How much to ask for
- Labour-only work under a week — often nothing up front, invoice on completion
- Jobs with a material spend — 25% is the common UK default and roughly covers first-order materials
- Bespoke or long-lead items such as kitchens, stone or made-to-measure glazing — 40% to 50%, because you pay the supplier before you start
- New customer, large job — stage the money rather than raising the deposit and scaring them off
Staged payments for longer projects
Tie each stage to something visible so there is nothing to argue about: deposit on acceptance, payment two on completion of first fix, payment three on plaster, balance on practical completion with a small retention released after snagging.
Invoice each stage on the day it is reached, not at the end of the month. The gap between finishing a stage and asking for the money is where cash flow dies.
Wording to put on every quote
- "25% deposit on acceptance, balance due on completion. Payment within 7 days of invoice."
- "Bank transfer preferred; details supplied on the invoice."
- "Late payment may incur statutory interest at 8% above the Bank of England base rate under the Late Payment of Commercial Debts (Interest) Act 1998." (commercial customers)
- "Materials remain our property until paid for in full."
Consumer rules to know
If you agreed the work in the customer's home, a consumer normally has 14 days to cancel. If they ask you to start inside that window, get it in writing that they accept they may have to pay for work already done. That one line on the quote saves a written-off first week.
Keep the terms and the numbers in step
The most common error on a trade quote is terms text saying 50% while the totals box calculates 25%. RightQuoter writes the deposit sentence from the percentage you set, so the two can never disagree.