A deposit is the single most effective protection against non-payment, because it filters out clients who were never going to pay before you've done any work. Serious clients don't flinch at a reasonable deposit — they expect it. The discomfort is almost entirely on your side, and it disappears once you have standard wording you use every time.
When a deposit is standard (and when it isn't)
Deposits are normal — and expected — in these situations:
- Project work with a defined scope: design, development, writing, video, consulting engagements. 50% upfront is common.
- New clients with no payment history with you.
- Work with upfront costs: materials, stock assets, subcontractors, travel.
- Long projects where you'd otherwise invoice once at the end, months after starting.
Deposits are less common for ongoing retainers (which are usually billed at the start of each month — effectively a 100% deposit), for hourly work billed weekly, and for large companies whose procurement systems simply can't do them. With those clients, push for shorter payment terms instead — see Net 30 vs Net 15 vs Due on Receipt.
The common splits
| Split | How it works | Best for |
|---|---|---|
| 50 / 50 | Half upfront, half on delivery | Most projects under ~6 weeks |
| 30 / 40 / 30 | Start, midpoint milestone, delivery | Larger projects, 2–4 months |
| 100% upfront | Full payment before work starts | Small fixed-price jobs, first-time clients with small budgets |
| 25% + monthly | Deposit, then monthly progress billing | Long engagements with fuzzy end dates |
Two rules regardless of split: the deposit is non-refundable once work begins (say so in writing), and the final payment lands before final files or launch, not after.
Exact wording to propose it
Put the deposit in your proposal or quote as a standing policy, not a special request. Policy framing removes the negotiation:
"My standard terms are 50% to book the project and 50% on delivery. Once the deposit is in, I'll schedule your start date — currently the week of June 8."
If the client asks why, or pushes back:
"The deposit reserves the time in my schedule and covers the early phases of the work. It's how I work with all clients — the final 50% isn't due until you've approved the finished work, so the commitment runs both ways."
If they still refuse a deposit entirely and they're a new client, treat that as real information about how they'll behave at final invoice time. A compromise that protects you: smaller milestones ("25% to start, then billed every two weeks") so no single unpaid chunk can get large.
One more timing rule: raise the deposit before you've committed to the work, ideally in the same message as the price. Asking after the client has said yes to a quote with no deposit mentioned feels like moving the goalposts — the same words land completely differently a week earlier.
What the deposit invoice looks like
Send a real invoice, not a Venmo request in an email. It should:
- Be numbered in your normal sequence (it's a real invoice, and the final invoice will reference it).
- Describe the line item as a deposit against a named project, with the total project price visible in the description.
- Use short terms — due on receipt or Net 7. A deposit due in 30 days defeats the purpose.
- State in the terms when work begins and that the remainder is billed on delivery.
Example: 50% deposit invoice for a brand identity project
The line item names the project and the full price, terms make clear work starts on payment, and the invoice is due on receipt.
When the project wraps, the final invoice repeats the full project description with a line showing the deposit already paid, so the client sees the whole picture in one place.
You can build both the deposit invoice and the final invoice in InvoiceKo's free invoice generator — no signup, no watermark, and the PDF is generated right in your browser. If you're deciding what terms to put on the remainder, start with invoice payment terms examples.