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# Requesting a deposit for one animal

To hold one animal for a buyer, open the animal's profile, select the arrow button next to **Share**, and choose **Request a deposit**. Pick the buyer, the amount and your refund terms, then select **Send deposit request**.

Once the buyer pays, Creatures holds the deposit until it comes off the balance invoice as a credit. If the animal has a live listing, you'll also find **Request a deposit** under **Edit Listing**.

## Before you start

- You own or co-own the animal, or you manage the farm that owns it.
- The animal's profile is public, and the animal isn't marked as passed away.
- Your phone number and ID are verified. If a step is missing, the page shows a checklist first. You don't need a payout account to collect a deposit, only to withdraw it later.
- Each animal can have one open deposit request at a time.

If the owner (you or your farm) has no Finance records yet, the page first shows **Start records for this deposit request**. Check the **Currency for these records**, tick **Confirm this is the currency for these records.** and select **Create records and continue**. You only do this once.

## Save your refund terms

Your refund terms are called a deposit policy. Save one once and reuse it on every request.

Below the request form, open **Save your deposit policy**. (Once you have one, it reads **Add another deposit policy**.)

1. Enter a **Policy name**. Only you see it.
2. Under **Is the deposit refundable?**, choose **Refundable**, **Partly refundable** or **Non refundable**.
3. Set **Cooling-off days**: how many days the buyer can change their mind after paying. This doesn't apply to a non refundable deposit.
4. Select **Save deposit policy**.

## Send the request

1. **Business records**: choose the farm or personal books this sale belongs to. The deposit and the later invoice are both recorded there.
2. **Buyer**: search for a Creatures member by name. If the buyer isn't on Creatures, select **Send by email** and enter their **Buyer email** and **Buyer name**. Or select **Send by text**, enter their **Buyer phone** and **Buyer name**, and confirm you have their consent to text them.
3. **Deposit amount**: any amount up to $100,000.
4. **Deposit policy template**: choose the policy you saved. The buyer sees these terms before paying.
5. Select **Send deposit request**.

![Deposit request for Jordan Brooks: $250 with the Weaner pig deposit policy](https://cdn-test.creatures.com/ed0/34c/7f6/3cc53.png?width=1648)

## What happens next

**If the buyer is a Creatures member**, the page shows a **Deposit payment page** link. Copy it and send it to the buyer yourself. Creatures doesn't send it for you.

**If you sent it by email or text**, Creatures sends the buyer a link. They sign in or create a free account, then pay. The page shows **Email invite pending** (or **Text invite pending**) and when the invite expires, 30 days after it was sent. **Resend** sends it again and restarts the 30 days. **Cancel** takes it back.

![Email invite pending for a $500 deposit, with recipient and expiry date](https://cdn-test.creatures.com/de1/869/4b2/6fc93.png?width=780)

Until the buyer pays, the page reads **Waiting on the buyer to pay**. Nothing has been charged yet. If the buyer goes quiet, select **Cancel request** to free the animal for someone else.

## After the buyer pays

You get a notification when the buyer pays. Select it to open the deposit. The page now reads **Deposit paid and held**.

![Deposit paid and held with Send the balance invoice](https://cdn-test.creatures.com/eae/f47/865/74620.png?width=780)

When you're ready to sell, select **Send the balance invoice**. Enter the full sale price. The deposit is taken off as a credit, so the buyer pays only the rest. See [Send and get paid on a private invoice](https://help.creatures.com/en/article/send-and-get-paid-on-a-private-invoice-atw0ee/).

## If the sale falls through

Select **Request cancellation & refund**. You can add a short reason first. Creatures support reviews the request. If it's approved, the buyer gets the full deposit back and Creatures covers the card fee. The animal stays reserved until the refund is done.

### Related information

- [Send and get paid on a private invoice](https://help.creatures.com/en/article/send-and-get-paid-on-a-private-invoice-atw0ee/)
- [Taking deposits on babies from a litter](https://help.creatures.com/en/article/taking-deposits-on-babies-from-a-litter-8k2tl5/)
- [How seller payout works](https://help.creatures.com/en/article/how-seller-payout-works-bhajzr/)
- [Verifying your identity](https://help.creatures.com/en/article/verifying-your-identity-1e3xy1a/)