How much deposit to ask for, and how to ask

01Why take a deposit at all

A deposit does three jobs. It covers money you spend before you start, such as materials or a specially ordered part. It holds a date in your diary that you’d otherwise give to someone else. And it turns “yes, go ahead” into a commitment: a customer who has paid something rarely goes quiet.

It also has a legal meaning. The CCPC tells consumers that paying a deposit means you and the business are making a contract, in which both sides agree:

• the exact work being done
• the deposit amount
• when the balance must be paid
• the date the work will be done

So the deposit is only as clear as the quote it sits on. Put all four on the quote, and the customer’s yes and payment cover all four.

02How much is common in Ireland

There’s no legal amount and no official standard for trades. What there is, is practice.

Writing in TheJournal.ie, quantity surveyor Shay Lally describes a structure his own company uses on renovations: typically 10% of the overall project value, plus 50% of the cost of windows, plus whatever deposit suppliers need for other items ordered on the client’s behalf, such as a kitchen. His reasoning is that suppliers of made-to-order items commonly want half before they’ll start production.

His line on what’s too much is just as useful: 50% up front on a labour-only contract. When you’re not buying materials or ordering anything, there’s nothing for the money to pay for yet, and staged payments tied to finished work are fairer.

That gives a sensible way to set your own:

Whatever you choose, tie it to something real: an order you’re placing or a date you’re keeping free. A customer can see why a deposit covers the kitchen units; they’ll ask why it’s half the labour.

03A worked example

A made-up painter, registered for VAT, quotes a homeowner to paint the inside of a three-bed semi. The job is labour and paint, so it’s at 13.5% (see our VAT guide), and the painter asks for 10% to book the dates.

The deposit is worked out on the total including VAT, so the customer sees one figure to pay now and one later, and they add up to the total.

04What consumer law says about deposits

Tell them the terms before they pay. If the customer agrees by phone, by email or in their home, the CCPC lists deposit conditions among the details you must give them before they agree. The CCPC also tells customers to confirm, in writing, the completion date, whether the deposit is refundable in any situation, and any non-refundable amount or cancellation charge. Put that on your quote, and give a receipt for the deposit.

If you can’t do the job, they get it back. When a business can’t do what it agreed, the CCPC says the customer can ask for the deposit back, and can take legal action if you refuse. A homeowner who paid a deposit for work that wasn’t carried out can use the small claims procedure for up to €2,000.

Changing their mind is different. Outside a cooling-off period, the CCPC’s view is that generally, a business does not have to refund your deposit if you change your mind, unless your terms allow it.

“Non-refundable” has limits. Consumer law lists terms that may be unfair, including one where a business can keep payments when the consumer ends the contract without the same in return, and one making the consumer pay a high level of compensation for work not done. A deposit that matches the real cost of cancelling (materials ordered, a date lost) is easier to defend than a large one that’s simply kept.

05Cooling off: when you must refund

If the homeowner accepted your quote in their home, by phone or by email, they can usually cancel within 14 days of agreeing (30 days if you called to their door uninvited) without giving a reason. If they do, the CCPC says you must refund them within 14 days of cancellation, using the way they paid.

If they asked you to start inside the 14 days, and you got that request in writing or another lasting form and told them about the right to cancel, they pay for the work done up to the day they cancel, in proportion to the agreed price. So a deposit taken in the cooling-off period isn’t yet money you can count on. If you’ll spend it on materials straight away, get the written request to start first.

06How to ask

Ask in the quote, not on the phone afterwards. A deposit that appears for the first time after the customer said yes looks like a surprise. In the same article, Shay Lally calls a deposit requested at the eleventh hour, from someone who never asked before, a red flag for a cash flow problem. Customers think the same.

Say what it’s for. One line does it: “A 10% deposit books your dates and covers the paint.” or “€900 deposit to order your units; the rest on completion.”

Make it easy to pay. Give your bank details and a reference, or a link to pay by card. The CCPC advises customers to pay large deposits using a debit or credit card because it may let them ask their bank for a chargeback if the business doesn’t deliver. Offering card payment is a quiet signal that you’re confident you will.

Confirm when it lands. A short “Deposit received, see you on the 14th” closes the loop and gives the customer their receipt.

07What QuotePaid does for you

You set your deposit once in Settings, and every quote shows the amount due to book the job. When your customer accepts, they can pay the deposit straight away by card, Apple Pay or Google Pay, or by bank transfer with your IBAN and a payment reference, and tap “I’ve paid” for you to confirm. You get an email and an alert when it lands. When you invoice, the deposit paid is taken off the final invoice. Two days before the start, your customer gets a reminder with the date and your number.