Layaways

A layaway lets a customer reserve merchandise by making a deposit, then pay the balance off over time before taking the goods home. WinSale tracks the layaway number, all payments made, and the items reserved, and automatically adjusts inventory commitment counts.

The layaway lifecycle

Key rules to know before you start

1. From the main WinSale screen, click the Register menu in the menu bar.
2. Click Layaway. If there are items already in the grid from a previous transaction, WinSale will clear them automatically before continuing.
3. The Layaway Number prompt appears with the next available number pre-filled. You may accept it by pressing F9 or clicking OK, or type a different number if your store uses a specific numbering scheme. Click the Search button to look up an existing layaway instead.
4. The transaction type bar at the top will show Layaway – LY######.
5. Enter the customer’s number in the Customer Number field. This is required — the layaway cannot be saved without it.
6. Enter each item: type or scan the item number into the Item Number field, confirm the quantity, and press Enter. Repeat for each item.
7. When all items are entered, press F9 or click End Sale to proceed to the payment screen.
8. On the Split Tender screen, enter the deposit amount the customer is paying today. A layaway does not need to be paid in full — enter whatever amount is being tendered now.
9. Complete the tender. A layaway receipt is printed and the items are committed in inventory.

Use this process each time a customer returns to make a payment toward an existing layaway balance.

1. Click Register → Layaway.
2. At the Layaway Number prompt, type the customer’s layaway number (e.g. LY000042) or click Search to look it up by customer name or number. Press F9 or click OK.
3. WinSale loads the existing items and payment history onto the screen. The current balance is shown in the Due field.
4. The layaway options dialog appears. Click Make Payment / Remove Payment.
5. Press F9 or click End Sale to go to the tender screen.
6. Enter the amount the customer is paying today and complete the tender. A payment receipt is printed.

The layaway options dialog

This dialog appears every time you look up an existing layaway. It has four choices:

You can add items, remove items, or change quantities on a layaway at any time before it is paid off. Prior payments already made are preserved — the balance simply recalculates based on the updated item list.

1. Click Register → Layaway and enter or search for the layaway number.
2. From the layaway options dialog, click Modify / Add / Remove Items.
3. The existing items load into the grid. The Register and Clear Sale toolbar buttons are temporarily disabled to prevent accidentally starting a new transaction.
4. Make your changes: add new item numbers in the entry field at the bottom, or click on an existing row in the grid to remove or edit it.
5. When finished, press F9 or click End Sale.
6. WinSale saves the updated layaway. You will be automatically taken to the payment screen to make a payment if the balance has changed — or you can tender $0 and just print an updated receipt.

A forfeit removes the layaway entirely from the system. Inventory commitment is released. Any money already paid by the customer must be accounted for — you specify how much is refunded in cash, returned as store credit, and kept as a forfeit fee.

1. Click Register → Layaway and enter the layaway number.
2. From the options dialog, click Remove Layaway from all Files.
3. The Layaway Forfeit dialog opens, showing the total amount paid to date.
4. Fill in how the payments should be distributed across the three fields. The OK button only becomes available once all three amounts add up to the total paid.
5. Click OK to proceed. If any cash is being returned, the tender screen opens so you can record which method was used to return funds.
6. If reason codes are enabled for layaway forfeits, the reason picker will appear. Select the appropriate reason and confirm.
7. A forfeit receipt is printed and the layaway is removed from all files. Inventory quantities are restored.

The forfeit distribution dialog

The three distribution fields

When a payment brings the remaining balance to zero, WinSale detects this automatically and prompts you to decide what to do next.

The paid-in-full prompt

WinSale will ask: “Convert this Layaway into a sale now?”

Overpayment handling

If a customer tenders more than the remaining balance, WinSale handles the overpayment through the standard change/overpay logic on the tender screen — the same as a regular sale. The excess amount can be given as change or applied to the customer’s account.

• 👤
  Always assign a customer before adding items. WinSale will not let you complete a layaway without a customer number, and prompting for it before the items are entered saves time. If the customer is new, add them to the system first via the Quick Add option on the customer number field.
• 🔢
  Give customers their layaway number on a printed receipt. The number is their key to making future payments. If they lose it, you can still search by customer name or number from the Layaway Number prompt screen.
• 📋
  The layaway number cannot be reused. Even after a layaway is completed, forfeited, or converted to a sale, that number is permanently retired. WinSale will warn you if you attempt to use one that has been previously assigned.
• 📦
  Inventory is committed at layaway creation. Items on layaway count as committed stock and will not show as freely available in inventory reports. This prevents double-selling. When a layaway is forfeited or converted to a sale, the commitment is cleared.
• 💳
  Any tender type can be used for payments. Cash, credit card, check, store credit, gift cards, and other tender types are all valid for layaway deposits and payments. The tender screen behaves the same as for a regular sale.
• ⚡
  Keep forfeit fees consistent. If your store charges a cancellation fee, enter a standard percentage or flat amount in the Forfeit field and document your policy so all cashiers apply it uniformly.
• 🔄
  A restored backup layaway can be recovered. If a layaway was cancelled in error before being fully removed, WinSale checks for a backup copy and will offer to restore it when you enter that layaway number again.