When a customer moves out of their unit and the inspection is done, you decide what to do with their security deposit: refund in full, refund partially (withholding part of it for damages), or withhold all of it with a documented reason. Settlement is a deliberate step, it's not automatic at inspection time.
Common questions
How do I fully refund the deposit of a customer who just moved out? On the rental record, open the Deposits tab. Click the settlement button, choose Full refund, and confirm. Stripe issues the refund to the original payment method in 5 to 10 business days.
How do I withhold part of the deposit for damages? Choose Partial refund in the dialog, enter the amount to refund to the customer, and explain the reason for the withholding in the Settlement reason.
How do I withhold the full deposit? Choose Withhold in full and document the reason in the Settlement reason.
Why doesn't the Deposits tab exist on some rentals? This rental didn't have a deposit taken at signing. No action required.
Why doesn't the settlement button appear? The deposit status isn't yet Pending settlement. The move-out has to be scheduled and the inspection completed first.
I clicked the wrong settlement option by mistake. How do I fix it? Settlement isn't automatically reversible. To undo a withholding, do a manual refund. To undo a refund, run a separate charge. For complex cases, contact support.
Who this article is for
Deposit settlement requires the Owner or Manager role. If the settlement button is missing or greyed out, ask an Owner on your team.
Before settling a deposit
The rental must have a deposit taken at signing. Rentals created manually without a deposit don't have the Deposits tab.
The move-out must be scheduled and the inspection must be completed. The settlement button only appears in that state.
For a Stripe refund, the Stripe Connect account must have available funds and the original payment must be valid.
Open the settlement dialog
To settle a customer's deposit:
Open the rental record.
Go to the Deposits tab.
The Deposits tab appears only if the rental has a deposit. Otherwise it's hidden.
The Deposit section shows the current status:
- Deposit settled, already settled, nothing to do. - Pending settlement, move-out scheduled and inspection completed, awaiting your decision. - Collected, taken at signing, but the rental is still active. Not yet settleable.
Click the settlement button (visible when the status is Pending settlement).
Pick an option
The Deposit settlement dialog opens, with the subtitle Unit {number}, Deposit of ${amount}.
The question is: How do you want to settle this deposit?
You have three options:
Full refund
Return the full deposit to the customer. No reason required.
Partial refund
The Refund amount field appears. Enter the amount to return to the customer.
The help text shows
Maximum: ${amount}(the original deposit amount).The Settlement reason field is required. Explain the reason for the partial refund or withholding.
Withhold in full
No amount to enter, you keep everything.
The Settlement reason field is required.
Confirm the settlement
Click Confirm settlement.
While running, the button shows Processing....
A notification confirms Deposit settled successfully or Error settling deposit on failure.
To exit without changing the deposit state, click Cancel.
What happens automatically
With Full refund
Stripe issues a refund on the original deposit payment.
The customer receives the money on the original payment method (card, pre-authorized debit) in 5 to 10 business days.
The deposit status moves to Settled.
No specific transactional email is sent by Stortech; Stripe may send its own refund receipt.
With Partial refund
Stripe issues a partial refund for the amount you entered.
The withheld balance stays in your Stripe Connect account.
The reason is kept in the rental history, Activity tab.
With Withhold in full
No Stripe call is made (no refund).
The reason is kept in the history.
The balance stays available to you.
Special case: deposit collected offline
For deposits collected offline (cash, cheque, transfer), no Stripe call is made at settlement time. Settlement is then purely accounting-side in Stortech: you'll need to return the money to the customer yourself if you choose to refund.
Important statuses and fields
Item | Meaning |
Deposit | Amount collected at signing, separate from rent. |
Status: Collected | Taken at signing, the rental is still active. Not yet settleable. |
Status: Pending settlement | Move-out scheduled and inspection completed, awaiting your decision. |
Status: Settled | The deposit has been fully processed (refund or withholding). |
Full refund | Returns the full deposit. No reason required. |
Partial refund | Returns part of it. Reason required. |
Withhold in full | Keeps it all. Reason required. |
Common issues
Situation | What to check | What to do |
The Deposits tab doesn't appear on a rental record. Why? | Did the rental have a deposit at signing? | This rental didn't have a deposit. No action required. |
The settlement button doesn't appear. Why? | Is the status Pending settlement? Is the move-out scheduled and the inspection completed? | Complete the inspection before settling. See the Unit inspection article. |
The Stripe refund fails. What now? | Does the Stripe Connect account have available funds? Has the original payment already been refunded? | Check the balance in the Stripe dashboard. If funds are insufficient, the owner must replenish before retrying. |
The customer received the wrong amount after a partial refund. What now? | What amount did you enter vs. the maximum shown? | If it was an error, issue an additional refund via the relevant invoice record, or contact support. |
I picked the wrong settlement option by mistake. How do I fix it? | Settlement isn't automatically reversible. | To undo a withholding, issue a manual refund via the deposit record or the Stripe dashboard. To undo a refund, run a separate charge. For complex cases, contact support. |
The customer requests a refund several days after inspection. What now? | Is the status already Settled? | Check the activity history. You can issue an additional refund if warranted, or contact support for an adjustment. |