Pronteo

How to Ask for a Deposit Before You Start a Job

3 min read

Asking for money before you start feels uncomfortable the first time. It should not. A deposit pays for materials, reserves your time and shows that the client is serious. Clients who work with professionals expect it.

When a deposit makes sense

  • You have to buy materials or order parts.
  • The job blocks out days in your calendar that you cannot resell at short notice.
  • The work is custom: a design, a made-to-measure piece, an event.
  • The client is new and you have no payment history with them.

For a one-hour repair paid on the spot, skip it. A deposit is for jobs where you carry a cost or a risk before you are paid.

How much to ask

There is no universal number. Common practice in many trades is somewhere between a quarter and a half of the total, and at least enough to cover materials. For long jobs, a smaller deposit followed by progress payments is easier for the client to accept.

Check your local rules first. Some places cap deposits on home improvement work, and California is a well-known example. Your contractor licensing board or trade association will know the rule that applies to you.

Put it on the quote

The deposit belongs in the quote, not in a text message after the client says yes. Write:

  • the amount or percentage;
  • when it is due, usually on acceptance;
  • what happens to it if the client cancels;
  • when the balance is due.

If you are not sure which document to send, read estimate vs quote vs invoice.

Phrases you can copy

A deposit of 30% is due on acceptance of this quote to schedule the work. The balance is due on completion.

Materials are ordered once the deposit is received.

If the job is canceled after materials have been ordered, the deposit covers their cost. Any remainder is refunded.

And when a client hesitates:

The deposit covers the materials I order for your job and holds your dates in my schedule.

Say it once, plainly, and stop talking. Most people simply pay.

The deposit invoice

Some clients, especially businesses, need a document to pay against. Send a short invoice for the deposit: same client, one line such as “Deposit for kitchen renovation, quote 0017”, and the amount. Mark it as paid when the money arrives.

Show the deposit on the final invoice

When the job is done, the final invoice lists the full work, then subtracts what was already paid:

  • total for the job;
  • less deposit received, with its date;
  • balance due.

The client sees that their deposit was counted, and you get a clean record. See what to put on an invoice for the rest of the checklist.

In Pronteo, a deposit is a field on the document: enter it and the balance due is calculated for you.

If the client refuses

A client who will not pay any deposit on a large custom job is telling you something about how the final payment will go. You can lower the amount, split it into stages, or decline the job. All three are better than buying materials with your own money and chasing an overdue invoice two months later.

Keep reading