Payments, Invoices & Receipts
When you book with us you pay a £25 admin fee to hold the date, then the rest is due 14 days before your party. Invoices and receipts are emailed to you automatically, and there's no VAT to add on.
What is the admin fee?
It's £25, paid when you book online. When you click "Book Now" you go to a secure Square payment page, and once it's paid your date and equipment are held for you while we check and confirm the booking. Some people call it a deposit – it's the same thing.
The fee covers the work that starts straight away: sorting the booking, planning the delivery round and keeping in touch with you before the day. Because of that it's non-refundable, unless we offer a refund. See our cancellations and refunds page for more.
People do sometimes miss the Square step. If that happens, the booking system emails you within an hour with our bank details, and you have 48 hours to pay the fee by bank transfer (BACS), or we'll have to delete the booking. We're strict about this one, because while your booking waits, that date, time and kit are held for you and nobody else can book them. That matters in summer, when dates go fast.
When is the balance due?
The rest is due 14 days before your event. We're more relaxed about the balance than the admin fee: if it hasn't come in, we start sending reminders when there's a week to go. What we won't do is turn up with the kit before it's been paid. Paying on time lets us finish the delivery schedule and get your equipment ready.
If it isn't paid by the due date, we'll get in touch to sort it out. If it still isn't paid, the booking can be cancelled under our terms and conditions.
How can I pay?
The easiest way is by card through Square – that's where "Book Now" takes you. You can also pay by bank transfer (BACS); the details are on your invoice. We don't take cash on the day – if you need to pay in cash, ask us first, as there's a £20 handling charge. If you get stuck, just contact us.
Invoices and receipts
Once your booking is confirmed, an invoice is emailed to you automatically. It shows what you've booked, the date and address, the admin fee paid, the balance left and when it's due. A receipt is emailed every time you pay – for the admin fee, the balance, and once it's all paid.
If you can't find yours, check your spam folder, then send us your booking name and event date and we'll send it again. We can also update an invoice if something changes.
Do you charge VAT?
No. Best Party Hire isn't VAT registered, so the prices you see are the full amount, and our invoices and receipts don't show VAT. If that ever changes, our paperwork will change with it.
Schools, nurseries and village halls
We do a lot of school fairs, nursery parties and community events. If you need a formal invoice, an order or reference number on it, or anything else for sign-off, tell us when you book. Some halls and schools also want to see our insurance – we have £5m public liability cover and can send a copy.
Kineton Primary School, for example, booked both our fun runs for its main field, the Junior Disco Run and the Multi Colour Disco Fun Run, and paid by invoice. They need 15.2 x 35.9ft and 16.2 x 35.9ft of grass, a 13-amp socket within 50 metres, and about 30 minutes each to set up. They're £165 each, and because both are £50 or more, 10% comes off automatically, so the pair is £297.
I'm Luke, and I set up every booking myself, so if anything on an invoice doesn't look right, I'm the one to ask. We've had more than 400 five-star reviews along the way.
For the whole process from start to finish, see how booking works.