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Event rentals · WooCommerce + Stripe

Take event rental security deposits without charging them months in advance.

SecureHold adds Stripe pre-authorization holds to WooCommerce, so you can collect the rental payment now and place the security deposit hold closer to delivery or the event date. Release it after return, or capture all or part of the authorized amount when needed.

Install the free plugin See the 2-minute demo
Free plugin on WordPress.org Works with the WooCommerce Stripe Gateway Version 3.4.6
Wedding rental order #2147
Banquet chairs×120
Round tables×12
Linens×12
Reception lighting×1 set
Photobooth×1
Rental total
Collected through WooCommerce checkout
€2,400
charged
Security deposit
Authorized separately, not transferred
€600
pre-authorized
Booked
March
Event
August
The hold is placed closer to the event, not at booking. Illustrative amounts.

In one paragraph

What is an event rental security deposit hold?

An event rental security deposit hold is a temporary card authorization used separately from the rental payment. SecureHold adds this workflow to WooCommerce through Stripe, so the deposit can be authorized closer to the event instead of being charged at booking.

Event rental vocabulary

Four different amounts. Four different purposes.

Event rental quotes often mix several money mechanisms in one order. SecureHold is concerned with exactly one of them.

01

Reservation deposit

Advance payment used to secure the booking.

02

Rental balance

The actual amount due for the rental.

03

Damage waiver

A separate fee or contractual mechanism that may cover defined risks depending on the rental terms.

04

Security deposit

A refundable amount used as financial security, returned or released when no capture is required.

What SecureHold handles

Damage waivers, insurance and security deposits solve different problems. Their exact scope depends on the rental agreement and coverage terms. SecureHold manages the security deposit hold workflow in WooCommerce and nothing else.

The event rental calendar

The problem isn't only the deposit. It's when you place it.

A wedding booked in March for an event in August leaves months between the order and the moment the equipment is actually at risk. A Stripe authorization created at booking would expire long before the event. The authorization window starts when the hold is created, not when the event starts.

Weeks or months of waiting
Hold placed here: short, around delivery, event and return
March
Booking & rental payment
August
Delivery
August
Event
Days later
Collection & return

The hold covers the short period around the event, not the whole booking period. Authorization windows vary by card network and transaction type.

Same wedding order, two mechanisms

Charged deposit vs. event-timed pre-authorization

Wedding rental€2,400
Security deposit€600
BookedMarch
EventAugust

Charged refundable deposit

Today
Wedding rental€2,400 charged
Security deposit€600 charged
WhenMarch, at booking
Customer pays €3,000 charged
  • The deposit amount is actually charged
  • The customer pays it months before the event
  • A refund is required after the return
  • Every refund has to be tracked per order
  • Original processing fees are not returned with the refund, according to Stripe's applicable rules

SecureHold pre-authorization, timed around the event

With SecureHold
Wedding rental€2,400 charged normally
Security deposit€600 authorized
WhenCloser to the event
Customer pays €2,400 charged€600 authorized closer to the event
  • The deposit is not transferred unless it is captured
  • The hold can be created closer to delivery or event timing
  • Release the hold after the return
  • Capture up to the authorized amount if required
  • The authorization window is time-limited

Authorization windows vary by card network and transaction context.

While a hold is open, the customer's available balance is still reduced by the authorized amount.

Booking to return

How an event rental runs with SecureHold

  1. 01
    March

    Booking

    The customer books the event rental in WooCommerce.

  2. 02
    March → August

    Payment

    The rental payment or balance is collected according to your normal WooCommerce workflow.

  3. 03
    Days before

    Hold

    The security deposit hold is created closer to delivery or the event.

  4. 04
    Event day

    Event

    Equipment is delivered and used.

  5. 05
    After

    Return & inspection

    Items are collected, counted and inspected.

  6. 06

    Release or capture

    Release the full hold if everything comes back correctly.
    Capture part or all of the authorized amount when necessary.
WooCommerce · Orders · #2147 · SecureHold deposit
SecureHold deposit panel on a multi-item WooCommerce event order: status Authorized, amount, and the Capture and Release actions.

The SecureHold panel on a WooCommerce event order, showing hold status, amount, and the Capture and Release actions. Demonstration data only.

Install the free plugin

Missing items

One missing item shouldn't mean keeping the whole deposit.

Authorized hold €600
After return: 4 chairs missing charge required €150
Captured
€150
Released
€450

Illustrative amounts, shown to explain how a partial capture splits an authorized hold.

SecureHold supports partial capture up to the authorized amount. When part of the hold is captured, the remaining amount is released.

On a 120-chair order, a handful of missing items rarely justifies the full deposit. Counting the return and capturing only what the shortfall represents keeps the rest of the authorized amount with the customer.

Partial capture is a payment operation, not an automatic right to charge. Whether a charge is contractually justified depends on your rental agreement and applicable rules.

Read this first

Before you install: what an event rental hold can and can't do

A pre-authorization is a finite mechanism with a network-defined lifetime. In event rentals, that lifetime is the part worth planning around.

Authorization windows are limited

Online card authorization windows are time-limited and commonly fall within a range of several days depending on the card network and transaction type. SecureHold cannot extend network-defined authorization windows.

Plan the return and inspection inside the window.

Timing matters

An event booked months ahead should not rely on an Immediate hold created at booking if that authorization will expire before the event.

For those orders, create the hold manually a few days before delivery, or configure Delayed, Scheduled or By-Status creation in Pro so it lands near the event date.

Requirements

  • WordPress
  • WooCommerce
  • WooCommerce Stripe Gateway
  • Stripe account

Test your workflow in Stripe Test Mode before going live.

Read the docs

Event rental

Built for real event rental workflows

Wedding & event furniture

Tables, chairs, lounge furniture and reception inventory.

Catering & glassware

Glassware, tableware, serving equipment and reception items.

Decor, props & ceremony items

Arches, signage, props, decor and ceremony inventory.

Event lighting & AV

Lighting, speakers and audiovisual equipment for events.

Photobooths & reception equipment

Photobooths and other equipment supplied specifically for events.

And other short-duration event inventory normally protected by a refundable security deposit.

Tents and structures can follow the same deposit workflow. If most of your inventory is AV, DJ or production equipment rented outside events, the equipment rental page covers that scenario in more detail.

Equipment rental deposits

Free and Pro

What you get

Book now. Place the hold when it actually makes sense.

Free WordPress.org

Everything needed to run a deposit hold on an event order, including manual hold creation when the event is still far off.

  • Stripe security deposit holds
  • Full or partial capture
  • Manual hold creation when needed
  • One-click release
  • Automatic release
  • Global deposit amount
  • Deposits list and status tracking
  • My Deposits customer view
  • Checkout deposit message
  • Customer and admin notifications
  • Stripe test mode
  • HPOS ready
Pro For event timing

In event rentals, the main Pro argument is timing. Pro decides when the hold is created, and lets a mixed order carry different deposit rules per item.

Example deposit rules
Glassware set€80 deposit
Lounge furniture€250 deposit
Photobooth€400 deposit

Fictional example amounts, shown to illustrate per-product and per-category rules.

  • Delayed hold creation
  • Scheduled hold creation
  • By-Status hold creation
  • Product-level deposit rules
  • Category-level deposit rules
  • Rule simulation
  • Extended logs and diagnostics
  • Email branding

Delayed, Scheduled and By-Status are hold creation strategies, not capture strategies.

Hold creation strategies

Booked months ahead? Create the hold closer to the event.

SecureHold offers three ways to decide when the authorization is created. Which one fits depends on how far ahead you take bookings.

Immediate

Free

The hold is created at order time, together with the WooCommerce order.

Best only when the event is close enough to fit inside the authorization window.

Manual

Free

You create the hold yourself from the order, a few days before delivery or the event.

Works at any booking lead time, as long as someone remembers to do it.

Scheduled / By-Status / Delayed

Pro
ScheduledHold created relative to a relevant stored date.
By-StatusHold created when the WooCommerce order reaches a defined status.
DelayedHold created after a configured delay.

Configuration depends on the data available in the order, so test it before production.

