Introduction
Large projects come with higher risks. By requiring deposits before an estimate is accepted, you improve cash flow, secure commitment, and avoid wasting time on customers who aren’t serious about moving forward.
Why This Matters
Improves Cash Flow — Deposits provide upfront working capital for labor and materials.
Weeds Out Flaky Customers — Only committed customers will pay a deposit.
Protects Your Business — Reduces the risk of unpaid work or last-minute cancellations.
💡Without deposits, you may take on costly projects with little financial security.
How to Require Deposits in Copilot
Go to Settings > Invoices, Estimates & Receipts.
Enable Require Deposit prior to accepting an Estimate.
Set the deposit amount or percentage based on your company policy.
Now, customers must pay the deposit before they can accept the estimate.
Best Practice in Action
Example:
You send a $5,000 landscaping estimate.
Copilot requires a 30% deposit ($1,500) before the customer can accept it.
The deposit secures the job and funds initial materials and labor.
If the customer refuses, you’ve saved time by identifying a non-committed lead.
By requiring deposits on large estimates, you’ll strengthen your cash flow, protect your time, and ensure only serious customers move forward.
Additional Deposit Management
Manually collect over-the-phone deposits by securely capturing credit card information and applying it as credit in the customer’s account.
Ensure accurate invoicing by applying existing deposit credits and charging the balance due when completing the project.
Use the Notes section in Copilot CRM to track deposits and link them to specific jobs, adding job details and related invoice numbers for better organization.