Money · Guide · 5 min read

Payment terms for tradespeople: deposits, stage payments and getting paid on time

Set clear deposits, stage payments and due dates before starting work, with a worked payment schedule and consumer-contract checks.

By Trade PA · Published 19 September 2026 · Reviewed 15 September 2026

We have already covered what to send when an invoice goes overdue. This is the other half, the half that decides how often you need those templates: what you agree before the job starts. Because terms are set at the moment the customer says yes to your quote. After that, you are negotiating from behind.

Put the terms where the customer can see them

Verbal contracts can be binding, but a written record makes the scope and payment agreement easier to establish. Put the deposit, milestones and due dates in the quote before acceptance. Ask the customer to confirm the version they are accepting. Do not introduce a new charge for the first time on the final invoice.

Deposits that stick

A deposit does two jobs: it funds the materials, and it proves the customer is serious. The version that lands best with domestic customers is the honest one: a materials deposit that reflects what you genuinely have to buy before you start. "25% to cover the boiler and first-fix materials" reads fair; "50% because that is what I charge" starts arguments. Bigger, riskier, more bespoke jobs justify more; just be able to say what it is for.

Consumer cancellation rights need a separate check. Many contracts agreed at a customer’s home or at a distance carry a 14-day cancellation period, but the start date and exceptions depend on the contract. Early work requires the proper express request and information; simply taking a deposit is not enough. Use the Trading Standards guidance for the relevant country and have your standard terms checked.

Stage payments for anything longer than a week

On multi-week work, one invoice at the end means you are the bank. Stage payments fix it, and the rule is to tie them to milestones, not dates: deposit on acceptance, a payment at first fix complete, a payment at second fix, the balance at completion. Define each milestone clearly enough that both sides can recognise completion, and each one is a natural moment to invoice on the spot, the same day, while the progress is visible and the goodwill is warm. A job that pays as it goes never becomes a terrifying final number that the customer needs a month to find.

The wording that protects you

Due date: there is nothing magic about 30 days. That convention comes from big-company purchase ledgers, not from anything that applies to a bathroom refit. "Payment due within 7 days of invoice" is an example you could propose; for domestic completions, you could propose payment on completion where appropriate. You choose your terms; the customer accepts them with the quote.

Late payment: qualifying business debts may attract statutory interest and fixed recovery compensation. A contractual interest provision can change which remedy applies. Consumer debts are different: do not add commercial-debt compensation to a householder’s invoice. Check the applicable rules before adding charges.

Materials: record what the deposit is for and which goods have been ordered. Do not assume a sentence saying materials remain yours allows you to enter a property or remove installed items. Retention-of-title clauses and cancellation deductions need proper advice, especially in consumer work.

Commercial chains: their terms, your eyes open

Subcontracting to a main contractor is a different world: the terms are usually theirs, applications for payment have their own rhythm, and construction contracts carry statutory payment-notice protections that are worth knowing exist. The rule that survives contact with all of it: get the payment terms in writing before you start, know the dates notices are due, and never let "we will sort the paperwork later" be the basis you are working on. If CIS applies, our CIS guides cover what should be coming off and what paperwork you are owed.

Invoice the day the work is done

The most controllable number in your whole payment cycle is the gap between finishing the work and sending the invoice. Every day of that gap is a day added to when you get paid, and it is the gap most likely to stretch when the admin waits for the evening. Terms on the quote, stages at milestones, invoice on the day: do those three and the chasing templates become something you rarely open.

In Trade PA, keep the customer, quote and invoice together. Include the agreed terms in the document and check they are present before sending it. Eve can help prepare the draft; customer-specific automatic chasing must be enabled deliberately. Software does not make an unfair term enforceable.

A worked payment schedule

Illustration only: for a £6,000 total contract, you might propose £1,200 for an explained initial materials requirement, £2,400 at a clearly defined first-fix milestone and £2,400 on agreed completion. The three amounts total £6,000. Adjust the structure to the real job and explain any VAT. These are example amounts, not a recommended deposit percentage for every project.

Keep cancellation information and any required early-start request with the agreement. This short schedule is an admin aid, not a complete consumer or construction contract.