Bonds (how they’re held & returned)

How refundable bonds are held and returned — the mechanics, so you know exactly what each button does.

What a bond is

A bond is a refundable deposit your library holds (against loss or damage). ToyHive tracks two kinds, both as a bond charge on the household's ledger:

Membership bond — set on a membership type; charged once when the household enrols.
Party-hire bond — set per hire item; charged when a booking is made.

The amount and policy (when you keep vs return a bond) are up to each library — ToyHive only records the money movement.

When it's returned

Party hire: marking a booking returned opens a return check — the same piece check as the loans desk (condition + any missing pieces). On a clean check the button reads "Return & release bond" and the bond is refunded automatically as the loan closes and the toy goes back on the shelf. If the check reports missing or damaged pieces the bond is held automatically (settle a damage fee, then release with "Refund bond"). You can also "Skip check" — this returns the toy but holds the bond (never auto-releases), so you can verify the pack and release it deliberately later. If a party toy is returned at the ordinary loans desk instead, the booking completes too, but the bond stays held — release it from the Party hire page. Members are emailed automatically along the way — a booking confirmation (with dates, fee and bond), a pickup reminder two days before, a cancellation summary if the booking is cancelled, and a bond-refunded receipt when their party-hire bond is released. Each of these is a notification you can tailor or switch off under Settings → Notifications.
Membership: release it from the member's page ("Release bond" on the bond held row) or from the Bonds & refunds worklist under Members. You can also turn on automatic release under Settings → Fees: a nightly job releases the bond once the membership has lapsed for your chosen grace period, no toys are out, and nothing else is owing — and emails the member (the Bond released notification).

How the money actually goes back

Releasing a bond records a matching credit on the household's ledger (a bond_refund entry). Paying that credit back is the second step, and there are two paths:

Card (Stripe) — if the household paid by card online, choose "Refund to card": the money goes back to their card through Stripe automatically. Automatic bond release uses this path on its own whenever card money is available. A failed card refund appears in the Bonds & refunds worklist with a retry button.
Cash / EFTPOS / bank transfer — hand the money back as usual, then use "Record refund" so the ledger shows the money leaving (a refund entry) and the credit clears.

Either way the household's balance returns to zero once the money is back — credits owed but not yet paid out stay visible in the Bonds & refunds worklist so nothing is forgotten.