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 | When enabled, this deposit is treated as a security deposit — it is held separately and is not applied to the customer's invoices at any point during the contract.
Unlike a standard reservation deposit, a security deposit does not reduce the customer's open balance, does not appear as an available credit on invoices, and cannot be accidentally applied mid-contract. Staff must take a deliberate action at checkout to release it.
At checkout, staff choose what to do with it: Refund, Retain, Apply to Invoice, or Issue Credit. See the Security Deposits section below, or the full setup guide: How to Set Up a Security Deposit That Won't Apply to Invoices. |
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.
Security Deposits: What to Expect at Checkout
When a reservation with a security deposit is checked out, the deposit becomes available for action. Nothing happens automatically — your team must choose one of the following from the Deposit Details panel on the reservation:
Action | What it does |
Refund | Returns the deposit to the customer via their original payment method or a manual refund. |
Retain | The marina keeps the deposit. Use this when recovering damages, unpaid charges, or as per contract terms. |
Apply to Invoice | Applies the deposit toward an outstanding balance on the customer's account. This is the only time a security deposit touches an invoice. |
Issue Credit | Converts the deposit to a house account credit the customer can use toward future charges. |
Important: If you check out a reservation without actioning the security deposit, it will remain unresolved on the customer's account. Make sure to complete this step before closing out the contract.
For a full step-by-step setup guide, see How to Set Up a Security Deposit That Won't Apply to Invoices.
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.