Fix the dates, plan, inclusions and a price per person, publish it on one booking page, and ask everyone to book and pay there. Collect an advance to hold a seat and the balance before departure, so you never chase payments one by one in chats.
Plan the trip
Dates, meeting point, day-by-day plan, stays and transport.
What's included and what isn't (meals, entry fees, gear).
A seat limit that matches your vehicle and stays.
Collect payments
One link for everyone: guests pick their seat, room type or add-ons and pay there.
Advance and balance: take a part now to confirm, and send reminders for the rest.
Refunds follow the cancellation policy you published, so there is nothing to argue about later.
Before you go
Keep the guest list with names, phone numbers and any emergency contacts in one place.
Send one message to all guests with the final plan and what to pack.
Doing this on PlanKnit
PlanKnit takes bookings and payments for group trips with dates, seat limits, room options, advances and balance reminders, and sends a GST invoice for every booking.
PlanKnit is free to start and free to list. On paid bookings it charges 5.5% plus GST in total (2.5% payment processing and 3% platform fee), and nothing on free events, cancelled or unpaid bookings.
Questions
How do I collect money from a group for a trip?
Use one booking page where each guest pays for their own seat by UPI, card or net banking. It is cleaner than collecting UPI transfers in a chat and matching screenshots.
How much advance should I take?
Enough to cover what you must pay upfront (stays, transport deposits). Many hosts take a part to confirm the seat and the balance a few days before the trip.