To request a deposit, add a Payment schedule section to the proposal with a payment due On approval. Your client sees the schedule before they accept. After they approve, you turn the deposit payment into an invoice and send it.
Available on the Flex, Pro, Scale, and Business plans. You need permission to edit Estimates, and permission to edit invoices to create the invoice. Works on desktop and in the mobile app.
Add a payment schedule to a proposal
Open the estimate and go to the Proposal tab.
Add a Payment schedule section. Select the + between sections, or select Add section in the desktop page header, then choose Payment schedule. If your proposal shows add buttons at the bottom instead, select Add payment schedule.
In the section, select Add milestone. A new payment appears, and Handoff fills in the percentage that's still unassigned.
Select the payment to open Edit payment.
Enter a Name, such as "Deposit".
Under Amount, enter a percentage or a dollar amount. Use the toggle to switch between % and $.
Under Due date, choose when it's due. The choices are below.
Select Save. Select Delete payment to remove a payment.
Repeat for each payment. For example: 25% On approval, 25% Custom due date with "Framing complete", and 50% On completion. If the payments don't add up to the proposal total, Handoff shows "Schedule does not match the total".
Choose when each payment is due
On approval: Due when your client approves the proposal. Use it for a deposit.
On completion: Due when the work is done.
Pick a date: Due on the date you choose.
Custom due date: Due when your own wording says, such as "First week of the job".
There is no milestone option. A payment named "Milestone" is only the name Handoff gives a new row.
Set a default payment schedule for new proposals
To start every new proposal with the same schedule, set a default in Presets.
Go to Settings > Presets.
Select the Proposals tab.
In the Basic proposal presets card, select the Payment schedule row.
In the Payment schedule dialog, choose Set default payment schedule.
For each payment, enter a Name, a Percentage, and a Due date of On approval or On completion. Select New payment to add more.
Select Save presets.
Defaults use percentages only. New proposals start with this schedule. A proposal that already has a schedule keeps its own. To start with none, choose No default payment schedule.
What your client sees
Your client sees the schedule as a read-only table with the Name, Amount, and Due of each payment. The proposal page has no pay button, and your client isn't charged when they accept. See What your client sees on a proposal.
Turn the deposit into an invoice after approval
Approving a proposal doesn't create or send an invoice. After your client approves, you request the deposit yourself.
Open the approved proposal. The payment schedule now appears as the Invoices & payments table.
Create the invoice from the deposit row. On desktop, point to the row and select the + that shows the tooltip Convert to invoice. In the mobile app, select the payment's card.
If the payment has a Custom due date, choose a real due date when Handoff asks.
Review the invoice, which opens as a Draft, and send it to your client.
A payment due On approval becomes an invoice due on receipt. To bill the whole estimate at once instead, select Convert to > Invoice.
Your client can pay by card or bank transfer from the invoice when you have activated payments. If you haven't, they pay another way, and you log the payment on the invoice. See How to set up online payments.
The Deposits in Settings > Finance & payments are payouts to your bank, not client deposits.