CustoDeskCustoDesk
CustoDeskCustoDesk
Create your workspace

No card to start. The Core Workspace is free.

TrustPrivacyTerms

How to take a deposit, and invoice the rest

A deposit pays for materials, holds a date and tells you the customer is serious. Here is when to ask, how much, what to write, and how to make the final invoice come out right.

5 steps. Checked September 26, 2026.

Estimate generatorSet out the work and the price, ask for a deposit, and download a clean PDF.Make an estimate Free, with no account.
  1. 1Decide when you ask
  2. 2Pick an amount you can explain
  3. 3Put it on the estimate, in writing
  4. 4Take it when they say yes
  5. 5Take it off the final invoice

  1. Decide when you ask

    A deposit makes sense whenever you spend money or turn work away before you are paid.

    • You buy materials or parts for this customer before you start.
    • You hold a date for them and turn other work down: an event, a shoot, a cake.
    • The work is made to order, so nobody else could buy it.
    • The customer is new, or the job is large or long.
    • Small repeat work for people you know can often skip it.

  2. Pick an amount you can explain

    There is no single right number. Many businesses ask for 25 to 50 percent of the price, or enough to cover the materials, or a set amount on smaller jobs.

    • To cover materials: what you will spend before the first day.
    • To hold a date: enough that a late cancellation does not leave you out of pocket.
    • Check the rules where you work. Some places limit how much a contractor may take up front for home improvement work.

  3. Put it on the estimate, in writing

    The customer should see the deposit before they say yes: how much, when it is due, and what happens to it.

    • The amount, as a figure under the total.
    • When it is due, usually when they approve.
    • What it covers, like materials or holding the date.
    • Whether any of it comes back if they cancel, and until when.
    • That it comes off the final invoice.
    A note that covers it
    “A 30% deposit is due when you approve this estimate. It pays for the materials we order for your job and comes off the final invoice. If you cancel before we order, it is refunded in full.”

    Make an estimate with a deposit, free

    Or start from your trade's template

  4. Take it when they say yes

    The moment they approve is when they are most ready to pay. Make paying easy right then, and hold the start date until it is in.

    • Let them pay by card, so it takes a minute, not a trip to the bank.
    • Send a receipt as soon as it is paid.
    • Order the materials and book the date once the deposit is in.

  5. Take it off the final invoice

    The final invoice shows the full price, then what was already paid, then what is left. The customer can check the math at a glance.

    • The full total first, with any changes to the job on lines of their own.
    • The deposit, shown as already paid.
    • The balance due, and when it is due.

    The free invoice generator takes off what was paid

Let CustoDesk take the deposit

Send the estimate from CustoDesk, and the approval, the deposit and the final invoice happen in one place.

Invoices & EstimatesEstimates approved online with a deposit, and invoices paid by card.
  • Approved onlineYour customer approves the estimate from a link by typing their name, then pays the deposit by card on the same page, into your own Stripe account.
  • A percent or a set amountAsk for a share of the total or a fixed figure. A percent follows the total when you change the estimate.
  • Already taken offTurn the approved estimate into the invoice with one click, and the deposit they paid is already off the balance due.

More guides

Every guide

Questions about deposits

How much deposit should I ask for?

Enough to cover what you spend before you are paid, or what a late cancellation would cost you. Many businesses ask for 25 to 50 percent. Some places limit deposits on home improvement work, so check the rules where you work.

Should a deposit be refundable?

That is yours to decide, and to write down before they pay. A common way is refundable until you order materials or until a set number of days before the date, and kept after that.

Can I take the deposit by card?

Yes, with the Invoices app. Send the estimate from it, and once your customer approves, they pay the deposit by card on the same page, into your own Stripe account.

What if the customer still owes the rest after the job?

Send the final invoice with the balance. In the Invoices app, reminders for what is still owed go out on the due date, then 3 and 7 days after, if you leave them on.

Is anything I type in the estimate generator saved?

No. The PDF is made on the spot from what you typed, and none of it is kept.

Take the deposit the moment they say yes.

Start free

Free for 14 days. No card to start.

See what each app costs