How to Ask Freelance Clients for a Deposit (Example Numbers)

By Cedar & Ledger

A deposit is part of the project price that the client pays before you start. It shows the client is serious, covers some of your time if the project stalls, and means you aren't carrying the whole job on credit. This guide covers when to ask, how to pick an amount, how to put it in writing, how to invoice it, and how to track it so the final bill adds up.

The client, project and dollar amounts below are made-up examples, not typical rates or recommendations. Deposit customs vary by field, so look at what's normal in your line of work. This is general information, not legal, tax or financial advice. If a contract matters a lot (big project, new client, another country), have someone qualified look at it.

Quick checklist

• ☐ Decide which projects get a deposit
• ☐ Pick a deposit amount (a share of the price or a flat amount)
• ☐ Put the deposit, the balance and what happens if the project stops in writing
• ☐ Send the deposit as its own invoice before work starts
• ☐ Start work after the deposit arrives
• ☐ Show the deposit on the final invoice and bill only the balance
• ☐ Log both invoices and set aside your tax share from each payment

The steps below walk through each one.

Step 1: Decide which projects get a deposit

Many freelancers ask for one on:

• New clients you haven't been paid by before.
• Bigger projects, where you'd lose a lot of time if the client disappeared.
• Work with upfront costs, like materials, stock photos or a subcontractor you pay.
• Projects that block your calendar, where saying yes means turning other work down.

For a small job with a client who always pays on time, you might skip it. Pick a rule (for example, "every new client, and any project over $500") so you don't have to decide from scratch, and so it doesn't feel personal when you ask.

Step 2: Pick a deposit amount

The most common way is a share of the project price. Shares from 25% to 50% are common in many fields. Deposit = project price × deposit share; balance = project price − deposit.

Example (made-up numbers): a $1,200 website copy project.

For longer projects, you can split the price into milestones instead. Example: a $3,000 project in three equal parts is $3,000 ÷ 3 = $1,000 at the start, $1,000 when the first draft is delivered and $1,000 at the end.

A flat deposit works too, like $200 to book a date. Whatever you pick, make the number easy to check: the deposit plus the balance should equal the full price.

Step 3: Put it in writing before you start

Add the deposit to your quote, proposal or agreement, next to the price. Spell out:

• The amount and the due date ("$360 deposit, due before work starts").
• When the balance is due ("$840 balance, due 14 days after final delivery").
• What happens if the project is cancelled. Whether a deposit is refundable depends on what you and the client agreed. If you want it to cover work already done or time you held for them, say so in the agreement; don't assume it does.
• How to pay, so the client doesn't have to ask.

An email the client replies "Agreed" to is better than nothing. A short signed agreement is better still. The Freelance Client Onboarding Checklist (With Example) puts the deposit alongside the other first-week details.

Step 4: Ask for it plainly

Asking for a deposit is normal, so keep the wording short and matter-of-fact. Example wording:

"Thanks for choosing me for this. To book the project, I ask for a 30% deposit ($360) before I start. The $840 balance is due 14 days after I deliver the final copy. I've attached the deposit invoice. Once it's paid, I'll start on Monday."

If the client pushes back, you can offer milestones or a smaller share instead of dropping the deposit altogether.

Step 5: Send the deposit as its own invoice

Give the deposit its own invoice number and send it with the agreement (How to Number Your Invoices (Simple System) shows a simple system). Then wait until it's paid before you start the work. Example (made-up numbers):

On the final invoice, show the full price and the deposit so the client can see the math. Example: "Website copy project $1,200, less deposit paid (INV-021) $360, balance due $840." If the scope grew, add the extra work as its own line so the new total is clear. What to Put on a Freelance Invoice (Checklist + Example) shows a full example invoice with a deposit line.

Step 6: Log both invoices and set aside for taxes

Log the deposit invoice the day you send it, and mark it paid the day the money arrives. Do the same for the balance invoice. That way you can see at a glance which projects have paid a deposit and what's still owed.

A deposit is money you earned, so treat it like any other client payment. If you set aside a share of each payment for taxes, do it for the deposit too. Example (made-up numbers): with a 25% set-aside, the $360 deposit means $360 × 25% = $90 to your tax account, and the $840 balance means $840 × 25% = $210. That's $300 in total, the same as 25% of $1,200. Your own set-aside percentage depends on your situation; check the IRS website or a tax professional.

If the balance invoice goes past its due date, How to Follow Up on a Late Invoice (Example Numbers) has a reminder schedule with example wording. If you're not sure the project price itself is right, How to Set Your Freelance Hourly Rate (Example Numbers) shows how to work out a rate and turn it into a project price.

The deposit usually goes on the quote first; How to Write a Freelance Quote (Example Estimate) shows where it fits.

Common snags

• Starting before the deposit lands. Then it's just a promise. Wait for it to clear, or at least to show as sent.
• No written note on cancellations. Without one, you and the client may remember the deal differently.
• Forgetting the deposit on the final invoice. Billing the full price again confuses the client and slows payment.
• Not logging it. An unlogged deposit makes the client's balance look bigger or smaller than it is.
• Skipping the tax set-aside on the deposit. It's easy to spend upfront money before the project is done.

For payment terms and a weekly routine for every invoice, see How to Track Freelance Invoices So Clients Pay on Time.

A simple way to track it

A notebook or a notes app works if you write down every invoice and payment. If you'd like a head start, the Freelancer Invoice + Client Tracker ($9, Excel and Google Sheets) has a printable invoice with up to 12 line items, an invoice log where status shows Paid, Open or Overdue on its own, a clients tab with billed, paid and outstanding per client, and a dashboard. It doesn't have a separate deposit field, so you log the deposit and the balance as two invoices like the example above, and it doesn't send emails or take payments (details).

Honest note: I make this template and sell it under Cedar & Ledger, so I'd earn from a purchase. General information only, not legal, tax or financial advice.

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