Collect a deposit on an estimate

To collect a deposit, set a Deposit Required amount when you build the estimate. The customer is asked to pay it immediately after signing: the estimate page itself becomes the payment surface, taking a card payment or showing your Zelle/Venmo/Cash App details. When the deposit is actually paid — not merely promised — the estimate converts to an invoice with the deposit recorded on it.

Before you start

• To accept card deposits, finish Stripe Connect setup and leave Let client pay with a credit card checked when sending.
• To accept Zelle, Venmo, or Cash App, add your handles in settings — see P2P deposits.
• Recording payments requires permission to edit estimates and create invoices (owners and admins have both).

Step 1 — Set the deposit amount

1. On the Create Estimate page, scroll to the Summary section.
2. Next to Deposit Required, type a dollar amount — or tap the 10%, 25%, or 50% chip to compute it from the current total.
3. A note below confirms the customer will be asked to pay that amount when they sign.
4. Optionally set Card fee paid by to Client or Business to decide who covers the card service fee.
5. Send the estimate as usual.

Step 2 — The customer signs and pays

On the customer's estimate page, a green Pay tab appears. Before signing it shows the deposit amount under "Deposit due upon signing" with a Pay & Sign button — signing and paying are one flow. After the customer signs (see estimate signing), the tab becomes the live payment panel titled Pay your deposit:

• Card — the customer enters their name and billing ZIP, clicks Continue to card, enters card details, and pays. If a card service fee applies, the fee amount is shown before they commit. On success the estimate converts to an invoice and the customer lands on that invoice's page showing the payment.
• Zelle / Venmo / Cash App — the panel shows your handle with a Copy button and app links. After sending the money, the customer taps the "I've sent the payment" button, which files a report for you to confirm — money never counts until you confirm it (details).

On a desktop, a "Continue on your phone" QR code lets the customer scan and finish the payment from their phone.

Step 3 — Record a deposit paid outside the app

If the customer hands you cash or a check (or pays P2P without using the page), record it yourself:

1. Open the approved estimate and click Record Payment.
2. Enter the Amount (pre-filled with the deposit amount) and pick the Method — Cash, Check, Zelle, Venmo, Cash App, Bank Transfer, or Other.
3. Confirm. As the dialog says: "Recording converts this estimate to an invoice and marks the deposit as taken."
4. You're then offered Send the invoice? — choose Send invoice to email the converted invoice to the customer, or Not now.

What your customer sees

The customer's estimate page shows the deposit amount up front — in the approval form ("A deposit of $X is due upon signing") and on the Pay tab. After a successful card payment they see the converted invoice with the deposit applied and the remaining balance. On the P2P path the page notes — under the button the customer taps to report the payment — that "The business confirms your payment on their side before the deposit is recorded."; after reporting, the customer sees a "Payment reported" card confirming the amount and method.

Troubleshooting

• No Pay tab on the customer's page — a Pay tab appears only when a deposit amount is set AND at least one live payment method exists (Stripe connected with card payment allowed, or a P2P handle configured). A converted estimate also closes its Pay tab — the money lives on the invoice.
• Card payment is unavailable — Stripe isn't connected, isn't finished onboarding, or Let client pay with a credit card was unchecked at send time. The card option simply doesn't render on the customer's page; they can still use a P2P method if you have one configured.
• The customer paid but the page hiccuped — card money is safe: the payment is verified server-side and a webhook safety net completes the conversion even if the customer closes the page.
• The estimate belongs to a project — the deposit is billed as the project's first milestone invoice rather than converting the whole estimate. The success message tells you which happened, and the estimate stays the signed scope document inside its project.
• Record Payment is missing — it only shows on approved, not-yet-converted estimates that are NOT linked to a project (a project-linked estimate bills through its milestones instead), and only to users who can edit estimates and create invoices.