---
key: ask-for-a-deposit-on-a-quote
title: Ask for a deposit or milestone payments on a quote
audience: staff
section: sales-billing/quotes
routes: ["/quotes/:uid/:panel", "/quotes/:uid/edit/:panel", "/quotes/new/:panel"]
permissions: ["billing.quotes.update"]
features: ["billing.quotes"]
since: 0.0.1
updated: 0.0.1
status: published
summary: Set a quote to ask for a deposit or staged payments once the customer approves it, and hold scheduling, the work or the final invoice until each one is paid.
keywords: [deposit, down payment, half up front, 50 percent deposit, progress payment, milestone payment, retainer, pay before work starts, payment schedule]
related: [create-a-quote, send-a-quote, record-a-customers-decision-on-a-quote, set-display-and-payment-options-on-a-quote-or-invoice]
---

In the sidebar, open **Sales & Billing**, then **Quotes**, and open the quote from the list, or start a new one. The deposit settings are in the quote's **Manage** panel, whose page address ends in `/manage`.

## Before you start

- Deposit schedules come with some billing plans only. When yours does not include them, a yellow note says so and the switches are greyed out.
- The quote has to be open for editing: a draft, or sent and not yet turned into work.

## Steps

1. Open the actions menu (the three dots at the top of the quote) and choose **Manage**.
2. Open **Payment options** and turn on **Require a payment schedule**. Nova adds a 50% **Deposit** called Project deposit, due **On quote acceptance**. If the quote has no work order yet, Nova also turns on **Create a work order when the quote is accepted**.
3. Adjust the payment:
   - **Customer label** is the name the customer sees.
   - **Payment type** is **Deposit**, **Progress payment** or **Milestone payment**.
   - **Calculation** is a **Percentage** of the amount you pick under **Percentage basis** (the grand total with tax, the **Net subtotal**, or the subtotal before tax), or a **Fixed amount** typed in **Required amount**.
   - **Due** is **On quote acceptance**, **Before scheduling**, **Before work starts**, or **On a specific date** with a **Due date and time**.
4. Under **Block until fully paid**, tick what has to wait for this payment: **Scheduling**, **Work start**, **Procurement** (ordering parts) and **The final invoice being sent or paid**.
5. Leave **Allow partial payments** on if the customer may pay in pieces. Whatever you ticked stays blocked until the whole amount is in.
6. Change the **Customer payment message** if you want different wording.
7. For staged payments, press **Add payment milestone** and fill in the next one. The remove button beside each payment's heading deletes it.
8. With **Create a work order when the quote is accepted** on, choose the **Final invoice**: **Draft when work is completed** or **Create manually**. Then choose the **Invoice amount source**: **Accepted quote**, reviewing the work order's actual costs by hand, or **Compose manually**.
9. Close the panel and press **Save** on the quote.

## What you see

- Each payment shows an estimated amount. The exact amount is fixed when the customer approves.
- When the customer approves the quote, or you record it with **Mark approved**, Nova creates the work order (unscheduled) if that switch is on, and sends the payment request to the person the quote was shared with.
- The work order cannot be scheduled or started, and the final invoice is held, for as long as the payments you set as blocks are unpaid.

## If something looks different

- **Deposit delivery needs attention** appears in **Manage** after approval: the quote was never shared with a customer contact, so Nova had nobody to send the request to. Send the quote to the customer, then press **Retry commercial handoff**.
- **Commercial handoff needs attention**: Nova could not create the work order or the payment request. Press **Retry commercial handoff**.
- Your payments jumped back to **On quote acceptance** and only **The final invoice being sent or paid** stayed ticked: you turned off **Create a work order when the quote is accepted** on a quote with no work order. Without a work order there is nothing to schedule or start, so Nova keeps only the invoice hold.
- The **Deposit** switch in the list below the schedule only lets the quote mention a deposit. It does not ask for or hold anything. Use **Require a payment schedule** for that.

[[route:/quotes|Open Quotes]]