other payment types may be added in the future.
Once you've entered the relevant changes, Save the data, and OwnerRez will consider that the guest has paid. If their booking was previously in Pending status, it now no longer will be.
Other Notes
- OwnerRez cannot use checks as a payment method for its automatic security deposit holds. Checks can, however, be used to pay for refundable damage deposits.
- There is no ability for OwnerRez to issue checks for refunds - you have to do that manually, then record the refund in OwnerRez. Do this by going to the Booking, Transactions tab, Refund dropdown button, Record Refund option.