Guide
Deposits, milestones, and getting paid on time
Financing a client's materials out of your own bank account is the default setting for a lot of contractors. It does not have to be: it is a question of paperwork.
Why a deposit is not a lack of trust
A deposit pays for materials. Put that way, it is not up for debate — and said before the signature, it surprises nobody.
What scares a client off is not the amount: it is learning about it after saying yes. A deposit stated in the quote, with what it pays for and when the rest is due, goes through almost every time.
- Frame it by what it buys: "30% at signature to order the panel and the charger".
- Give the balance in the same sentence: "balance on completion, after inspection".
- Name the payment methods you accept. A client who does not know how to pay waits.
Splitting a job into milestones
Past a few thousand dollars, a single payment at the end is a bet. A simple split fixes cash flow without adding paperwork.
- 30 / 40 / 30: signature, mid-job, completion. The residential classic.
- 50 / 50: for a short job where materials are most of the cost.
- A fixed amount at signature then the balance: when materials are ordered in one go.
The double-tax trap
This is the most common mistake when splitting by hand. You take the contract total including tax, take 30% of it, then invoice that amount as a pre-tax figure — and add tax on top.
On a $20,000 contract, the invoices add up to roughly 15% more than the contract. The client notices on the last invoice, and that is the end of the relationship. The rule is simple: split the PRE-TAX amount, then calculate tax on each milestone.
How Devik does it
The schedule is set on an accepted quote, or on the draft if you want to announce it before the client signs. Each milestone becomes an invoice at the right moment, numbered in the same sequence as the rest.
The first milestone can be invoiced at the moment of signature: the client signs and pays the deposit in one motion, by Interac e-Transfer or card. Paying stays optional — the signature is valid either way.
One invariant is checked by a test on every build: the invoices of a schedule add up to the contract amount, to the cent.
And when the client does not pay
Reminders go out on their own — before the due date, then after — by email, and by text if you turn it on. They stop as soon as the balance reaches zero. An unpaid invoice stays visible on the dashboard instead of reminding you of itself three months later.
FAQ
Does the money go through Devik?
No. If you enable card payments, your clients' money goes DIRECTLY to your own Stripe account. Devik never collects it and never holds it. You carry the transaction fees and any disputes, as you would with any terminal.
Does an Interac e-Transfer cost anything?
Nothing on the Devik side: your transfer details are shown to the client, they send you the money directly, you mark the invoice paid. It is the simplest method, and it is the one presented first.
Can I invoice a service call with no quote at all?
Yes. A standalone invoice is created directly, with no prior quote: same numbering, same tax, same portal, same reminders. It stays out of your quote statistics, so your acceptance rate stays accurate.
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