How Much Deposit Should You Ask For on a Quote?
The right deposit covers what you spend before you deliver anything. Nothing more.
Materials to order, a subcontractor to book, three weeks of discovery: that's what a deposit is for. Beyond that, it doesn't protect you anymore. It mostly makes your client hesitate.
Because a big deposit is a big check to write before seeing any result. And the competitor who asks for less suddenly looks a lot friendlier.
There's another way, and some states already push in that direction: get paid for what's done, as it gets done. At Seequency, we call that a Seequence. A Seequence is your quote split into steps your client validates, then pays one by one. The first step replaces the deposit. It's concrete, and it doesn't look like a blank check.
Here's what a deposit should cover, what the rules say in one state that regulates it, and how I'd do it instead.
Try it on your quote: the free tool that splits it into paid steps.
What a deposit is for
A deposit should cover the money you spend before your client sees anything. That's the whole job.
In practice, that means three kinds of costs:
Materials you have to order before the work starts.
Subcontractors or freelancers you have to book and pay.
Early hours: discovery, design, planning, the work nobody sees yet.
Add those up and you have a deposit you can defend. Anything beyond that is just your client financing your peace of mind.
What the rules say: California, for example
Rules vary by state and by trade; check yours. California is a useful example, because its rule says out loud what a good deposit should be.
For home improvement work, California caps the down payment at $1,000 or 10% of the contract price, whichever is less. And every payment after that can't exceed the value of the work done or the materials delivered (California's licensing board, CSLB).
Read that second sentence again. The state of California has basically written the principle of paid steps into law: you get paid for what's been done or delivered. It just hasn't called it a Seequence yet.
The downside of a big deposit
A big deposit makes you feel safe, but it asks your client to carry a risk they have no way to measure.
They pay 50% before seeing a wireframe, a drawing or a hole in the backyard. So they compare. And the provider who asks for 20% gains points, even if they're not as good.
There's a second downside, quieter. Once the deposit is in, nothing happens on the payment side until the final balance. You finance the project. And your client waits until the end to judge everything you did, all at once.
That final balance is exactly where things get slow. In the US, 43% of the value of B2B invoices is paid late, with an average payment time of 45 days, according to Atradius' 2025 barometer as reported by The Lonely Entrepreneur. A big deposit followed by a big balance puts most of your money in the slowest part of the project.
A concrete first step instead of a deposit
What I recommend: replace the deposit with a short, concrete first step that your client validates, then pays. A step that matches something real, not a percentage.
I did this for a relative who was having a pool built. I convinced the pool builder to offer a first step that covered exactly two things: buying the materials and renting the basic equipment.
Result: everyone was covered. The pool builder didn't front a cent for materials or machines. The client knew exactly what they were paying for: materials and equipment, with the receipts. Not half of a project they hadn't seen yet.
That's the whole logic of a Seequence. Each step has a precise content. The client validates it, then pays for it. Then the next one starts.
Example: a $30,000 pool, with a deposit or as a Seequence
Take a $30,000 quote for a pool. The amounts are examples.
With 50% upfront, the client pays $15,000 at signing, then $15,000 at the end. In between, the builder finances the job, and waits for the balance once the client already has a pool. (In California, a 50% down payment on a home improvement job wouldn't even be allowed.)
As a Seequence, the same quote splits into four steps:
Step | What the client validates | Amount (example) |
|---|---|---|
Materials and equipment | Materials ordered and equipment rented, receipts attached | $8,000 |
Excavation | The pool dug to the right dimensions | $6,000 |
Shell and filtration | The walls built, the filtration system installed | $10,000 |
Finishes and fill | The finish applied, the pool filled and running | $6,000 |
Total | $30,000 |
The price hasn't changed. The client no longer writes a $15,000 check blind: they pay $8,000 for materials they can see. And each validated step triggers its own payment request, instead of one big balance at the end.
Seequency never touches the money. The client pays the builder directly, the way they always do.
Try it on your quote: the free tool that splits it into paid steps.
What your client gains, and what protects you
A Seequence gives your client guarantees no big deposit ever offers. You choose which ones to turn on:
They pay only for what's done.
They can stop after any step.
They see proof before paying: the receipts, photos of the excavation, the filtration running.
They own the deliverables as payments go.
And you're not at the mercy of a slow client. You set the review period for each step in advance. You can turn on tacit validation: a step with no answer within that period counts as validated. At worst, you've fronted one step.
You create your Seequence for free from your existing quote, no credit card needed. Then you send it yourself, or you let Seequency run it with an account: it sends the step reports, lets your client know when a step is ready to be paid, and drafts an invoice at every step.
Frequently asked questions
- Is a 50% deposit normal?
- There's no national norm. Practices vary by trade, and some states cap deposits for certain kinds of work: in California, home improvement down payments are capped at $1,000 or 10%, whichever is less. Check the rules for your state and trade.
- Can you start a project with no deposit at all?
- Yes, as long as your state's rules and your contract allow it. The real question is how much you front before getting paid. A short first step, validated then paid, keeps that amount small without asking for a deposit.
- What happens to the deposit if the client cancels?
- It depends on your contract and on your state's rules. Write down what happens to the deposit in case of cancellation, and check the rules that apply to your trade. For a specific case, ask a lawyer.
- Do paid steps replace the deposit?
- They can. In a Seequence, the first step plays that role, with a concrete content. You can also keep a small deposit and split the rest into steps. Either way, your client pays you directly: Seequency never touches the money.
