---
title: Flexible Payments
description: Yatra Pro Flexible Payments — take a deposit or partial payment at booking, collect the balance later. Site-wide defaults, per-trip overrides, and the difference between Deposit and Partial.
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---

# Flexible Payments <span class="pro-pill">PRO</span>

![Yatra → Settings → Payment — Partial Payment and Deposit sections](/screenshots/settings/payment.webp)

Take a **deposit** or a **partial payment** at booking time instead of demanding the full amount upfront. The customer reserves their seat with the smaller charge and pays the balance later — either manually from My Account, via a one-click "pay balance" link you email them, or automatically with the companion [Scheduled Payments](/modules/scheduled-payments) module.

## Deposit vs Partial — which one do I want?

Both options offer the same outcome (customer pays part now, the rest later) but they're aimed at different business models. Pick one — or enable both and let the customer choose.

| Aspect | **Deposit** | **Partial** |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Mental model | "Secure your spot with a deposit" | "Split your payment flexibly" |
| Configured how | Site-wide **and** per-trip | Site-wide only |
| Absolute amount possible? | ✅ "always $200, regardless of total" | ❌ percentage only |
| Per-trip percentage? | ✅ trip A can be 10%, trip B 30% | ❌ one site-wide percentage |
| Booking-form label | *Pay 25% Deposit* or *Pay $200 Deposit* | *Pay 50% Now* |
| Booking-form description | *Pay deposit now, rest later* | *Partial payment option* |
| Best for | High-ticket trips, expensive expeditions, group bookings, anywhere you want a per-trip lever | Sites with one consistent split (e.g. always 50/50) where simplicity beats per-trip control |
| Customer flow after | Identical — both create a `partial`-status booking with a *Pay balance* link in My Account | Identical |

::: tip Why we keep both
A common question — "they look the same, why ship two?" Two reasons.

1. **Pricing strategy.** "Pay 25% deposit" reads as *a deposit to lock something in*. "Pay 50% now" reads as *a split payment*. Different psychology, different conversion rates, different markets. Some operators want one, some the other.
2. **Per-trip flexibility.** Deposit has dedicated columns on the trip row (`deposit_amount`, `deposit_percentage`, `payment_terms`) — so a 14-day Himalayan trek can demand `$500` while a half-day city tour demands `15%`. Partial is intentionally one global knob — fewer levers, less to misconfigure.

If you want per-trip control: **Deposit**.
If you want one simple split across the whole catalogue: **Partial**.
:::

## What you'll need

| Thing | Where to get it |
| --- | --- |
| Yatra Pro license | <span class="screen-path">Yatra → License</span> |
| Flexible Payments module enabled | <span class="screen-path">Yatra → Modules → Flexible Payments</span> |
| A working payment gateway | PayPal or any Pro gateway. See [Payments](/payment-settings). |

## Step 1 — Enable the module

1. Open <span class="screen-path">Yatra → Modules</span>.
2. Find **Flexible Payments** → toggle on.
3. The Partial Payment and Deposit sections under [Settings → Payment](/settings#_5-payment) become editable; the **Deposit & Payment Terms** section on the Trip Edit screen unlocks.

::: info Discoverability for free-plugin users
Even when Flexible Payments isn't active, the Trip Edit form still shows the "Deposit & Payment Terms" section with a **PRO** badge and an *Upgrade to Pro* / *Activate module* CTA — fields are read-only. So operators on the free plugin can see the feature exists; nothing they type into it would affect checkout while the module is off.
:::

## Step 2 — Configure site-wide defaults

Open <span class="screen-path">Yatra → Settings → Payment</span>.

### Partial Payment

| Field | Setting key | Notes |
| --- | --- | --- |
| **Enable Partial Payment** | `partial_payment` | Master toggle. Adds a *Pay X% Now* radio next to *Pay in Full* on the booking form. |
| **Partial Payment Percentage** | `partial_payment_percentage` | Default `30`. Customer pays this % at checkout, the rest is recorded as the remaining balance. |

### Deposit

| Field | Setting key | Notes |
| --- | --- | --- |
| **Enable Deposit** | `deposit_required` | Master toggle. Adds a *Pay X% Deposit* radio next to *Pay in Full* on the booking form. |
| **Deposit Percentage** | `deposit_percentage` | Default `20`. Used when a trip has no per-trip override. |

Both radios are **opt-in for the customer** — they're shown alongside *Pay in Full* and the customer picks. Neither setting *forces* a deposit-only flow.

## Step 3 — Per-trip Deposit override (optional)

Per-trip overrides exist only for Deposit, not for Partial.

1. Open a trip → **Pricing** tab.
2. Scroll to **Deposit & Payment Terms**.
3. Fill in any combination of:
   - **Deposit Amount** — absolute amount in your store currency (e.g. `200` for a flat $200 deposit).
   - **Deposit Percentage** — percentage of trip total (e.g. `15`).
   - **Payment Terms** — free-text instructions shown on the booking confirmation (e.g. *"Balance due 30 days before departure"*). Not enforced by code; it's a customer-facing note.

**Resolution order** when a customer picks the deposit option on a trip:

1. Per-trip `deposit_amount` (absolute) wins if `> 0`. Capped at the trip total.
2. Per-trip `deposit_percentage` wins if `> 0`.
3. Site-wide `deposit_percentage` from Pro settings (only consulted if `deposit_required` is on).
4. Upstream default (typically the full price).

