Why Designers Should Always Charge Deposits (And How Much)

Charging deposits protects you from non-payment. It's standard practice for designers, and clients expect it.

This guide explains why deposits matter, how much to charge, and how to handle them professionally.

📖 Part of our invoicing guide series: Deposits are part of Step 2 (Payment Terms) in the invoicing process. For the complete guide, see How to Invoice as a Designer or Creator or Simple Invoicing for Creatives.

Why Charge Deposits?

1. Protection from Non-Payment

Without deposit:

Client doesn't pay
You've done all the work
You're out time and money
No protection

With deposit:

Client pays upfront
You're protected
Even if they don't pay balance, you got something
Reduces risk

Deposits protect you from working for free.

2. Client Commitment

Deposit shows:

Client is serious
They're committed to project
They value your work
They'll follow through

Clients who pay deposits are more committed.

3. Cash Flow

Deposits help:

Cover initial costs
Improve cash flow
Reduce financial risk
Make projects sustainable

Better cash flow = better business.

4. Standard Practice

Deposits are:

Expected by clients
Standard in industry
Professional practice
Normal for larger projects

Clients expect deposits. It's normal.

5. Filter Bad Clients

Clients who won't pay deposits:

May not be serious
May not value your work
May be problematic
May not pay final balance

Deposits filter out bad clients.

How Much to Charge

Standard Deposit Amounts

30% Deposit

Good for: Smaller projects ($500-$2,000)
Covers: Initial costs, commitment
Standard: Yes

50% Deposit

Good for: Medium projects ($2,000-$10,000)
Covers: Half the work, standard practice
Standard: Most common

100% Upfront

Good for: Small projects ($100-$500), new clients
Covers: Full project, no risk
Standard: Less common, but acceptable

Custom Split

Good for: Large projects ($10,000+)
Example: 30% start, 40% milestone, 30% completion
Standard: For very large projects

Most designers charge 30-50%. Adjust based on project size and risk.

When to Charge Deposits

Always Charge For:

✅ Larger projects ($1,000+)
✅ New clients (no payment history)
✅ Custom work (can't resell)
✅ Long projects (weeks/months)
✅ High-risk clients (red flags)

Standard practice for these situations.

Consider For:

🤔 Smaller projects ($500-$1,000)
🤔 Repeat clients (good payment history)
🤔 Quick projects (days, not weeks)

Use judgment. Smaller/quick projects might not need deposits.

Don't Need For:

❌ Very small projects (under $500)
❌ Established clients (years of good history)
❌ One-off quick work (under 1 day)

Not always necessary for very small/quick work.

How to Handle Deposits

Step 1: Include in Proposal

In your proposal/contract:

Payment Terms:
- 50% deposit ($1,200) due upon project start
- 50% balance ($1,200) due upon final delivery

Set expectations upfront.

Step 2: Invoice for Deposit

Create deposit invoice:

Invoice number: INV-2026-0001 (Deposit)
Amount: 50% of total
Description: "Deposit for [Project Name]"
Due: Immediately or within 3 days

Send deposit invoice before starting work.

Step 3: Wait for Payment

Don't start work until:

Deposit is paid
Payment is confirmed
Funds are received

Protect yourself. Wait for payment.

Step 4: Invoice for Balance

After completing work:

Create final invoice
Invoice number: INV-2026-0002 (Final)
Amount: Remaining balance
Description: "Final payment for [Project Name]"

Send final invoice upon completion.

Deposit Invoice Example

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

[Your Name]
[Your Email]

━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━━

INVOICE #INV-2026-0001 (Deposit)
Date: March 7, 2026
Due: March 10, 2026

Bill To:
[Client Name]
[Client Email]

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Project: Brand Identity Design — Deposit

Services:
──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
50% Deposit — Brand Identity Design Project                    $1,200
──────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────
                                                                    TOTAL: $1,200

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Payment Terms:
- This is the deposit invoice for the Brand Identity Design project
- Total project cost: $2,400
- Final balance ($1,200) due upon completion
- Payment via card: [payment link]
- Or bank transfer: [account details]

Notes:
Thank you for choosing to work with me. Once this deposit is received, I'll begin work on your brand identity.

