How much deposit should you ask for, and how do you word it?
Ask for enough to cover the materials you must buy before work starts — that is the honest basis for a deposit, and the one clients accept: the deposit buys their materials, not your profit. Put the amount and what it covers on the quote itself, receipt it when it lands, and show it deducted on the final invoice. A deposit you can explain line by line is rarely refused; a round number with no reason often is.
How do you work out the amount?
Start from the job's shopping list, not from a habit percentage. Price the materials you must order before or at the start of the job — especially anything with a delivery lead time or made to measure — and let the deposit follow that number. On a supply-and-install job that usually means the full materials cost; on a labour-heavy job it may be small, or nothing at all.
Whatever figure you land on, be able to say what it buys: “This advance purchases the unit and the copper, which we order on approval.” A client who can see his money turning into his materials pays it without a negotiation.
- List the materials the job needs before work starts.
- Price them from your suppliers at today's prices.
- Add anything that must be paid on order: made-to-measure items, special orders, deliveries.
- Set the deposit at that total — and keep the list to show the client if asked.
How should the deposit be worded on the quote?
On the quote, not in a side conversation. The quote the client approves should state the advance amount, what it covers, when the balance is due, and what happens to the advance if the job is cancelled — your own terms, written once and used on every quote, so no client gets different rules by accident.
Some firms go further and take the full amount in advance; InstaJack's own paperwork carries exactly that option, worded as the full amount payable in advance rather than a “deposit”. The right level is your commercial call — but whichever you choose, it must be written on the document the client approves, before money moves. The quote itself is covered in writing quotes that win.
How do you protect the materials money?
Treat the advance as the client's materials fund, not as early profit. Buy the materials promptly, keep the supplier receipts with the job file, and photograph deliveries on site. If the job is delayed or cancelled, you can show exactly what was bought with the money — that record is what keeps a cancellation from becoming an argument.
In InstaJack, the advance is set on the quote the client approves, and when the quote becomes the invoice the advance is shown as already received and deducted from the balance — the client never sees a total that forgets his deposit. InstaJack records the money; it does not hold it or guarantee it — payments move between your client's bank and yours, as they do today.
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Read →Asked often, answered straight.
Is asking for a deposit normal in the UAE?+
Yes — an advance against materials is normal market practice for supply-and-install work, and clients expect it on materials-heavy jobs. What builds trust is tying the amount to the materials list rather than asking for a bare percentage with no explanation.
Should the deposit be refundable if the client cancels?+
Your terms decide, so write them before money moves: a common approach is that materials already bought for the job belong to the client or are deducted at cost. Whatever your rule, it must be on the approved quote, not invented at cancellation.
What if the client refuses to pay any deposit?+
You have options: stage the payments so the first stage lands before materials are ordered, let the client buy the materials directly, or start with labour-only work. What not to do is fund a stranger's materials from your own account and hope.
How do I show the deposit on the final invoice?+
As a clear line: the job total, then “advance received” with the amount and date, then the balance due. The client should be able to check the invoice against his own payment in seconds — that clarity is what gets the balance paid quickly.