What deposit percentage should I charge?

For most residential work, 25% to 33% is the norm. Materials-heavy trades like roofing, concrete, and fencing sometimes go to 40% or 50% where state law allows. California caps residential deposits at 10% or $1,000. The right number covers your material cost before the project starts. If you're buying $5,000 of roofing material on a $14,000 project, 33% gives you a $4,620 deposit. That covers the material run. Start there and adjust based on what your clients accept and what your state allows.

Can a client refuse to pay a deposit?

Yes. And some will push back. The deposit is cash flow protection, but it's also a filter. A client who puts 25% down is committed to the project. One who won't put down 10% before a single board gets cut might also be the client who disputes the final invoice after the work is done. You can waive it for a longtime repeat client. For a new client you met last week, think carefully before you start without cash in hand. Your time has a cost.

Does the deposit go straight to my bank account?

Yes, through Stripe. You connect Stripe during Homefront Pro onboarding. Card deposits reach your Stripe balance within two business days. Stripe then sends the funds to your linked bank account on your payout schedule, which you set in Stripe. ACH deposits take four to five business days to reach Stripe, then follow the same payout schedule. Homefront Pro doesn't hold money or take a cut of the deposit. Stripe charges 2.9% plus 30 cents for cards and 0.8% capped at $5 for ACH.

What if the project falls through after I collect the deposit?

That depends on your contract terms. If your estimate includes a non-refundable deposit clause after materials are ordered or a start date passes, you keep it. If you refund freely, you issue the refund through your Stripe dashboard. Homefront Pro logs the transaction but doesn't make the refund decision. Before you start collecting deposits, add a cancellation clause to your estimate template in plain language. A signed estimate with clear terms is your protection if a client later disputes a forfeited deposit.

Can I collect a deposit on a recurring maintenance plan?

Deposits in Homefront Pro attach to estimates, not to recurring invoices. For a monthly or quarterly maintenance plan, use recurring invoices without a deposit tied to each cycle. If you want to collect a setup fee or first-month materials cost upfront, send a one-time estimate with a deposit first, then set up the recurring invoice for the ongoing billing. Both appear in the client's portal so their full payment history stays in one place: the signed estimate and the recurring billing schedule together.

What if the client pays by ACH and it fails?

ACH failures take five to seven business days to surface. When a payment fails, Stripe notifies you by email and the deposit status on the estimate changes from Pending to Failed in Homefront Pro. You'll need to reach out to the client and collect the deposit again by card, check, or a new ACH attempt. The rule is simple: don't order materials or schedule a start date until the deposit status says Paid. Pending is not the same as Paid. An ACH in Pending can fail. One that says Paid cannot.

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How to collect a deposit when your client approves an estimate

The gap between approval and deposit is where jobs fall apart. Tie the deposit to the estimate and your client pays before they close the tab.

5 min readUpdated May 18, 2026

You send the estimate. The client texts back: looks good, let's move forward. Three days later you still don't have a deposit. You're holding their slot on the schedule, you haven't ordered materials, and you've started wondering if they went with someone cheaper. That gap between approval and commitment is where jobs disappear. Some clients ghost. Others get a second bid in the window you gave them. Either way, you're left holding a calendar slot that should have been locked.

The standard fix is sending a deposit invoice after approval. That sounds fine until you watch it play out. Client approves at 2pm on a Tuesday. You send the deposit invoice that evening. They open it Wednesday morning, plan to pay it at lunch, get busy, and by Friday you're sending a follow-up text asking if they got your invoice. Each day of delay is a day the commitment softens. A spouse gets involved who wasn't part of the original conversation. A neighbor mentions a guy who'll do it cheaper. The urgency fades.

The cleaner approach is collecting the deposit in the same session as the signature. The client reads the estimate, signs, and the payment prompt appears before they close the window. No second email. No follow-up invoice. No three-day gap. Here's how to set it up in Homefront Pro.

How to collect a deposit when your client approves an estimate

Step by step

Check your state's deposit caps before setting a percentage

Set a default deposit percentage for your account

Override the deposit on a per-estimate basis when you need to

Send the estimate and let the approval collect the deposit

Check the deposit status before ordering materials or blocking the schedule

Let the deposit carry through to the final invoice automatically

Common questions

Related

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