How to request deposits on estimates

In this article, you'll learn how to ask for a deposit on an estimate, what your customer sees when they sign and pay it, and the two settings that change how deposits are collected. A deposit is what gets the work on your calendar before anyone shows up.

Note: Customers pay deposits online by card, so Stripe has to be connected first. Until it is, the deposit's pay page tells them "Online payment isn't set up yet". See Connecting Stripe to take online payments.

To open an estimate:

  1. In the menu, click Estimates.
  2. Click the estimate you want a deposit on.

Setting the deposit

The deposit sits with the totals, under the items, notes and photos.

  1. Scroll to the totals on the right.
  2. In the Deposit row, type a number.
  3. In the dropdown beside it, pick $ for a fixed amount or % for a share of the total.
  4. Click anywhere else to save. Changing the dropdown saves on its own.

Under the row you'll see what that comes to, for example "$250.00 due to book it in".

A percent deposit follows the total, so it goes up or down as you add or remove items. A dollar deposit stays the figure you typed. Either way it can't be more than the estimate total.

Note: The Deposit field greys out once the estimate has been copied to a job, or once it's approved and Lock approved estimates is on in Settings › Estimates.

Sending the estimate

  1. Click Send at the top of the estimate (it reads Send Again if it has gone out before).
  2. Under Let client pay the deposit with:, keep Credit card ticked so the customer can pay online.
  3. Send it by text or email as usual.

If you untick Credit card, the deposit is still owed when they approve, but they aren't taken to a card form. You arrange it with them yourself.

What your customer sees

In their portal inbox the estimate card shows a Deposit line and a Total line. When they open it, they get Approve & pay deposit and Decline. On a phone, the bottom panel lists Total estimate and Required deposit above the same two buttons.

Approving means signing. The Sign & Pay drawer opens on step 1, Add your signature. They sign in the box (there's a Clear button if they slip), can tick Get a copy via email, then click Continue. By default that takes them straight to the deposit's pay page, where they enter their card.

Statuses and what you hear

  • When the customer signs and a deposit is owed, the estimate's status becomes Approved - Pending Deposit. In their portal it carries a Deposit due chip, with a Pay deposit button if they come back later.
  • When the deposit is paid, the estimate moves to Won, since it's been approved, signed and paid.
  • A deposit invoice named "Deposit for EST-xxxx" is raised when they approve. It shows on your Invoices page like any other.

The office is told twice: once when the estimate is approved (the message says a deposit is pending) and again when the deposit is paid.

Tip: If you mark an estimate approved yourself and the customer then pays the deposit, it lands on Approved rather than Won, because nobody signed it.

Two settings that change how deposits work

To open the settings:

  1. In the menu, click Settings, then Estimates under Jobs & leads. There's also an Estimates settings link at the top of the Estimates page.

Each switch saves the moment you flip it. Both are off to start.

Require card on file for deposits

When this is on, the card the customer pays the deposit with is kept on file. On the pay page the save-card box reads "This card is kept on file for the deposit" and can't be unticked. You can then charge that card for the rest of the job later.

Allow clients to pay deposit offline or after approving estimate

When this is on, signing doesn't go straight to payment. After step 1, the drawer opens step 2, Make a deposit, with two choices: Pay deposit $x or Pay later.

If they choose Pay later, the estimate stays at Approved - Pending Deposit. They can pay in one of two ways:

When you turn the estimate into a job

Use Actions then Copy to job on the estimate. The deposit invoice and any payment on it move onto the new job, so the job's balance and the invoice you raise later only bill what's left. An unpaid deposit invoice moves too and becomes the job's first invoice.

On the phone app

The estimate screen has the same Deposit row under the totals, with a $ / % switch and the "due to book it in" line beneath it. Settings › Estimates in the app has the same two switches, and the Estimates list has an Estimates settings link at the top.

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