Direct answer

Ask for the deposit before the work starts. Here is the exact ask.

The deposit is where a professional job actually begins. Asked well, it books the slot, funds the first stage, and filters out the jobs that would have ended in a payment fight. Here is how much to ask, the words to use, what to do when a client says no, and how a checkable delivery record makes the ask easy to say yes to.

See the instrument first: the live demo runs one real call and hands you its verifiable receipt, no signup.

Updated October 19, 2026. The delivery records quoted below are real and public, with their client decision states read back from the live service on publication day.

Why the deposit ask feels hard, and why it works anyway

The deposit is not a trust insult. It is the client booking real capacity and you committing real time, with money marking the moment both sides mean it. Clients who pay deposits also behave differently after: they answer questions, check deliveries, and close jobs, because they have something in the job too. The jobs that start on a handshake and a hopeful invoice are the ones that drift, expand, and end in a payment argument.

The ask, step by step

One: agree the scope and the total price first, in writing, before money is mentioned. Two: name the deposit as a number, tied to the first stage of that scope. Three: invoice it separately, with a due date, and name what its payment triggers: the start date and the delivery link. Four: when it lands, start, and let the record build as the work runs:

Accepted: the client checked it and released the work

That accepted record is what a deposit buys the client in practice: work they could check as it happened, and a decision state, accepted with release state ok_to_release, that closed the job without an argument about whether the work existed.

Pair the deposit with a delivery record

A deposit ask lands better when the client gets inspection in return. Say it plainly in the ask: you will not have to trust my summaries, because the work arrives as a record you can open. Every step saved as it ran, its time attached, the parts not checked named on the record itself. That turns the deposit from a leap of faith into the first half of a checkable transaction, which is a much easier yes for a careful client.

What a deposit does not do

A deposit reduces your risk. It does not remove it. It does not prove the later work will be good, it does not force a client to pay the balance, and the rules on deposits, refunds, and consumer clients vary by place and by contract. This page is general information, not legal advice. A verifiable receipt proves the saved result was not changed since it was saved. It does not prove the work was correct, and Zambo never holds the deposit or the balance for you.

If you are mid-job with no deposit

Do not retrofit one angrily onto a job that is already running. Finish the current stage, deliver it as a record, and make the next stage the deposit gate: the next stage starts on payment of the next invoice. That is a normal milestone rhythm, it gives the client a finished, checkable stage in hand, and it quietly converts a risky open job into a staged one before the balance at risk grows.

Frequently asked questions

How do I ask a client for a deposit before starting work?

Ask before any work starts, in the same message as the scope and the price, and make the deposit a start gate rather than a favour. Name the amount or the percentage, what it covers, when the balance is due, and the exact thing that happens when it lands: work begins and gets a start date. Give the client a reason that helps them, not just you: the deposit books the slot, covers the first stage, and pairs with a checkable delivery record so they can see the work the deposit paid for as it happens. Send it as an invoice with a due date, not as a line in a long email. If a client refuses any deposit, shrink the first stage until the amount at risk is small, or walk away before you have done unpaid work.

How much deposit should I ask for?

Common practice is a third to a half up front for a fixed project, the full amount up front for a small job, or the first milestone in advance on a long job. Pick the version that matches the risk: the longer the job and the newer the client, the more belongs at the start. Whatever you choose, write the split down with the delivery stages it attaches to, so the deposit is tied to named work, not to a vague promise to begin. Existing clients with a clean payment history are the honest exception, and even then the split belongs in the agreement.

What words do I actually use to ask?

Keep it short, factual, and in writing. A working form: to book this in, the deposit is [amount], invoiced today and due [date]. On payment, work starts [date] and you get one delivery link where every step is recorded for you to check. The balance of [amount] is due on acceptance of the final delivery. That is the whole ask. No apology, no long justification, no discount offered before anyone has objected. If you would not say it to a good client's face without flinching, cut that part.

What if the client says no to a deposit?

Treat the answer as information about the job, not as a negotiation you have to win at any price. Offer the smaller first stage: a paid first milestone with its own delivery record and acceptance, priced so that a walk-away costs you days, not weeks. Or offer a start date that follows payment rather than precedes it. If the client wants the work started, the files flowing, and the first money only at the very end, they are asking you to finance the project and carry all of its risk. That arrangement is where most unpaid invoices are born.

How do I make the deposit the default on every job?

Put the deposit gate in your standard agreement and your standard first message, so it is policy rather than a per-client judgement. Run the work itself through Zambo, so the deposit buys the client something visible: a handover link where the work lands step by step, each step with its own verifiable receipt, ready for the client to accept or flag. For $0.99, start the next job behind a recorded deposit gate, with the delivery record building from the first step instead of being assembled at the end: https://zambo.dev/day-pass/ A Day Pass covers 24 hours, no subscription. Ongoing use is the Zambo Pass at $29 a month or $290 a year, and $19 a month for $ZAMBO holders, which adds private handover links, your branding, and the approval record as PDF and JSON files.

Related