Set Clear Down Payment Rules Before Pickup

A receipt alone may not be enough to release a car. Your salesperson may see a successful payment message while your bank still shows the payment as pending.

If your teams use different rules, the decision lands on whoever is handling the buyer at pickup. That person may not know whether the money can still be taken back.

Set a written policy before the next delivery is booked. Sales should know what to accept. Accounting should know what to check, and you should name who can approve an exception.

Give each payment check an owner

Start with the path a down payment takes through your store. Look at a recent deal record and trace the payment from the buyer to your bank account.

Write down who owns each step. Do not leave a step assigned to a department without naming the person responsible.

1. Sales confirms the amount owed. The person handling the sale checks the agreed down payment against the deal record and records the chosen method.
2. The person taking payment records it. They save the receipt and payment reference against the right sale. They also record any amount still due.
3. Accounting checks the payment. The assigned person compares the receipt with the bank or payment company record and records its status.
4. The release owner checks approval. Before handing over keys, that person checks accounting's decision and any other open delivery conditions.

Keep payment status separate from permission to release the car. Money can be in your account while a lender condition still blocks delivery.

Name a backup for accounting's check. If nobody with that authority is available, sales should follow the written hold rule.

Compare the full cost of each method

Your store does not need to accept every way a buyer can pay. Choose methods your staff can check and your accounting team can track.

For each accepted method, record the fee and payment limit. Then ask what happens if the payment fails after the buyer leaves.

• Debit and credit cards: Check fees and payment limits with your card payment company. Debit and credit cards may have different rules. Approval at the card machine does not remove the risk of a later dispute.
• Bank transfers: Check the money in your own bank account, not just a screenshot from the buyer. Ask your bank what each status means and whether a transfer can still be returned. Check transfer limits and fees before choosing this method.
• Personal cheques: A buyer can stop a cheque, or the bank can return it unpaid. Ask your bank about deposit fees and payment checks. Do not use a fixed waiting period as proof that every cheque is safe.
• Bank-issued cheques: These can be fake. Follow your bank's checking process and use contact details you find independently. Money shown as available in your account may still be taken back.
• Cash: Check bank cash-handling fees and your store's safe storage limit. Confirm local cash limits and reporting duties before accepting it. Name who counts it and who checks the count.

If a $15,000 down payment costs $450 in card fees, record both amounts. Track the buyer's full payment separately from the fee your store pays. Do not mark the buyer short because your payment company took its fee.

Before adding a card fee to the buyer's bill, check local law and your card payment contract. Do not leave that choice to the salesperson at pickup.

A small fee does not mean a small risk. If a payment fails after delivery, your store may still be owed the whole down payment.

Tell the buyer before setting a pickup time

Send your payment instructions while the buyer still has time to act. Before you agree on pickup, get their chosen method in writing.

The message should state the amount due and the methods your store accepts. It should also explain any store limit and when the payment must reach you.

Give preparation steps for the method they choose. A transfer may need the buyer's bank to raise a limit. A bank-issued cheque needs the correct business name and amount.

Tell the buyer how your store will confirm payment instructions. Ask them to call a known store number if they receive changed bank details.

Make clear that a booked pickup time is not payment approval. If the buyer changes methods, sales should ask accounting to review the new plan before confirming that time still works.

Decide what allows the car to leave

Write a release rule for each payment method. A receipt proves that someone recorded a payment; it does not answer every question about the money.

Your release check should show:

• The down payment due and the amount checked by accounting.
• The payment reference and where accounting checked its status.
• Who approved the payment check and when they did it.
• Whether the person handling financing has confirmed the lender's conditions for delivery.
• Whether the store has met local rules that apply to the payment and release.

Accounting should use your own bank or payment company records where possible. A buyer's screenshot or a salesperson's note is not a substitute for that check.

No payment check removes every risk. Your policy should state which risks your store will accept for each method, based on your bank's advice.

Limit exceptions to you or a named manager. The written approval should show the unpaid amount and why the normal rule cannot be met. It should also name who will follow up and by when.

A manager cannot waive a lender's condition or a legal rule. If either remains unmet, do not release the car.

Keep the exception with the deal record. A promise to collect the balance later is not written approval.

Review unpaid amounts with accounting each week

Open a list of all down payments still due or under review. Include cars already delivered under an approved exception.

For each sale, show the amount due and how long it has been open. Add the payment method and the person responsible for the next step.

Ask why each item remains open. A failed payment needs a different response from a receipt attached to the wrong sale. Record the next action and its due date.

Review delivery exceptions beside that list. Check whether the named manager approved each one before release, and whether anyone followed up as agreed.

Look for repeated causes. If buyers often arrive above a transfer limit, change the instructions sent before pickup. If checks stall when one accounting employee is away, name and train a backup.

Keep the current policy where sales books deliveries and accounting checks payments. When you change a rule, tell both teams before the next buyer is given instructions.