Index
Why reservation without payment does not work
What exactly is an online reservation and how does it work
How much to charge as a deposit and what type of earnest money agreement to use
The reservation contract: what it has to say before the money arrives
How to integrate reservation payments into the dealership's sales process
The cases where online reservation has the greatest impact
What happens with VAT and the taxation of the deposit received
Common mistakes when managing online reservations
Dealcar and reservation payments integrated into the file
Frequently asked questions
Why reservation without payment does not work
The standard process for many dealerships is this: the buyer is interested in a car, the salesperson mentally "sets it aside", the car stops being actively shown to other buyers, and they wait for the interested party to come and sign. If they do not show up, the car has been blocked for several days without anything legally relevant having happened.
Without a financial commitment, the reservation does not create any real obligation for the buyer. They can cancel without consequences, without calling, without giving notice. And the dealership has lost days of exposing the car to other potential buyers.
The deposit received changes the dynamic. A buyer who has handed over 300 or 500 euros has a real incentive to complete the transaction. Not because the amount is very large, but because the act of paying formalises the commitment in a way that a WhatsApp message does not. The cancellation rate of reservations with a paid deposit is significantly lower than that of unpaid reservations.
Manage stock and reservations from dealcar.io/software-concesionario.
What exactly is an online reservation and how does it work
An online reservation is the process by which a buyer reserves a specific vehicle and pays a deposit remotely, without needing to travel to the dealership. The process can take place at any time of day, from any device.
The most common workflow has four steps. The buyer selects the vehicle they are interested in on the dealership's website or via a link sent by the salesperson. They access a reservation form where they enter their details and the deposit amount. They complete the payment by card or another enabled method. The dealership receives confirmation of the payment and blocks the vehicle in the system.
From that moment on, the vehicle remains reserved for that buyer during the period agreed in the reservation contract. If the buyer withdraws, the conditions for returning the deposit depend on the type of earnest money agreement agreed in that contract.
For the dealership, online reservation turns what was previously a process of mutual trust into a process with financial and documentary backing. And for the buyer, it eliminates the need to travel to the dealership to formalise their interest in a car.
How much to charge as a deposit and what type of earnest money agreement to use
The deposit amount must be sufficient to give the buyer a real incentive to complete the transaction, but not so high as to create friction in the reservation process. For vehicles between 8,000 and 20,000 euros, the usual range is between 300 and 500 euros. For premium vehicles over 25,000 euros, between 500 and 1,000 euros.
The type of earnest money agreement determines the consequences for both parties if either withdraws. Penitential earnest money, regulated in Article 1454 of the Civil Code, is the most common option in vehicle sales: the buyer who withdraws loses the deposit paid, and the dealership that withdraws (for example, if it sells the car to someone else) must return double the amount received.
Confirmatory earnest money functions as an advance payment on the final price: if there is a withdrawal, the resolution of the contract and the claim for damages must go through the courts; it is not automatic. For the standard operations of a dealership, penitential earnest money is simpler to manage because the consequences of withdrawal are defined in advance.
The reservation contract must specify the type of earnest money agreement being made. If it does not specify, the courts tend to interpret the deposit as a simple advance payment, which weakens the dealership's position against a buyer who withdraws.
The reservation contract: what it has to say before the money arrives
The payment of the deposit must be linked to a reservation contract that the buyer accepts before paying. This contract does not have to be a long document: it can be a text of 300 words that the buyer reads and accepts with a click before entering their card details. But it has to exist.
The reservation contract must include: identification of the reserved vehicle (make, model, registration or chassis number if available, agreed price); amount of the deposit paid; type of earnest money agreement agreed (penitential or confirmatory); validity period of the reservation (the deadline until which the vehicle is blocked); conditions for returning the deposit if the transaction is not completed and who is responsible in each scenario; and details of both parties.
Check the legal guide to contracts in professional car sales.
The buyer must be able to download or receive by email a copy of the accepted contract. Without that proof, the buyer can claim they did not know the conditions in the event of a dispute.
How to integrate reservation payments into the dealership's sales process
Online reservation payments do not have to change the sales process: they just need to be added as one more step between the verbal closing of the purchase intent and the delivery appointment.
The most practical way is for the salesperson, at the moment the buyer shows real intent to purchase, to send a payment link for the deposit via WhatsApp or email. The buyer pays from their mobile phone in less than two minutes. The salesperson receives confirmation and blocks the vehicle in the system.
For this process to work smoothly, the payment link must be linked to the reservation contract (which the buyer accepts before paying) and the payment confirmation must automatically reach the management system without manual intervention.
If collecting the deposit requires the salesperson to send an account number, the buyer to make a bank transfer and then someone to verify the payment, the process has too much friction and many buyers will not complete it. Online card payment, confirmed in seconds, is the format that works.
See also how to structure a dealership's sales funnel.
The cases where online reservation has the greatest impact
Online reservation has the most value in three specific situations.
When the buyer is in another city or autonomous community. The standard process requires them to travel to the dealership to formalise their interest. With online reservation, they can confirm their commitment from wherever they are, and the travel is reserved for the final delivery.
When there is more than one buyer interested in the same car at the same time. The first buyer to pay the deposit gets the vehicle. This eliminates the awkward situation of managing two buyers in parallel to see who closes first.
Read also how to automate lead follow-up in a dealership.
When the car is still in preparation. The buyer can reserve a vehicle that is not yet available for delivery. The dealership has the security of the financial commitment while completing the preparation.
What happens with VAT and the taxation of the deposit received
The deposit received when reserving a vehicle is not a sale: it is an advance payment. The sales invoice is issued at the time of vehicle delivery, not at the time the deposit is paid.
However, collecting a deposit does have tax implications. If the vehicle is sold under the general VAT scheme, the deposit triggers a VAT liability at the time of receipt, not at the time of delivery. This amount must be included in the return for the quarter in which the deposit was received.
If the vehicle is sold under the REBU (second-hand goods scheme), the deposit does alone not trigger VAT liability because under the REBU, VAT is calculated on the final margin at the closing of the transaction. The deposit is recorded as an advance payment with no separate tax incidence.
Read also what a REBU billing software for dealerships must comply with.
In any case, the received deposit must be recorded in the accounting system as a customer advance, not as direct revenue. When closing the sale, the advance is applied to the final price and the invoice reflects the total transaction amount.
Common mistakes when managing online reservations
Charging the deposit without a prior reservation contract. If the buyer pays without having accepted the conditions (type of earnest money, timeframe, consequences of withdrawal), the dealership has no legal basis to withhold the deposit if the buyer cancels and demands a refund.
Not blocking the vehicle in the system upon receiving the payment. If the car still appears as available on portals after receiving the deposit and another buyer shows interest, the dealership has a problem: they must turn down the second buyer or return the deposit to the first.
See also the stock quality control checklist for a dealership.
Refunding the deposit automatically for any cancellation without reviewing the contract terms. If the contract stipulates penitential earnest money and the buyer cancels, the dealership has the right to withhold the deposit. Refunding without reviewing the agreed earnest money type means giving up that right.
Collecting the deposit without recording it in the accounts as an advance. If the deposit is recorded as income for the month and then refunded or credited to the final invoice, the accounting is distorted and can lead to errors in tax returns.
More than 750 dealerships already use Dealcar to manage their daily operations
Dealcar Pay allows online deposits to be collected directly from the vehicle file: the salesperson generates the payment link linked to the reservation contract and sends it to the buyer. The payment is automatically confirmed, the vehicle is blocked in the system, and the collection is recorded in the file without manual intervention.
You can see how it works at dealcar.io/dealcar-pay or request a demo at dealcar.io.
Frequently asked questions
What deposit amount is most common in the industry?
For vehicles between 8,000 and 20,000 euros, between 300 and 500 euros is the most common range. The goal is for it to be enough to generate a real commitment but not so high as to create friction in the reservation process.
Can I withhold the deposit if the buyer cancels the reservation?
Yes, if the reservation contract specifies penitential earnest money and it is the buyer who withdraws. If the contract does not specify the type of earnest money or uses ambiguous language, the legal situation is less clear and may require a judicial claim to withhold the amount.
Is an online paid deposit a secure payment for the dealership?
If a standard card payment gateway is used, the risk of a chargeback exists if the buyer claims they did not authorise the payment. Having the reservation contract digitally signed before payment is the best protection against this scenario.
Can the buyer pay the deposit by Bizum or bank transfer?
They can, but checking and confirming the payment is more manual and slower than with a card. With a card, confirmation is instant and automatic. With Bizum or a transfer, someone has to verify the entry before blocking the vehicle.
