Policies define the deposit requirements and cancellation terms for reservation products. They work the same way across the Booking, Campground, and Marina modules.
Important: A deposit policy is required for any product you want to appear on the online booking portal. Without one, the product will not show up in online search results regardless of other settings.
Where to Find Policies
Navigate to Settings → Policies in the relevant module:
Booking → Settings → Policies
Campground → Settings → Policies
Marina → Settings → Policies
Creating a Policy
Open the module's Settings and select the Policies tile.
Select Add New in the top right corner.
Fill in the policy fields (see table below).
Select Save.
Field | Description |
Name | Internal label for the policy. Use descriptive names like "50% Deposit – Seasonal" so staff can identify the right policy at a glance. |
Booking Period | Which reservation period this policy applies to (Daily, Nightly, Hourly, Seasonal, Long-Term). Restricts which products can use this policy. |
Booking Guarantee | The payment method that confirms the reservation. Use Credit Card for online bookings — it is the only guarantee type that supports online payment collection. |
Deposit Type | How the deposit is calculated: None, Fixed Amount, Percentage, or Full Payment (entire balance due at booking). |
Deposit Amount | The dollar amount or percentage to collect (if Deposit Type is Fixed Amount or Percentage). |
Deposit Product | The product used to record the deposit. Links the deposit to a GL account where funds are held until check-in. |
Refundable Days Prior | The number of days before arrival within which the deposit is fully refundable. Staff can override this at cancellation time. |
Full Payment Days Prior | The number of days before arrival by which the full reservation balance must be collected. |
Include Fees | When enabled, price adjustments on the product are included in the deposit calculation for percentage-based deposits. |
Include Promo Code | When enabled, any applied promo code discount reduces the deposit amount accordingly. |
Include Tax | When enabled, tax is factored into the deposit calculation. |
Security Deposit | Marks this as a security deposit rather than a reservation deposit. Security deposits are typically refunded after checkout pending inspection. |
Cancel Online | Allows guests to cancel their own reservation through the online portal. If off, guests must contact staff to cancel. |
Cancellation Terms | Free-text description of your cancellation and refund rules. Shown to guests during online booking and on confirmation emails. Sharper does not enforce these terms automatically — they are informational only. |
Assigning a Policy to a Product
After creating the policy, assign it to every product that should use it:
Go to the module's Products list and open the product.
Select the Booking Setup tab.
Select the Deposit Policy field and choose the policy.
Select Save.
Each product can have one deposit policy. If different products have different deposit requirements, create a separate policy for each. A product without a deposit policy will not appear on the online booking portal, even if its Booking Type has Show Online enabled.
How Deposits Affect Reservation Status
Scenario | Resulting Status |
Policy assigned and deposit collected at booking | Confirmed |
Policy assigned but no deposit collected yet | Reserved |
No policy assigned | Confirmed immediately (no deposit required) |
Overriding the Deposit Per Reservation
Staff can change the deposit amount for an individual reservation at the time of booking without changing the product's policy:
During reservation creation, locate the Deposit Required field in the Price Details section.
Enter the override amount.
Save the reservation.
The override applies to this reservation only. The product's policy default is unchanged.
Cancellations and Refunds
Important: Cancelling a reservation in Sharper does not automatically calculate or issue a refund. Cancellation policy terms are informational — any applicable refund must be processed manually.
To cancel and process a refund:
Open the reservation.
Select Cancel and confirm.
Navigate to CRM → Invoices to locate the customer's deposit or payment.
Issue a refund for the appropriate amount based on your cancellation policy terms.
The space or unit is released immediately upon cancellation.