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Clear, professional, sets expectations.

Handling Client Objections

"Why do I need to pay a deposit?"

Response:

Deposits are standard practice for design projects. They protect both of us:
- Ensures you're committed to the project
- Covers my initial costs and time
- Standard in the industry

Most designers charge 30-50% deposits for projects like this. It's normal practice.

Explain professionally. Most clients understand.

"Can I pay the full amount at the end?"

Response:

I understand your preference. However, I require a deposit to begin work. This is standard practice and protects both of us.

If you're concerned, we can discuss a smaller deposit (30% instead of 50%), but I do need something upfront to start.

Be firm but flexible. Offer compromise if needed.

"What if I'm not happy with the work?"

Response:

I'm confident you'll be happy with the work. However, if there are issues, we'll work together to resolve them. The deposit covers my initial time and costs, but we'll make sure you're satisfied before final payment.

If you're not happy, we can discuss adjustments or a partial refund, but the deposit protects my time investment.

Address concerns, but protect yourself.

Deposit Best Practices

1. Set Clear Terms

In proposal/contract:

Deposit amount (percentage or fixed)
When due (before work starts)
What it covers
Refund policy (if applicable)

Clear terms prevent disputes.

2. Don't Start Without Payment

Wait for:

Deposit payment
Payment confirmation
Funds received

Don't start work until deposit is paid.

3. Use Separate Invoices

Create:

Deposit invoice (before work)
Final invoice (after completion)

Separate invoices = clear tracking.

4. Be Consistent

Apply deposits:

Consistently across projects
Based on clear criteria
Fairly to all clients

Consistency builds trust.

5. Document Everything

Keep records of:

Deposit amount
Payment date
Project details
Final balance

Documentation protects you.

Refund Policy

Standard Policy

Deposits are usually:

Non-refundable (covers your time)
Applied to final balance
Protected if client cancels

Standard practice: deposits are non-refundable.

Exception: Your Mistake

If you make a mistake:

Consider partial refund
Or apply to new project
Be fair, but protect yourself

Don't refund for client's change of mind.

FAQs

How much deposit should I charge?

Standard: 30-50% for most projects. Adjust based on:

Project size
Client risk
Industry standards
Your comfort level

When should I charge a deposit?

Always for:

Projects over $1,000
New clients
Custom work
Long projects

Use judgment for smaller/quick projects.

What if client won't pay deposit?

Consider:

Is client serious?
Are there red flags?
Can you reduce deposit?
Should you walk away?

Deposits filter bad clients. If they won't pay, consider if you want to work with them.

Can I charge 100% upfront?

Yes, for:

Small projects
New clients
High-risk situations
Quick work

100% upfront is acceptable for small projects.

What if client cancels after paying deposit?

Standard:

Deposit is non-refundable
Covers your time and costs
Protects you from cancellation

Deposits protect you from cancellations.

FAQs

How much should I charge as a deposit?

Common amounts:

30-50% for most projects
50% for larger projects ($5,000+)
100% for small projects (under $500)

Standard is 50% — protects you and shows client commitment.

When should I require a deposit?

Always for:

Large projects ($2,000+)
New clients
Projects with significant upfront work
Custom work that can't be resold

Optional for:

Small projects
Established clients
Quick work

What if a client refuses to pay a deposit?

Red flag. Consider:

Why are they refusing?
Are they established and trustworthy?
Is the project worth the risk?

For new clients: Deposit is non-negotiable. For established clients: Maybe flexible.

Should deposits be refundable?

Usually no. Deposits:

Cover your time and costs
Protect you from cancellation
Compensate for turning down other work

Make this clear in terms — "Deposit is non-refundable."

How do I invoice for deposits?

Two approaches:

Separate invoices: Deposit invoice first, final invoice after completion
One invoice: Show deposit paid, remaining balance due

Both work — choose what's clearest for your workflow.

What if client cancels after paying deposit?

Standard practice:

Deposit is non-refundable
Covers work completed and time invested
Protects you from lost opportunity

Include this in your terms to prevent disputes.

Ready to set up deposit invoicing? Try inv.so free — create deposit and final invoices easily.