Deposits: when £25 works and when you need 20%

A deposit does two different jobs, and mixing them up is where trades go wrong.

The first is commitment. A customer who has paid something turns up.

The second is cover. If you have bought materials for a job that then falls through, the deposit is what stops that coming out of your pocket.

A £25 deposit does the first job well and the second one badly.

• Short visit, no special materials: a flat deposit of about £25.
• Job with materials: 20% or more, and at least the cost of what you order.
• Made-to-measure or special-order items: the full cost of those items up front.
• Take the deposit off the final bill, and show it.
• Put your refund rule in writing before they pay.

Call-outs, services, inspections, small repairs from van stock.

You are not out of pocket on materials. What you are protecting is the slot. £25 is small enough that nobody argues and large enough that people remember the booking.

If they cancel with decent notice, give it back or move it to the new date. It costs you nothing and it gets remembered.

Any job where you order materials before you start.

The test is simple: if the customer vanished tomorrow, what would you be stuck with? The deposit should cover at least that.

On a £1,500 job with £400 of materials, 20% is £300, which does not cover what you have ordered. Ask for 30%, or for the materials in full.

For anything made to measure, such as worktops, glass or a cut-to-size door, take the full cost of that item before you order. You cannot send it back.

"Non-refundable" is not a magic word. Under UK consumer law a deposit term has to be fair, which broadly means you can keep what the cancellation really cost you, not a penalty on top.

In practice that is materials you could not return, and a slot you could not refill at short notice.

Work agreed at the customer's home, by phone or online usually comes with a 14-day right to cancel as well. If the customer wants you to start sooner, get that request in writing.

This is general guidance, not legal advice. Business Companion, the Trading Standards site for businesses, has plain guides.

A customer books a £900 job. You order £250 of materials and block out two days.

With a £25 deposit, a cancellation the day before leaves you £225 down on materials, with two empty days.

With a 30% deposit you hold £270. The materials are covered, and there is £20 towards the time you spent arranging it.

The customer who was always going to go ahead pays the same total either way.

• Sort your jobs into two groups: slot only, and materials ordered ahead.
• Set a flat deposit for the first and a percentage for the second.
• Write a two-line refund rule and add it to your quotes.
• Show the deposit as a line on the final bill.

Flat deposit:

To hold [day] at [time] I take a £25 deposit, which comes off your bill on the day. If you need to move or cancel, tell me by [time, two days before] and I will refund it or move it to the new date.

Percentage deposit:

To book the job in I take [30]% up front (£[amount]), which covers the materials I order for you. The balance is due on completion. If you cancel after the materials are ordered, I keep the cost of anything I cannot return and refund the rest.