A practical guide to security deposits for jewellery rentals

Jewellery rental has a different risk profile from renting out a lehenga. A damaged outfit is usually a repair cost. A missing or damaged piece of kundan or polki can be a much larger loss — so the way you handle deposits matters more here than in most rental categories.

How much to charge

There's no single right number, but a common approach is to set the deposit as a percentage of the piece's replacement value, not its rental price — the two can be very different. A set that rents for a small daily rate might still be worth many times that to replace. Many rental businesses charge somewhere between 20-50% of replacement value as a deposit, higher for pieces that are harder to source again.

What to record at handover

Before the piece leaves your hands, it helps to have:

• Clear photos of the piece, from a few angles, timestamped
• A note of any existing wear or minor damage, so it's not disputed later
• The deposit amount and how it was collected (cash, UPI, card)
• The expected return date

This isn't about distrust — it's about having a clear, shared reference point if there's ever a disagreement about condition later.

Handling the return

Check the piece against your handover photos before releasing the deposit. If everything matches, release it promptly — a fast, no-friction return is one of the best things you can do for repeat customers. If there's damage, having the original photos and notes makes that conversation far less uncomfortable for both sides.

Common mistakes

Treating the deposit like revenue. It isn't — it's the customer's money held against a specific condition. Keeping it mentally (and ideally in your records) separate from your rental income avoids awkward moments when it's time to release it.

Not tracking 'held' vs 'released' status per order. With more than a handful of active rentals, it's easy to lose track of which deposits are still outstanding. A simple status per order — held, released, or forfeited — avoids the awkward "did I already return this?" conversation.

Verbal-only deposit terms. Even a short written note the customer can see — deposit amount, what it covers, when it's returned — prevents most disputes before they start.

None of this requires software. But once you're managing deposits across a dozen pieces at once, doing it on paper gets risky fast.