Worked examples on a $1,000 trip:

| Trip configuration | Customer charged at checkout |
| --- | --- |
| `deposit_amount = 200` | $200 |
| `deposit_percentage = 15`, no amount | $150 |
| both set | $200 (amount wins) |
| both empty, site-wide = 20% | $200 |
| both empty, site-wide deposit off | full $1,000 (deposit option won't appear) |

## Step 4 — Verify the customer experience

1. Open a trip in a private window → **Book Now**.
2. On the booking summary you should see, depending on what you configured:
   - *Pay in Full* (always)
   - *Pay X% Deposit* or *Pay $X Deposit* — the X reflects per-trip values if set, otherwise the site-wide percentage.
   - *Pay X% Now* — only when Partial is enabled site-wide.
3. Pick one of the smaller options. The order summary refreshes:
   - **Net Amount** = full trip price.
   - **Due Now** = the deposit/partial amount.
4. Complete payment.
5. On the booking detail page you should see:
   - **Amount Paid** = the deposit / partial amount
   - **Remaining Balance** = the rest
   - **Payment Status** = `partial`

![Payment summary on a booking with partial payment — amount paid vs due now](/screenshots/modules/flexible-payments-summary.webp)

## How the balance gets collected

Identical mechanism for Deposit and Partial — both create a booking in `partial` status.

| Approach | What happens |
| --- | --- |
| **Customer self-serve** | They open <span class="screen-path">My Account → Bookings</span>, click **Pay balance** on the row, and complete the second charge. Yatra flips the status to *Paid*. |
| **Token link in email** | Every `partial` booking gets a `/{remaining_checkout_prefix}/{token}/` URL (default prefix: `pay-balance`). Email it manually, or let Yatra's transactional emails do it. Customers don't need to be logged in to use this link. |
| **Automated** | Enable [Scheduled Payments](/modules/scheduled-payments). It auto-charges the saved card on a date you configure (e.g. *14 days before travel*). Required: the gateway used for the first charge supports off-session payments (Stripe, PayPal Vaulting). |

The `payment_terms` per-trip text isn't enforced by code — it's a customer-facing note rendered on the booking confirmation. If you need an *enforced* due date for the balance, use Scheduled Payments.

## Common patterns

| Goal | Settings combo |
| --- | --- |
| Soft incentive — give customers a choice of *full* or *30%* | Partial Payment on, 30%, Deposit off |
| Hard incentive on every trip — 20% deposit | Deposit on, 20%, Partial off |
| Flat $200 deposit per trip regardless of total | Deposit on at any % (so the option appears); per-trip `deposit_amount = 200` on each trip you want this on |
| Different deposit per trip type (10% day tours, 30% multi-day) | Deposit on at site-wide 10%; per-trip `deposit_percentage = 30` on multi-day trips |
| Deposit + auto-charge the rest 30 days before travel | Deposit on + [Scheduled Payments](/modules/scheduled-payments) configured for 30d |

## Troubleshooting

**The deposit/partial radio doesn't appear on the booking page**
- Module enabled? <span class="screen-path">Yatra → Modules → Flexible Payments</span>.
- The corresponding master toggle on? Deposit needs `deposit_required` OR a per-trip value; Partial needs `partial_payment`.
- For Deposit only: if both the global flag and per-trip fields are empty, the radio is intentionally hidden.

**Per-trip values aren't sticking after I save the Trip Edit form**
- The free plugin's `TripValidator` allowlists these fields, but only on free **3.0.5+**. Earlier versions silently dropped them. Update the free plugin first, then Pro.

**Booking status stuck on `partial` after the second payment**
- Confirm the booking's `amount_paid` matches `total_amount`. Yatra flips to `paid` only when they're equal. If you marked a cash payment manually, double-check the amount on the Payments admin entry.

**Deposit field says "PRO" and won't let me type even though Pro is installed**
- The module is installed but not enabled. <span class="screen-path">Yatra → Modules</span> → toggle Flexible Payments on. Reload the trip edit page.

**My customers want to pay the balance but the "Pay balance" link returns a 404**
- Check the prefix under <span class="screen-path">Settings → Permalinks</span>. The default is `pay-balance`. If you've customised it and not flushed rewrites, do <span class="screen-path">Settings → Permalinks</span> → Save once.

## Legacy: the standalone *Yatra Partial Payment* plugin

If you ran Yatra 2.x you may have a standalone plugin called **Yatra Partial Payment** (`wp-content/plugins/yatra-partial-payment/`). It used different option keys (`yatra_first_installment_payment*`) and stored a `payment_type = 'partial'` post-meta value. From Yatra 3.x onward, that plugin's behaviour is superseded by this module — it is **no longer wired into the booking flow** and can be deactivated. Its database options are harmless to leave in place; if you want a clean state, delete options matching `yatra_first_installment_payment%` after migrating.

## Useful links

- [Payments](/payment-settings) — gateway-by-gateway setup that powers the deposit charge.
- [Settings → Payment](/settings#_5-payment) — full field reference for both sections.
- [Scheduled Payments](/modules/scheduled-payments) — companion module that auto-charges the balance.
- [Hooks & filters → Flexible / Scheduled Payments](/hooks-filters#pro-flexible-scheduled-payments) — developer customisation.

## Where to read more

- [All modules](/modules#flexible-payments) — module catalog.