With ServiceM8 Pay, you can set deposit requirements for customers to accept quotes and book jobs. A deposit secures customer commitment and reduces the likelihood of cancellations, while providing cash flow to help your business cover initial costs for materials and time. It sets a professional tone and ensures clear expectations from the start.
ServiceM8 Pay makes the deposit process easy for both you and your customers. You set a percentage of a job's value as your default deposit requirement, and customers are automatically prompted to pay it when accepting a quote. And it's flexible - whenever you want, you can customize or waive deposit requirements by client or by job.
NOTE: To use the Deposits functionality, you need to be set up with ServiceM8 Pay. To learn more, see How to get started with ServiceM8 Pay.
The following topics are covered in this article:
- How to set default deposit requirements for all quotes
- How to set client-specific deposit requirements
- How to set job-specific deposit requirements
- How to add deposit information to your quote template
- How to add deposit requirements to Proposals
- How deposits are viewed, accepted, and reconciled
- How to take a deposit payment on the spot
How to set default deposit requirements for all quotes
- From the Online Dashboard, go to Account > Settings.
- Click Preferences.
- In the left Preferences menu, click Quotes & Estimates.
- In the Quotes & Estimates window, use the dropdown to select the percentage of a job's value that you would like to use as your default deposit requirement.
- For example, if you select 20%, a job quoted at $400 would require a deposit of $80 to proceed. 0% means no deposit, and 100% means the job must be prepaid in its entirety before work can start.
- Click Save.
How to set client-specific deposit requirements
If you have specific customers that don't need to pay a deposit, or customers that you would prefer pay a higher deposit, you can set a custom rule in their client card. This rule will overwrite your default deposit requirement when generating quotes. You can do this from the Online Dashboard, or from the ServiceM8 mobile app.
- In the Online Dashboard
TIP: If you have a job card for the client already open, click the client's name on the top left and jump to step 3.
- Go to Account > Clients.
- Find the relevant client and click Open Client.
- Click the Billing Details tab.
- Use the dropdown under Deposit Required to select the appropriate percentage of job value that is required as a deposit. (The default deposit value will be shown at the top.)
- Click Save.
- In the ServiceM8 app
TIP: If you have a job card for the client already open, tap View Client at the bottom of the job card and jump to step 4.
- Tap More.
- Tap Clients.
- Find and tap the relevant client.
- Tap Deposit Required.
- Tap the appropriate percentage of job value as your deposit requirement. (The default deposit value will be shown at the top.)
The new deposit requirement will automatically apply to future quotes.
How to set job-specific deposit requirements
When creating a standard quote, you can also set custom deposit requirements by job using the Online Dashboard. This will overwrite the default deposit amount for this job only; future jobs for the same client will revert to the default. To do so:
- From the open job card in the Online Dashboard, click Billing.
- Click the billing workflow dropdown to open the options.
- Click Customise Quote.
- Click the Deposit Required dropdown and select the appropriate percentage of job value as your deposit requirement.
How to add deposit information to your quote template
If you would like, you can modify your existing quote template to display deposit information. Refer to this help article and follow the steps to modify quote templates, or ask a ServiceM8 Partner to help you.
The following merge fields are available:
- job.deposit_description (the percentage of the total that is being used as the deposit requirement)
- job.deposit_amount (the dollar amount due as the deposit)
.
TIP: The same merge fields can be added to your email and SMS templates as desired. When inserting them manually in email & SMS templates, be sure to place them inside braces (curly brackets) e.g. {job.deposit_description}.
How to add deposit requirements to Proposals
NOTE: To create Proposals, you need to be on the Growing plan or above, and have the Proposals add-on activated. To learn more, see How to create and send Proposals.
Deposit requirements can be added to a Proposal from the Online Dashboard or from the ServiceM8 mobile app. However, when doing so from the Online Dashboard, you can choose between making the deposit a percentage of the job's value, or as a fixed dollar amount.
- In the Online Dashboard
- From the job card, click Proposal.
- Click Start.
- At the bottom of the Proposal, click Add Deposit.
- You now have the option to create a deposit requirement as a percentage of the job's value, or as a set dollar amount.
- To set it as a percentage, click within the Deposit field value and adjust the percentage. Include the % sign (such as 50%).
- To set it as a fixed dollar amount, click within the Deposit field value and enter an amount with no % sign (such as 100).
Note how Deposit Required field value changes as you adjust the Deposit field value. The Proposal auto-saves with each change.
- In the ServiceM8 mobile app
- From the open job card, tap ... on the Job Actions bar.
- Tap Proposals.
- Tap the Deposit field value and select the desired percentage (setting a fixed amount is not supported).
How deposits are viewed, accepted, and reconciled
When you send a quote or proposal to a customer, when they accept it, they'll be prompted to pay the deposit amount to proceed with the job.
Once the customer has paid the deposit, the online view updates to show the deposit has been paid.
The job's Status automatically changes from Quote to Work Order, and a new Diary event shows that the deposit payment has been received.
The payment is added against the job and synced as a pre-payment to your accounting package (Xero and QuickBooks Online users only).
Once the job is complete and you send the invoice, the invoice will display the remaining balance due.
When the customer pays the invoice and you Approve it to your accounting package (Xero or QuickBooks), the earlier pre-payment is automatically applied to the synced invoice.
How to take a deposit payment on site
If you're on site with a customer, you can even take a deposit payment on the spot.
- Open the quote from the Job Diary on the job card.
- In the Billing view, tap 'Add Payment', or generate a Quote and tap the Deposit button in the action bar .
- Note that the payment amount reflects the required percentage deposit. Select the appropriate payment method and proceed per usual.
