Deposits and Progress Billing

How much of a deposit should I ask for before starting a job?

Deposit amounts vary by job size and materials cost, but a common range is 10–50% upfront, with material-intensive remodels often on the higher end of that range.

There's no universal legal standard for deposit size — it's a business decision based on your risk and material costs, though some states cap deposits for certain home-improvement contracts. Common patterns:

• Small labor-only jobs — little to no deposit needed
• Jobs with significant material costs — deposit sized to cover materials you'll purchase upfront, often 30–50%
• Large remodels — 50% upfront is a widely used convention, sometimes split further into milestone payments

Check whether your state or municipality has specific deposit limits for home improvement contracts, since a few jurisdictions do regulate this for consumer protection.

BCTM lets you set a deposit directly on an estimate or invoice and collect it through public checkout before scheduling the job. Its deposit workflow includes state-aware compliance checks, including the Pennsylvania cap.

What is progress billing in construction?

Progress billing is invoicing a customer in installments tied to project milestones or completion percentages, rather than billing the full amount only at the very end of the job.

Instead of one invoice at project completion, progress billing breaks payment into stages, commonly:

• A deposit before work begins
• One or more milestone payments as phases complete (e.g., framing done, drywall done)
• A final payment upon completion, sometimes reduced by retainage

This structure protects both parties: the contractor isn't financing the entire job out of pocket, and the customer isn't paying in full before seeing progress. It's especially common on larger remodels, new construction, and commercial projects.

BCTM supports splitting a job into multiple milestone invoices, so you can bill in stages as work progresses instead of waiting until the whole project is done, with deposit and invoice records available for reconciliation.

How do I split a big job into multiple payments?

Break the total contract price into a deposit plus milestone-based invoices tied to phases of the work, and send each invoice as that phase is completed.

A typical structure for splitting a large job:

1. 1.Deposit — collected before work starts, often to cover initial materials
2. 2.Milestone payments — tied to specific completion points (e.g., 25% at rough-in, 25% at drywall, 25% at final inspection)
3. 3.Final payment — collected at project completion, sometimes net of retainage

Defining the milestones clearly in the original estimate or contract — not deciding on the fly — avoids disputes about when each payment is actually due.

BCTM lets you create multiple linked invoices for a single job, tied to milestones you define upfront, so each payment stage is tracked separately.

Is it normal to ask for 50% upfront on a remodel?

Yes — a 50% upfront deposit is a widely used convention for remodels, particularly ones involving significant material purchases, though the exact percentage is a business decision, not a fixed rule.

50% upfront is common enough in remodeling that most customers won't be surprised by it, especially for kitchen and bathroom remodels where cabinets, fixtures, and appliances need to be ordered before work starts. That said:

• Some contractors use a three-way split instead (e.g., 1/3 deposit, 1/3 at midpoint, 1/3 at completion)
• Very material-heavy jobs sometimes justify more than 50% upfront if custom orders are non-refundable
• A few states cap deposit percentages for certain licensed home-improvement contracts, so check local rules if your state regulates this

What matters most is stating the percentage and payment schedule clearly in the estimate before work begins.

BCTM lets you set a 50% (or any percentage) deposit requirement directly on a remodel estimate, collected online before the job starts.

How do I invoice for materials upfront and labor at completion?

Create a materials-only invoice or deposit due before you purchase supplies, then invoice separately for labor once the work is finished.

This structure protects your cash flow on material-heavy jobs without requiring a full 50%+ deposit. Typical setup:

1. 1.Estimate the full job with labor and materials itemized separately
2. 2.Invoice (or collect a deposit equal to) the materials portion before ordering supplies
3. 3.Complete the work
4. 4.Invoice the remaining labor portion at completion

Keeping labor and materials as distinct line items from the start (rather than splitting a lump sum later) makes this two-stage billing much easier to execute cleanly.

BCTM's line-item estimates let you tag items as labor or materials, then generate separate invoices for each stage from the same underlying estimate.

Can I set up automatic progress payments for a long project?

Yes — recurring or scheduled invoicing features let you automatically generate and send milestone or progress invoices on a set schedule for a long-running project.

For projects with a predictable timeline (e.g., a 6-month renovation with monthly milestones), scheduling invoices in advance removes the need to remember to bill manually at each stage. Typical setup:

1. 1.Define the milestone schedule and amount for each stage
2. 2.Set the invoicing software to generate and send each invoice automatically on its scheduled date
3. 3.Optionally attach a saved payment method so payment can be collected automatically as well

This works best when milestones are date-based; for milestones tied to actual physical progress (not a calendar date), you'll still want to confirm the work is actually done before the invoice goes out.

BCTM's recurring and scheduled invoicing can be set up to automatically send progress-billing invoices at defined intervals for a long-running project.