How to Ask for a Deposit: Politely Request Upfront Payment from Clients (With Examples)

What is a deposit?

A deposit is a payment you receive from a client before you begin a project. It’s a portion of the total job cost that shows your client’s commitment to the project and helps to cover the initial costs.

For example, if you’ve been hired to build a deck, you would ask for a deposit before starting the job to help cover the purchase of materials and to reserve your time for the project. A deposit protects you from losing money in the case the customer cancels the job.

Professional ways to ask clients for a deposit

To boost your chances of getting a hassle-free deposit with no pushback from customers, here are some polite ways to ensure your request is accepted:

✔️ Use friendly and professional language

✔️ Provide lots of notice for the payment

✔️ Communicate clearly about the amount due, payment deadline, and accepted payment methods

✔️ Include details about deposits in your contracts, quotes, and invoices

Here are some examples you can customize for deposit requests in emails and in your payment terms:

How to calculate the deposit amount

How much you charge for a deposit depends on a variety of factors, including where you live and the cost of a job. Once you understand the size of the project, the time expected to complete, and the materials needed, you can use industry-standard rates to determine the appropriate deposit amount.

Here are some simple, go-to ways that small business owners calculate deposits on jobs:

• 20-50% of the total cost of a job: This is a safe range that should cover most of your overhead expenses and set you up to begin the work.
• 100% of the cost of materials: This ensures you have the materials needed to complete the job, while protecting you from losing money on purchased goods if the job is canceled.
• 50% of any job over $1000: Larger jobs require more significant commitment from the customer, and likely come with higher upfront costs for your business.
• Standard, nonrefundable $250 fee: This small fee kicks off the partnership with a client as a gesture of good faith, while putting some cash in your pocket to get the project started.

“How much should you charge for the deposit? This is solely up to the business owner. It’s up to the project that you’re working on,” says Mitchell Gordy of MITHGO Outdoor Services LLC. “It could be a dollar amount. It could be a percentage. So I do anywhere from 25 to 50% of the project cost for my required deposit.”

Why you should ask for a deposit

Deposits are relatively common in many industries, but here are some of the most important ways they can benefit service businesses like yours.

1. Deposits improve cash flow

Deposits are one of the best cash flow strategies you can employ to foster healthy and consistent capital. When you ask for a deposit before a job starts, it ensures that you have the cash to cover your expenses before the job is done.

This is especially handy when it comes to long-term projects or jobs that experience delays.

When you have dependable cash flow, you can cover your bills, plan your small business budget, and access funds to cover unexpected costs, like repairs.

“The deposits help us cover all of the beginning stages of the projects, so that’s going to be the administrative work that goes into sourcing anything specific for the project,” says Zach Jurkowski of Montreal Contracting. 

It’s going to cover the design services, the architectural technology phase. So that’s why it’s important to get that deposit up front because you’re going to be expending as soon as that contract is signed and you get to work.

2. Deposits reduce non-payments

Unpaid invoices are a headache to deal with. Not only do you have to worry about covering your expenses, but you also have to develop a strategy to collect payment from any customers who won’t pay their invoices.

And, as much as the threat of late payment fees is motivation enough for some clients to pay, it doesn’t always work.

Enforcing an upfront fee, like a deposit, ensures that a customer is invested in a project or job from the get-go. Clients who have already paid for part of a job are less likely to skip or miss payments down the road.

And, you’ll already know that they have a reliable payment method to use in the future. This means that if a client uses a credit card, you can store the information (with their permission), and use it to pay their next invoice.

READ MORE: Accounts receivable collections: strategies for small businesses

3. Deposits provide funds for materials and supplies

From lumber and cleaning items to tools and lawn care equipment, many service providers have to cover supply and materials costs related to each job they take on.

Deposits are a great way to avoid having to cover these expenses out of pocket before a job is finished. For example, if a client hires you to build a deck, a deposit can help you pay for the lumber using the client’s money instead of your own.

This keeps your cash flow from being stretched thin to cover client-specific expenses.

4. Deposits filter out bad clients

If a customer isn’t willing to pay a deposit, it doesn’t bode well for their ability (or willingness) to make payments in the future. And, it’s much easier to say no upfront than to figure out how to fire a client later on.

Deposits act as a gatekeeper when it comes to potentially troublesome clients. If a client can’t or won’t pay the initial deposit, how do you know they’ll pay your final invoice when it’s due?

Although it may feel uncomfortable to turn down a job, if a client is having trouble making payment before it even starts, you’ll probably end up saving yourself a lot of time and stress by sticking to your guns.

Pro Tip: Consider offering consumer financing to customers who you want to work with but who don’t have the upfront funds.

When to ask for an upfront payment

You don’t need to ask every single client for a deposit on every single project. Instead, follow these guidelines to ensure you’re requesting deposits at the right times.

1. Request a deposit before a job starts

Deposits are typically requested and paid before any work is done—not halfway through a job. Think of it as a sort of upfront payment to help you cover costs associated with the job.

Asking for money halfway through a job is bad practice unless it’s detailed in your payment terms and the customer is notified in advance.

“You should require the deposit when you get the approval on the quote, whether it’s 10%, 20%, 50%, whatever,” says Adam Sylvester of Charlottesville Gutter Pros. “Sometimes we require 100% deposits upfront, but you should get it before you ever start working.”

2. Ask new clients for a deposit

Many service providers only make deposits a requirement for new clients and contracts. It doesn’t make sense to ask for deposits from existing clients unless you’re taking on a new project with them that’s going to cost a lot of money or take a significant amount of time to complete.

A good rule of thumb when starting with deposits is to only require them from new clients.

3. Only use deposits for certain projects or thresholds

Asking for deposits based on projects or thresholds might be the most common approach service businesses take.

If you offer some low-cost services, asking for a deposit may not be practical. For example, some service providers only ask for deposits on jobs over $1000, while others ask clients to pay for the complete cost of materials upfront. Here’s Marcus’s approach: