How much deposit should you take?

If you're buying materials with your own money for someone who might not pay, you're their bank. Stop that. A deposit is normal, fair, and easy to ask for once you've done it twice.

30-50% is the going rate

On bigger jobs, 30-50% upfront is standard across the trades. Enough to cover materials and lock in your time, not so much that the customer feels exposed. Pick a number that covers what you'd lose if they vanished the day before you start.

Small jobs are different. A one-hour fix doesn't need a deposit, and asking for one just adds friction. Save it for jobs where you're ordering materials or blocking out days in the calendar.

How to ask without it being weird

Don't ask. State it. The deposit isn't a favour you're requesting, it's how the job works. Put it on the quote as a line in your terms, and it stops being a conversation entirely. The customer reads it, accepts the quote, pays the deposit. No phone call, no awkward pause.

Anyone who baulks at a fair deposit on a big job is telling you something about how the final invoice will go. Better to learn that before you've fronted $3,000 in materials than after. Same logic applies to late fees: terms only work if they're agreed up front.

Invoice it properly

Keep the paperwork clean:

• Send a separate deposit invoice once the quote's accepted
• Don't start until it's paid - that's the whole point
• On the final invoice, show the full job amount, then credit the deposit, so the balance is obvious
• Keep both invoices on file for 5 years, like everything else

That last invoice matters. A customer looking at "total $8,000, deposit paid $3,200, balance $4,800" has nothing to query. Clear paperwork gets paid faster and gives them no reason to go quiet.

Why bother?

A deposit does two things. It takes the sting out of a bad payer, because the worst case is losing your margin, not your margin plus materials. And it filters out the customers who were never going to pay, before you've spent a cent on them. If one does slip through, here's how to get your money.