Instalments and lay-by: sell now and collect over months, or hold goods until paid

Who is it for?

Instalments suit shops selling phones, electronics, furniture, appliances and bikes, where a customer wants to take the item home today and pay over a few months. Lay-by suits jewellers, bike shops and gift shops, where the customer picks something now and pays it off before collecting it.

What does it do?

• Sells on a plan of 3, 6, 9 or 12 months, or a custom number of instalments, monthly or weekly.
• Takes a down payment and splits the rest of the cash price, with nothing added for time.
• Records the customer's ID number, phone and address, and up to two guarantors with optional ID photos.
• Keeps one list of who is due today, who is late and by how many days, with reminders by SMS or WhatsApp.
• Runs lay-bys: goods reserved in stock, deposits held against them, handed over when paid.

How do I switch it on?

Instalments and lay-by is off by default. Your EasyTaskr contact switches it on for your business; it cannot be turned on from your own Settings yet. If it is off, the page says "Instalments is switched off".

Once it is on, you see Instalments in the money part of the menu, an Instalments button on the till beside On account, and Sell on instalments on unpaid invoices. Owners, managers, cashiers, sales staff and finance can use it. Only an owner or manager can change the settings.

What should I set before the first sale?

Open Instalments, then Instalment settings from the menu. The page is called Instalments and lay-by.

Press Save settings.

How does an instalment sale work at the till?

1. Add the goods to the cart and choose the customer. Instalments needs a named customer.
2. Press Instalments beside On account. The Sell on instalments sheet opens.
3. Under Plan, tap 3, 6, 9 or 12, or Custom for a number of instalments. Choose How often, monthly or weekly, and the First instalment due date.
4. Under Money, set the Down payment and how it is paid. The rest of the cash price is split across the plan.
5. Under Customer, fill in the NIC or ID number, Phone and Address. They are filled from the customer's last plan if there is one.
6. Under Guarantors, press Add a guarantor for up to two people, if you use them.
7. Check the schedule the sheet shows, then press Confirm sale.
8. If the sale takes the customer over their credit limit, the sheet asks for a manager's ID and PIN.
9. Print the agreement from the plan with Print agreement and have it signed.

Every instalment is the same amount, and the last one takes any rounding. The invoice shows exactly what the till rang up, and the plan never adds to it.

A worked example: a phone costs 120,000. The customer pays a 20% down payment of 24,000. The plan is 6 months, so the 96,000 left is split into six instalments of 16,000. The customer pays 120,000 in all, the same as paying cash today.

Why is there no charge for paying over time?

EasyTaskr only offers plans at the cash price. There is no interest, no hire-purchase charge, no percentage per month and no late fee, and a customer who pays off early simply pays what is left. This keeps every plan simple to explain at the counter: the price on the shelf is the price the customer pays, whether they pay today or over a year.

If a plan costs you something to run, such as reminders or the risk of waiting for the money, set your shelf price with that in mind, and protect yourself with a sensible down payment, guarantors and a credit limit rather than a charge for time. A larger down payment on a long plan does the same job without changing the price.

How do I collect the money?

The Instalments page has two tabs, Plans and Lay-by. The plans list puts due-today and overdue plans at the top, then the rest, with Next due, Still to pay, a status (Overdue, Due today, On track, Paid off, Settled early) and Days late. Search by plan, name, phone or ID number.

Open a plan to see the Schedule, the People on it and its Documents. Press Take payment when the customer pays; the money goes to the oldest instalment first. Whether an instalment is paid, part-paid or overdue is worked out from the money actually received, so it can never drift from the customer's account.

On a customer's own page, an Instalments tab lists their plans and lay-bys.

How does a lay-by work?

1. Open Instalments, then the Lay-by tab, and press New lay-by.
2. Add the goods and the customer, and take the First deposit; the sheet shows the smallest allowed.
3. Press Put aside and take the amount. The goods are reserved, so nobody else can sell them.
4. Each time the customer pays, open the lay-by and press Take deposit.
5. When it is paid in full, press Hand over goods. The till rings the sale and the deposits pay it.

If the customer changes their mind, Cancel lay-by refunds what they have paid. Keeping part of it as a deposit is optional and off unless you turn it on in settings; a manager can still waive it on the day. Deposits are held for the lay-by only; they are never used to pay the customer's other bills.

What does it not do yet?

• The electronics device till (with IMEI numbers) cannot sell on instalments; sell from the main till or from the invoice instead.
• The credit limit is checked on the full price before the down payment is taken; a manager PIN overrides.
• A lay-by past its keep-until date shows as overdue but is not cancelled automatically.

Related features

Instalments are built on customer credit and invoices and payments. If e-signature is on, you can send the goods invoice for signing from its Documents panel; see e-signature. Our guide to getting invoices paid faster has tips that apply to instalment customers too.