Retail Express by Maropost

Create a Layby

You can configure layby functionality in Retail Express to offer customers flexible payment options that help increase sales opportunities, particularly for higher-value purchases where customers prefer to pay over time. This capability enables your retail operators to manage deposit-based sales efficiently, which helps secure revenue while accommodating customer payment preferences.

Setting up proper layby workflows enables your retail operations to track partial payments and product allocations accurately, helping optimize inventory management while providing customer-friendly payment flexibility. This helps retail businesses expand their customer base by offering accessible purchase options while maintaining proper financial controls and inventory visibility.

Laybys allow the customer to reserve products but pay the full total of the sale at a later date e.g. Christmas laybys.

When a Layby transaction is processed the inventory is updated to:

Reduce the Available Stock
Increase the Allocated stock (to show it has been allocated to a sale, but not yet removed from the store, and still included as stock on hand)

Tip: It's possible to process both Layby and Cash & Carry sales in the same transaction by changing the Fulfilment Method for individual products on the Products tab (see below for details)

Video Overview

Tip: Find more information on how to add payments in the POS - Make Additional Layby Payments article.

Create a Layby

To create a layby or layaway transaction:

Create a sale in POS
Add Products to the sale
Click the Pencil icon

Tip: To update individual items only click the row icon represented by a Shopping Basket in the screenshot above
Select the Fulfilment Method to Layby and Process As Sale
Click Update
The icon for the products will be updated to indicate the new Fulfilment Method
Click the Customer tab and add a customer to the sale
Click the Payments tab to take an initial payment or Deposit
Tip: You can specify the Minimum Deposit amount within the POS Order Settings
The Minimum Amount Due appears at the top of the Payment Tab, calculated based on the products with a Fulfilment Method of Layby (configured on the Products tab)
Finalise the Order, and provide a copy of the Receipt or Invoice to the customer

Gift Vouchers & Laybys:

Cancel a Layby - Process layby cancellations and manage customer refunds
Enter Historical Laybys - Import existing layby data from previous systems
Create a Gift Voucher or Credit Note - Issue gift vouchers and credit notes for customer transactions

Point of Sale Operations:

Create a Sale - Process standard sales transactions at checkout
Money In/Out - Record layby deposits and payment transactions

Customer Management:

Add an Existing Customer to a Sale - Link customers to layby transactions for tracking