This article first appeared on Invoala.
Ask for the deposit in the same message where you confirm the scope, not in a separate email later. Write one short paragraph — scope, total price, deposit amount, what the deposit covers, when the work starts, and how to pay — then send a deposit invoice the moment they agree. That single, plain request is the whole technique. Most hesitation from clients isn't about the money; it's about ambiguity.
When you should ask for a deposit before starting work
Ask for a deposit whenever you'd lose real money if the client disappeared mid-project. That usually means:
- Custom work you can't resell. A logo, a bespoke website, a podcast edit, a commissioned illustration. If they walk away, the hours are gone.
- You buy materials or book time on their behalf. Physical goods, a licenced stock asset, or a subcontractor's slot.
- Projects over roughly a few days of your time. The larger the invoice, the more a late cancellation hurts.
- New clients you haven't invoiced before. Established clients with a clean payment history are a different risk category — many freelancers skip deposits after the second or third successful project.
You generally don't need a deposit for a fixed small one-off fee, a repeat client who pays on time, or exploratory paid consultation where the session itself is the deliverable.
What counts as normal varies a lot by industry and country. Agencies, contractors, and trades often bill a mobilisation payment; designers and developers often bill a percentage up front. Check what's standard in your field and what your local consumer rules say before you put a number in writing.
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How much to ask for, and what the deposit should cover
There's no universal percentage. Common practice sits around a third to a half of the project total, but the right number depends on your costs:
- If you front real costs (materials, licences, subcontractors), the deposit should at least cover those.
- If the risk is your time, the deposit should be big enough that losing the project still leaves you roughly even on the discovery and setup phase.
- For long projects, a schedule of payments — deposit, midpoint, delivery — often lands better than one large deposit, because the client sees progress for each payment.
Two things to decide before you ask:
- Is it refundable, or credited against the final invoice? Most freelancers treat the deposit as an advance that gets deducted from the total, not an extra fee. Say which one it is, in writing.
- Is it non-refundable, and does that actually hold where you are? "Non-refundable" is enforceable in some places and limited by consumer protection law in others. Describe the rule to your client plainly and, if the amount is significant, check with a local adviser rather than assuming.
Never write "guaranteed" or "legally binding" in your own copy. State your terms; let the contract do the work.
The exact wording that gets a yes
The reason deposit requests get pushback is usually that they arrive as a surprise, framed as a favour. Frame it as the start button instead.
Four things this does: gives the number without apologising, explains what the money buys, offers more than one way to pay, and states the next step. It also puts the deposit invoice in the same email, so there's no second round of waiting.
If a client pushes back, the useful question is "what would make this work for you?" — a smaller deposit, a split into two payments, or payment on a shorter milestone. What you don't want to do is start work "while we sort out the paperwork". Work only begins on the agreed trigger.
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What goes on the deposit invoice
A deposit invoice needs the same core fields as any invoice. What's different is the language.
- Your name and business details, the client's name and address, and the invoice number and date.
- A clear description — not just "Deposit". Write "Deposit — 50% of $2,400 website design project, credited against the final invoice."
- The amount, currency, and payment terms (for example, "due on receipt").
- A reference to the agreement if you have a quote or contract number.
- How to pay — bank details or a payment link.
If there's tax to add, whether you charge it on a deposit and at what point depends on your country and your registration status. In many places the tax point follows the payment date rather than the invoice date, but it varies — check with your local tax authority rather than copying another freelancer's invoice.
The deposit also needs to be visible on the final invoice, as a line showing "less deposit received — $1,200", so the client can see the arithmetic and you can't be accused of billing twice.
Example: a $2,400 project with tax and a deposit deduction
Say your project total is $2,400 and your local sales tax or VAT rate is 8%.
Deposit invoice (sent before you start):
- Line: Deposit — 50% of website design project — $1,200.00
- Tax at 8% on $1,200 → $96.00
- Deposit invoice total: $1,296.00, due on receipt
Final invoice (sent at delivery):
- Line: Website design and build, 5 pages, one revision round — $2,400.00
- Less deposit received — −$1,200.00
- Net before tax — $1,200.00
- Tax at 8% on $1,200 → $96.00
- Final invoice total: $1,296.00
Client has paid $2,592.00 in total, tax included, and both invoices reconcile. If instead you treated the deposit as a non-refundable fee rather than an advance, the final invoice would bill the full $2,400 plus tax and the deposit wouldn't be deducted — a different arrangement with a different tax treatment. Pick one and be consistent.
How Invoala helps
You can turn the paragraph above into a sendable deposit invoice in a couple of minutes:
- Open the free invoice generator — there's no sign-up and no watermark. You fill in a form on screen.
- Enter your details and the client's, then add the deposit line as the first item. Use the description field to say exactly what the deposit covers and that it's credited against the final invoice.
- Set the total and, if it applies to you, the tax rate. The payable total updates as you type, so the "50% plus tax" arithmetic is done for you.
- Download the PDF: A4-accurate, so it prints and files the way an invoice should, with no branding stamped across it.
- Note the invoice number, then reuse the same structure for the final invoice and add the "less deposit received" line.
If you'd rather start from something pre-formatted, the free invoice templates are downloadable and cover the standard layouts. And because the deposit window is when clients go quiet, automated payment reminders handle the follow-up on the deposit invoice so you don't have to chase it by hand — useful to know what to write if you'd rather send the nudge yourself: what to write in a payment follow up email after the due date.
One note on terms: rather than a verbal "half up front", put the deposit percentage, the refund position, and the payment trigger in your quote or contract. Invoala has a free estimate generator if you want the quote and the invoice to carry the same numbers.
Fixing the awkward parts
"Can we do half now, half later?" — Fine, if you're happy to split it. Just be explicit that "later" has a date and a trigger.
"We've never paid deposits before." — Offer the smallest deposit that still covers your costs, and let the first successful project earn the trust that removes it next time.
"Can you just start, and we'll sort the invoice later?" — Say no politely and hold the start date. Starting without the deposit is how you end up chasing a full invoice instead of a partial one.
The client vanishes after the deposit. — The deposit is exactly the cushion for this. Send the deposit invoice reminder, and keep every message short and factual.
Deposit requests go wrong most often when they're vague, late, or apologetic. Name the amount, name the trigger, send the invoice with the request, and start work only when it clears.
Originally published at How to Ask for a Deposit Before You Start the Work. More guides at Invoala.
Top comments (1)
Showing both invoices side by side with the tax worked out makes the deposit credit easy to follow. Writing down whether the deposit is refundable or credited against the final invoice is a tip a lot of freelancers skip.