POS operations guide
Wedding planner milestone-payment, vendor-cost and client-balance POS workflow
A wedding project combines a client service package with staged collections and many supplier commitments. Keep the planning fee, retainer, client milestones, vendor estimates and actual costs, pass-through purchases, commissions, changes, final balance, cancellation and refunds separate.
Evidence and review scope
Evidence reviewed 2026-09-05. Reviewed the current Posnic stable release boundary and archived customer, sale and item models.
Stable release: v1.6.1, source commit 567a176. This page does not establish a live wedding-planner deployment, project timeline, guest list, seating plan, venue availability, signed client or vendor contract, supplier performance, payment settlement, event delivery, tax treatment or accepted wedding. Evidence remains pinned to an archived source snapshot.
What the current evidence establishes
Client account evidence exists
Customer identity, balance and payment-term fields can be evaluated for the contracting party or payer. They do not prove consent, contracting authority or guest privacy.
Sale and payment records exist
Sale lines can model packages, retainers, milestones, pass-through items, credits and refunds. They do not prove settlement, supplier booking or event delivery.
Item and stock evidence exists
Item and stock-history paths can be inspected for stationery, gifts, decor consumables and approved merchandise. They do not establish hired-item custody or supplier ownership.
Contracts remain operational
Client authority, supplier terms, commissions, tax, insurance, event safety, privacy and cancellation duties require qualified owner review.
Wedding planner POS controls before rollout
A client payment is not a vendor payment, an estimate is not an actual cost, and a completed event does not prove that every supplier, credit or refund is closed.
| Area | Record to keep | Why it matters | Acceptance check |
|---|---|---|---|
| Client | Couple, contracting party, payer, billing fields, contact permission and balance. | The right party must approve scope and money. | Guest and private notes stay off receipts. |
| Planning package | Service scope, hours, inclusions, exclusions, fee, tax and owner. | A generic wedding item hides obligations. | Proposal and receipt show accepted scope. |
| Retainer | Amount, due date, tender, cancellation treatment and original receipt. | The retainer is one contractual payment step. | Retainer and later milestones reconcile. |
| Client milestones | Trigger, due date, amount, invoice, payment, failure, credit and balance. | Planner fees and project money arrive over time. | Each receipt traces to total client value. |
| Vendor estimate | Supplier, category, estimate, expiry, inclusions, exclusions and approval. | Estimates change and may never be booked. | Estimate is distinct from commitment and cost. |
| Vendor commitment | Accepted quote, contract boundary, deposit, due dates and cancellation terms. | Client collections do not prove supplier payment. | Commitment owner and exposure are visible. |
| Actual vendor cost | Final invoice, tax, deposit applied, credit, refund and remaining payable. | Margin depends on actual cost, not estimate. | Estimate variance remains auditable. |
| Pass-through items | Decor, stationery, gifts or rentals, cost, markup, tax and client approval. | Purchases need clear ownership and pricing. | Cost and client charge remain distinct. |
| Commission or rebate | Source, amount, disclosure, credit decision, accounting treatment and approval. | Hidden supplier value damages trust and reporting. | Contract and local review are recorded. |
| Change order | Old scope, new scope, cost, client price, reason, date and approver. | Wedding scope often changes after booking. | History is retained, not overwritten. |
| Cancellation | Notice, client terms, vendor exposure, retained fee, credit, refund and owner. | Planner and supplier liabilities differ. | Every value movement reconciles. |
| Owner review | Client value, receipts, vendor commitments, actual costs, credits, refunds and margin. | Cash and project obligations diverge. | Client and vendor ledgers close together. |
Practical workflow
Separate the two ledgers
Client invoices and receipts answer what the client owes. Vendor estimates, deposits and invoices answer what the project owes.
Version every approved change
Retain the old scope, new scope, supplier-cost effect, client-price effect, reason, date and approver.
Expose estimates and actuals
Do not replace a vendor estimate when the final invoice arrives. The variance is part of the project evidence.
Close obligations with cash
Review payments beside vendor commitments, event delivery, commissions, expenses, credits, cancellations and refunds.
Wedding enquiry-to-close flow
Scope the project
Capture contracting party, date, budget boundary, package and retainer.
Schedule client money
Approve milestones, due dates, tenders and failure follow-up.
Control vendor costs
Record estimates, commitments, deposits, invoices and credits separately.
Version changes
Approve scope, guest, supplier, cost, price and contingency changes.
Deliver and reconcile
Close client balance, vendor costs, expenses, credits, refunds and margin.
Hardware, software and data setup
Hardware
- Planning-office computer or tablet and receipt printer.
- Event-day device only after connectivity and offline fallback are accepted.
- Barcode scanner only for labelled stock or controlled hired items.
- Payment terminal without storing card data in POS.
- Off-device backup for client, project, payment and cost records.
Software and data
- Client accounts with minimum necessary billing and contact data.
- Planning packages, retainers, milestones, pass-throughs, credits and refund items.
- Separate vendor estimate, commitment, deposit, invoice and refund records.
- Reports for client balances, vendor payables, actual costs, credits and failures.
- Export and restore workflow before real wedding data is imported.
Setup sequence
- Write package, retainer, milestone, vendor, commission, change, cancellation, credit and refund rules.
- Create synthetic clients, packages, suppliers, pass-through items and payment labels.
- Quote one project and collect a synthetic retainer and milestone.
- Record vendor estimates, bookings, deposits, final invoices and credits as separate states.
- Approve one scope increase, one vendor saving and one contingency use.
- Test failed client payment, vendor cancellation, client cancellation and refund.
- Complete one synthetic event with planner expenses and final balance.
- Reconcile client value, receipts, vendor commitments, actual cost and margin.
- Back up and restore records, then obtain operations, finance, contract, payment, privacy and local approval.
Product evidence to inspect
Mistakes to avoid
- Treating a vendor estimate as a confirmed booking or actual cost.
- Mixing client collections with supplier payments in one balance.
- Overwriting estimates when final invoices or credits arrive.
- Changing scope, supplier, cost or client price without approval history.
- Hiding commissions, rebates, markups or contingency use.
- Putting guest lists, private notes or card data on receipts.
- Importing real wedding data before backup and restore pass.
Use the blank wedding planner POS acceptance record
The CSV keeps 24 controls blank until the exact workflow is tested, including client milestones, vendor estimates and actual costs, pass-throughs, commissions, changes, cancellations, refunds, reconciliation and restore.
Primary sources used
Current stable release
Pinned source tree
Customer model
Sale model
Item model
PCI SSC merchant process
Related Posnic pages
Questions
Is wedding planner POS the same as wedding planning software?
No. Timelines, guests, seating, supplier contracts, venue availability and event-day coordination need separate controls.
Should vendor estimates count as actual wedding costs?
No. Keep estimates, commitments, deposits, invoices, credits and refunds as separate states.
How should client milestones be recorded?
Retain accepted scope, trigger, due date, receipt, tender, failure, credit and remaining balance.
How should commissions or supplier savings be handled?
Record source, amount, contract treatment, client disclosure or credit decision and approval.
Where does Posnic fit?
Archived evidence can be evaluated for accounts, sale lines, payments, stock and reports. It does not prove wedding planning, supplier contracting, settlement or a live rollout.
Where Posnic fits
Posnic Community Edition can be evaluated for planning-office billing, client accounts, packages, milestone items, payment labels, purchased stock, credits and reports. Keep timelines, guest lists, seating, contracts, venue and supplier availability, event safety and coordination outside scope until the workflow passes the blank record. Posnic Cloud helps only when the planner needs remote dashboard access, managed backup, multi-office visibility or scoped custom work.