1. Help Center
  2. How to Accept Payments
  3. Deposit & Remaining Balance Flow

Restaurants: How to Choose Your Remaining Balance Process and Close Out Your Event

A rundown of some of the most common remaining balances we see.

Running your deposit through Perfect Venue is often a no-brainer. Since the guest isn't present when they pay the deposit, Perfect Venue makes it easy for the guest to easily and securely enter their credit card information, and pay their deposit.

However, collecting the remaining balance can be a bit trickier, as the amount may not be known until after the event. Here's a rundown of the most common options to handle your remaining balance payments.

Option 1: Ring up in POS, charge in POS or in Perfect Venue

Your guest is presented the final bill on the day of the event through your point of sale. 

  • This is best for venues that:
    • Have an event manager present the final bill to the guest after punching everything in the POS. 
    • Have menu offerings based “on consumption”
  • Pros
    • Inventory is tracked through the POS and the bill is closed out in real time
    • Your product mix report and inventory counts are up to date and in one system
  • Cons
    • Your guest or the host is pulled away from the event in order to review the final bill
    • Less control of the verbiage on the itemized receipt presented to the guest
    • Have to receive a separate card from the guest

Steps to ring up in POS

  1. Enter all sold items into your POS. 
  2. Ensure that the event deposit received through Perfect Venue is redeemed on your POS.
    Click here to learn how to create your additional payment option or your event deposit redeemed button on your POS.
  3. Print the final bill and present to your guest
  4. Request a card from the guest to swipe on your POS 
  5. Log the payment in Perfect Venue as an offline payment (see: Logging Offline Payments)
  6. Move your event to "completed" in Perfect Venue

Steps to ring up in Perfect Venue

  1. Follow steps 1 and 2 above
  2. Head to the guest's event in Perfect Venue (this is a great time to use the mobile site!)
  3. Toggle to the Proposal tab, and add in the additional sold items to the guest's proposal
    (you can also create a menu item just labeled "remaining balance" and make the price the remaining payment amount due)
  4. Toggle to the "payments tab", and select "add payment"
  5. Charge the card on file
  6. Redeem your POS bill to the additional payment method created, just as you would do with a deposit. 
  7. Move your event to "completed" in Perfect Venue

Option 2: Don't use POS, charge through Perfect Venue 

Your guest receives the final bill after the event through the guest portal in Perfect Venue. 

  • This is best for venues that:
    • Have a sales or floor manager present the final bill.
    • Complete the menu offerings before the event, have set menu packages, or do not charge based on consumption. 
  • Pros
    • Your guest or the host can enjoy the event and easily increase their gratuity through Perfect Venue
    • Enhanced and easy-to-understand guest experience
    • Event reports and analytics are up to date by having all event sales categories and payments in one system
  • Cons
    • The product mix report will be located in two systems.
    • Usually entails additional follow-up before or after the event. 

Steps for closing out in Perfect Venue

  1. Head to the guest's event in Perfect Venue
  2. Update and review the final proposal
  3. Change the "proposal action button" to "pay remaining balance"
  4. Select preview to confirm or edit the message to send to the guest
  5. Send the final payment to the guest to have them securely edit gratuity, add a new card, or charge what they have on file!
  6. Once the remaining balance has been paid, you will receive an email notification
  7. Move the event to "completed"