Deposits let customers pay part of an order at public checkout and pay the remaining balance later. This guide explains how to enable deposits, set a different rate for an individual course, and manage the remaining balance.
Plan availability: Deposits are available on Pro, Teams and Custom plans. Customers can pay a deposit by card, Apple Pay, Google Pay or PayPal.
On Free and Starter plans, the Deposits section is visible but disabled and shows which plans support the feature.
Enable Deposits for Your Account
Go to Settings > Payments.
Open Deposits.
Turn on Offer Deposits at Checkout.
Enter a Default Deposit Rate. This must be a whole number between 1% and 95%.
Under Balance Due, enter the number of days and choose one of these rules:
Days Before the Course Starts
Days After the Order Is Placed
Optional: add a Customer Message to explain your deposit terms at checkout.
Click Save.
Set Deposit Options for an Individual Course
Courses use the account deposit rate by default. You can set a different rate or turn deposits off for one course.
The course-level Deposits section is only shown after Offer Deposits at Checkout has been enabled and saved in the account payment settings.
Go to Courses and select the course.
Open Settings > Payments > Deposits.
Under Deposits at Checkout, choose one of these options:
Use Account Default to use the account deposit rate.
Custom Rate for This Course to enter a different percentage.
Don't Offer Deposits on This Course to require full payment.
Click Save.
A course can override the deposit percentage or turn deposits off. The Balance Due rule and Customer Message are account-wide and cannot be changed for an individual course.
What Customers See at Checkout
When a deposit is available, the Payment step shows How would you like to pay? with two options:
Pay in Full
Pay [rate]% Deposit
After choosing the deposit, the customer sees the amount due today, the remaining balance and its due date. Your optional Customer Message also appears in this section.
Deposit payments can use card, Apple Pay, Google Pay or PayPal. Klarna, Invoice and manual payment methods can only be used when Pay in Full is selected.
How the Deposit Is Calculated
The deposit is calculated from the final order total after discounts have been applied.
If discounts reduce the order total to zero, no deposit is offered because no payment is required.
Every course in a multi-course basket must allow deposits. If one course does not allow deposits, the customer must pay in full.
If courses in the basket use different deposit rates, the lowest rate is applied to the whole order.
For Days Before the Course Starts, the earliest course start date in the basket is used.
If a course has no start date, the number of days is counted from the order date.
The deposit option is not shown if the remaining balance would be due in less than one day, or if either payment would be below the payment provider's minimum amount.
What Happens After a Deposit Is Paid
The order is confirmed and marked as partially paid.
Cademy creates one invoice for the full checkout total and records the deposit against it.
The customer receives a Deposit received email with the amount paid, remaining balance, due date and payment link.
The course provider receives a Deposit Order Created email. For a multi-course order, this email includes every course.
The checkout confirmation shows Deposit paid, Balance due by and Pay Balance.
In the Admin dashboard, open Orders and select the order to see the total, amount paid, remaining balance, due date, invoice and payment history.
Pay the Remaining Balance
The customer can pay the remaining balance at any time by using Pay Balance from their confirmation page, deposit email or order page. The remaining balance can be paid by card, Apple Pay, Google Pay or PayPal.
After the balance is paid:
The invoice and order show no balance due.
The customer receives a paid-in-full confirmation and receipt.
The course provider receives an order-paid email.
The customer can no longer pay the settled balance again.
If Xero is connected, both the deposit and the remaining balance payment are recorded against the same invoice in Xero.
Balance Reminders and Overdue Payments
Cademy sends the customer an automatic reminder:
Seven days before the balance due date.
On the balance due date.
Each reminder uses the unpaid balance at the time it is sent and includes a payment link. If the order is created fewer than seven days before the due date, only the due-date reminder is sent. Reminders stop when the balance is paid or the order is cancelled.
Each order receives at most one seven-day reminder and one due-date reminder.
If the balance remains unpaid after the due date, the existing overdue order process applies and overdue notifications are sent.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why is the Deposits section disabled in Settings?
Deposits are available on Pro, Teams and Custom plans. On Free and Starter plans, the section is visible but disabled and shows the plans that support the feature.
Why can't I see Deposits in my course's payment settings?
First go to Settings > Payments > Deposits, turn on Offer Deposits at Checkout and click Save. The course-level Deposits section only appears after the account setting is enabled.
Can I set a different balance due rule or Customer Message for each course?
No. The Balance Due rule and Customer Message apply to the whole account. An individual course can use the account deposit rate, use a custom percentage or turn deposits off.
Can the customer choose how much deposit to pay?
No. The customer can choose Pay in Full or the deposit percentage configured for the order. They cannot enter a different amount.
Can I set a fixed deposit amount?
No. Deposits are set as a percentage of the order total.
Can Cademy charge the remaining balance automatically?
No. The customer uses the payment link to pay the remaining balance. Cademy does not automatically charge the original payment method.
Can the customer pay the remaining balance early?
Yes. They can use Pay Balance from the checkout confirmation, deposit email or order page at any time before the due date.
Can Klarna, Invoice or manual payment methods be used for a deposit?
No. A deposit can be paid by card, Apple Pay, Google Pay or PayPal. The customer must select Pay in Full to use Klarna, Invoice or a manual payment method when those methods are enabled.
Can I make a deposit non-refundable?
There is no separate non-refundable deposit setting. Use your normal cancellation policy and Cademy's existing cancellation and refund process.
Can I add a deposit when creating an order in the Admin dashboard?
Deposits are offered through public checkout. For an order created by an admin, use the existing payment request and partial payment tools instead.
What happens when several courses have different deposit settings?
Every course in the basket must allow deposits. If one course has deposits disabled, no deposit is offered. If the courses use different percentages, the lowest percentage applies to the whole order. The earliest course start date is used to calculate the balance due date.
What happens for a fully discounted order?
If discounts reduce the order total to zero, no deposit is shown because no payment is required.
How is the due date calculated for a course without dates?
If the account uses Days Before the Course Starts but the order has no course start date, the configured number of days is counted from the order date instead.
Does a deposit order create one invoice or two?
One invoice is created for the full order total. The deposit and remaining balance are recorded as two payments against that invoice. If Xero is connected, both payments are recorded against the same Xero invoice.
What happens to existing orders if I disable deposits?
Disabling deposits stops the option from appearing on future checkouts. It does not cancel or remove the balance from an existing deposit order. The customer can still pay that balance and will continue to receive any applicable reminders.
Why is the deposit option missing at checkout?
Check that:
Your plan supports deposits.
Deposits are enabled in Settings > Payments.
Every course in the basket allows deposits.
The order total is greater than zero after discounts.
The balance due date is at least one day away.
Card or PayPal is available for the order.
Both the deposit and remaining balance meet the payment provider's minimum amount.