Deposits & stage payments
GET THE DEPOSIT AGREED BEFORE YOU START
Put the split on the quote: a deposit, a payment part way, the balance at the end. That way it is agreed the day they say yes, not raised awkwardly the week you need the materials money.
Asking for money up front feels worse than it is
Most tradesmen fund the materials themselves and hope. The reason is rarely the customer. It is that asking for a deposit halfway through a conversation about the work sounds like you do not trust them. It reads completely differently when it is printed on the quote from the start: it is not a request, it is how the job is priced. The awkward bit disappears when it is agreed at the same moment as the price.
What you get
The schedule lives on the quote, so the money conversation happens once, at the point they are already saying yes.
The split is on the quote she agrees to
Deposit, stages, balance: set as percentages of the price, shown on her copy before she accepts. She is agreeing to the terms and the number at the same time.
You invoice exactly what she agreed
The amounts come straight off the schedule. You are never asked to work out what a deposit is worth, and you cannot accidentally bill a different split from the one she said yes to.
One at a time, in order
The deposit first, then the stages, then the balance. Each one becomes its own numbered invoice when you are ready for it, and the list shows you what is still to bill.
A deposit is never itemised
It bills as a share of an agreed total, not a list of parts. Listing £1,500 of materials against a £1,555 deposit invites her to conclude she is buying the materials, which she is not.
Extras are billed separately, always
Work she agreed on top is its own invoice line. It is never quietly added to the final payment, because inflating a figure she already agreed to is exactly what gets a bill disputed.
She pays you, not us
Your bank details and the invoice number as the reference. No card fee, no middleman, and no waiting for a payout. The money goes straight into your account.
Deposits & stage payments: frequently asked questions
How much deposit should I ask for?
Enough to cover the materials you have to buy before you start is the usual test, which on most jobs lands somewhere between a quarter and a half. On a long job a midway payment matters more than a large deposit, because it stops you funding the whole thing while you are on site.
When does the customer see the payment terms?
On the quote, before they accept. That is the whole point. The split is part of the price rather than a conversation you have to start later.
Does BuilderBuddy take the payment?
No. No money moves through BuilderBuddy at any point. The invoice carries your bank details and your customer pays you directly by transfer, with the invoice number as the reference so you can match it off your statement. You tick it as paid when it lands.
What if the job runs over more stages than I set?
Extra work is priced and agreed separately and billed on its own, so you are not trying to squeeze it into a schedule that was set for a smaller job. The original stages stay as she agreed them.
Can I just invoice the whole job at the end instead?
Yes. If the quote has no payment schedule on it, the job invoices in one go. The schedule is there for when you want it, not a step you have to take.