Scheduled creation reads a date stored on the WooCommerce order. Event rental and booking plugins store dates differently, so verify what your setup writes to the order and test the result in Stripe Test Mode.

Compare Free and Pro

Before you commit

See the workflow before you install

Everything about the deposit workflow can be inspected first: watch it run, read the plugin listing, or reproduce it yourself in Stripe Test Mode.

2-minute demo video

The full authorize, capture and release flow on a WooCommerce order. Watch the demo.

SecureHold on WordPress.orgPlugin page, changelog and reviews · v3.4.6 SecureHold overview (PDF)Presentation of the deposit workflow DocumentationSetup, hold timing options and Stripe Test Mode SupportAsk about your event rental setup before installing

We don't have an event rental case study to show yet, and we'd rather say so than invent one. As general product feedback, SecureHold has a 5-star WordPress.org review from a camera rental store: a different vertical, but the same deposit workflow. Reviews on WordPress.org.

FAQ

Event rental security deposit questions

The rental payment and the security deposit are two separate operations. The rental payment is collected through your normal WooCommerce checkout. The security deposit is a Stripe pre-authorization, and when that hold is created depends on your SecureHold configuration: at order time, manually from the order, or through Delayed, Scheduled or By-Status creation in Pro.

Close enough to delivery or the event that the hold stays inside the authorization window until you capture or release it. Online card authorization windows are time-limited and commonly fall within a range of several days depending on the card network and transaction type. SecureHold cannot extend a network-defined window, so a hold created at booking in March would not still be usable at an event in August.

Manual hold creation is available in the free plugin. Delayed, Scheduled and By-Status hold creation are part of SecureHold Pro. These strategies work from data available on the WooCommerce order, so the right configuration depends on what your store and plugins actually store on the order. Test it in Stripe Test Mode rather than assuming a third-party booking plugin supplies the date you need.

SecureHold supports partial capture up to the authorized amount. On a €600 hold, capturing €150 releases the remaining €450. Amounts are illustrative. Whether a charge is contractually justified depends on your rental agreement and the rules that apply to your business.

Deposit rules per product and per category are part of SecureHold Pro. Glassware, lounge furniture and a photobooth can each carry a different deposit rule, resolved on the order instead of being remembered by your team. See the pricing page for what Free and Pro include.

Authorization windows are time-limited and depend on the card network and the transaction context, so there is no single duration we can promise. SecureHold cannot extend a network-defined window. Plan to capture or release before the authorization expires.

No. SecureHold manages a security deposit hold workflow in WooCommerce. Damage waivers, insurance and contractual liability mechanisms are separate instruments, and their scope depends on your rental agreement and coverage terms.

SecureHold manages the deposit from the WooCommerce order. Because event rental plugins can modify order data, checkout and booking metadata in different ways, compatibility with a specific plugin should be tested in Stripe Test Mode before production.

The workflow has to stay compatible with the authorization window. A long exposure period (delivery days before a multi-day festival, collection days after) may not suit a single hold, because the authorization can expire before the equipment is returned and inspected. Check the timing against your own schedule before relying on it.

No. SecureHold does not split the rental payment into instalments. It creates a separate Stripe pre-authorization for the security deposit amount, alongside the rental payment your gateway already handles. See how Stripe security deposits work for the underlying mechanism.
Stripe test mode

Test the full event workflow before your next booking

Use Stripe Test Mode to run the whole sequence on your own store, on a mixed event order, before anything reaches a real customer.

  1. 01Create a WooCommerce order
  2. 02Create or schedule the deposit hold
  3. 03See the hold appear
  4. 04Test a partial capture
  5. 05Test a full release
  6. 06Confirm the workflow fits your business
Install the free plugin Read the setup guide

Free plan available Stripe test mode included Support

SecureHold WP is an independent WooCommerce extension that uses the Stripe API. Not affiliated with, certified by or endorsed by Stripe, Inc. or Automattic Inc. Authorization windows are defined by the card networks and payment method, not by SecureHold. Whether you may charge a customer for damage, loss or missing items depends on your rental agreement and the rules that apply to your business. All amounts on this page are illustrative and are not recommendations.