Deposit on trade jobs
Deposit on a trade job — put it on the estimate, not in a text
You agreed the job on the drive. The boiler still has to be ordered. The copper is sitting at the merchants. You need money up front so you are not funding someone else’s bathroom out of your overdraft.
That money is a deposit. Write it on the estimate. Do not bury it in a WhatsApp message you will both forget by Friday.
Why the deposit belongs on the sheet
A text that says “£400 to book it in” is not a document. It has no job number, no scope, and no record of what the £400 is for.
Put the deposit on the estimate:
- trading name and address
- customer and site
- EST number and date
- the lines of work
- subtotal, VAT if you are registered — see VAT on quotes
- deposit due (amount or percentage)
- balance due
- your bank details or your own pay link
They can see what they are paying towards. You can see what is still owed when the work is done. When you raise the invoice later, the deposit already paid should sit against the balance — not vanish into a verbal handshake.
QuoteCo is a document generator, not legal or tax advice. For contract wording or a dispute, speak to your accountant or solicitor.
How much — and what it is for
Common practice on UK domestic work is 20–50% once they say yes, especially when you are ordering kit. A like-for-like boiler swap in Leeds: price the job as an estimate, take 25% so you can order the boiler, fit it, then invoice the balance. A bathroom strip-out and suite: materials deposit before you collect from the merchant. A consumer unit change: deposit if you are buying the board and RCBO kit the same week.
There is no HMRC “correct” percentage for a sole-trader deposit. Agree it, write it, collect it into your account. Do not invent a legal force you have not got — a deposit on an estimate is still not an invoice, and it is not a VAT invoice until you raise one for the supply.
If you are VAT-registered, think about when the tax point sits and how the deposit appears on the eventual invoice. Ask your accountant. Do not guess from a forum thread. More on VAT on quotes.
What to say in the notes (keep it short)
One or two lines on the sheet beat a paragraph in your head:
- Price holds for 14 days.
- 25% deposit on booking to order materials.
- Balance due on completion.
- Excludes making good / decoration unless listed.
If the job can grow when you open the floorboards, say estimate, not quote, and say what is in and what is out. The deposit is for the agreed scope. Extra work is a new agreed line, not a silent top-up of the deposit. See Estimate vs invoice.
Deposit is not “they pay QuoteCo”
Your customer pays you. Put your sort code and account, or your own pay link, on the sheet. QuoteCo never takes, holds or processes their money. We print the numbers. The cash goes to your bank.
Same rule on the free plan and on Platinum. The only thing we charge for is the optional £9/month Platinum subscription if you want logo, extra designs, sync and CSV. The deposit line is on the free sheet.
Estimate first, invoice when the work is done
Price on site. EST number. Deposit due and balance due visible. They pay the deposit into your account.
When the boiler is in and the job is signed off, raise a numbered invoice. Show what was already paid. Ask for the balance. Two documents. Two numbers. Do not scribble “paid deposit — please pay rest” on the old PDF and hope your books still make sense in April.
On the phone before you leave the drive
Open the builder. No account needed. Type the lines. Switch VAT on if you are registered. Set the deposit. Print or save a PDF. Hand it over or send the file before you pull away.
Not a diary. Not a job board. Not Making Tax Digital. Not Gas Safe, EICR or NICEIC paperwork. It is the sheet with the deposit written where they can see it.
Questions
Is a deposit the same as an invoice? No. The estimate shows deposit due; the invoice asks for payment for work supplied.
Do I need an account? No.
Does QuoteCo take the deposit? No. They pay you.
Can I show 25% automatically? Yes — set deposit on the sheet so deposit due and balance due print clearly.