Payments

Every kobo that moves through ShortletBox lands in one append-only ledger. Rows are never edited or deleted (a refund is a new row pointing at the row it reverses), so the ledger is always the full story, and every balance on every screen is computed from it.

The ledger

Payments in the sidebar shows the global ledger: filters by method (Paystack, cash, bank transfer, POS), kind (deposit, balance, full, refund, installment) and month; a Collected / Refunded / Net stat band; and CSV export. Failed online attempts stay visible for reconciliation.

Deposits

Each property sets its deposit policy: full payment up front, a percentage of the (post-discount) total, or a fixed amount. You can override the deposit on any booking you create yourself.

Pay-by-link

When you approve a booking that has money owing, the guest receives a payment link:

• The page offers deposit or full payment when there’s a genuine choice, otherwise it asks for exactly what’s outstanding.
• Payment runs through Paystack checkout (card, bank, transfer).
• The status page the guest returns to only ever reports. Confirmation is always driven by Paystack’s verified webhook, so a booking can never be confirmed by someone refreshing a page.
• Unpaid links are covered by the payment hold (default 48 hours); balance links live until checkout. A balance reminder email goes out three days before arrival.

You can resend a payment link from the booking page at any time, and record offline payments (cash, transfer, POS) directly on the booking.

Installment plans

For stays paid in parts, set up an installment plan on the booking: the schedule says what’s due when, the ledger stays the truth about what’s been paid, and reminder/overdue emails go out automatically. Replace or remove a plan from the booking page.

Refunds

Refunds are recorded manually from the booking page and write a reversal row into the ledger. Nothing is un-charged; the history stays intact.

Payouts & KYC

Guest money is collected into the platform’s escrow account, and your payout is transferred out after a grace window (48 hours by default) following check-in, and only once your identity is verified:

1. In Settings → Payouts, enter your bank and account number. Paystack resolves the account name.
2. Provide your BVN or NIN. The verified identity name must match the account name.
3. Once verified, payouts release automatically after each stay’s grace window, provided there’s no open dispute.

Verification is once per business, owner-only, and ShortletBox stores only a salted fingerprint of your BVN/NIN, never the number itself. Unverified self-serve accounts are limited to 5 bookings a month until KYC clears.