---
title: "Customer deposit: when and how to collect it | attendo"
description: "What a customer deposit or upfront payment is, what it is for, a worked example, why collecting is not invoicing and the mistake of asking for it by email."
url: "https://attendo.me/en/glossary/customer-deposit"
lang: "en"
---

# Deposit: when to ask for one and how to collect it without chasing

Also known as: Upfront payment · down payment · advance payment

A deposit is the part of the price a customer pays up front, when accepting the quote or before the work starts, and it is then deducted from the total.

## What it is for

- **It commits the customer.** Someone who has paid part of the price does not vanish halfway through the job.
- **It funds the materials** you have to buy before you start.
- **It lowers the risk of non-payment** with new customers or custom work.

## An example

Replacing a boiler is quoted at $3,200, with a 30% deposit on acceptance. The customer pays $960 and the job goes on the schedule. When it is done, the remaining $2,240 is collected, and the final invoice deducts what was already paid.

## Collecting is not invoicing

A deposit is a payment. In many countries, Spain among them, a deposit received needs its own invoice, and the final invoice deducts it. That is your ERP’s job, not the job of the tool you collect with.

## The usual mistake

Asking for it by email and waiting for the bank transfer. The customer says yes, the payment takes a week and the job waits. Or the job is scheduled without collecting and the deposit is forgotten. The time to collect it is the moment the customer accepts.

## In attendo

With [attendo Pay](https://attendo.me/en/modules/pay), the customer pays the deposit on accepting the [web quote](https://attendo.me/en/modules/quotes-and-web-offers), by card on your payment gateway or by bank transfer with proof of payment. The order does not ask for it again, and the invoice is issued by your connected ERP: attendo is not an ERP or accounting software.

- [attendo CRM](https://attendo.me/en/crm)

## Where it is used in attendo

### Modules

- [attendo Pay](https://attendo.me/en/modules/pay): Collect deposits and payments online through your own gateway
- [Web quotes](https://attendo.me/en/modules/quotes-and-web-offers): Quotes with options that the customer opens, picks and accepts
- [ERP integration](https://attendo.me/en/modules/erp-integrations): Odoo, SAP Business One, Business Central and Holded, connected
- [Business documents](https://attendo.me/en/modules/business-documents): Quotes, orders and delivery notes in sequence; invoices in your ERP

### Industries that use these modules

- [Equipment manufacturers and distributors](https://attendo.me/en/industries/equipment-manufacturers)
- [HVAC and refrigeration](https://attendo.me/en/industries/hvac)
- [Repair and after-sales service](https://attendo.me/en/industries/after-sales-repair)
- [Consulting and professional services](https://attendo.me/en/industries/professional-services)
- [And any other business](https://attendo.me/en/industries)

## Related terms

Sales and customers

### Payment gateway

Online payment gateway · card processing

A payment gateway is the service that processes a card payment online: it captures the card, asks the customer’s bank for authorization and gets the money to your account.

Sales and customers

### Sales pipeline

Pipeline

The sales pipeline is the set of open sales opportunities, organized by the stage each one is in.

Sales and customers

### Customer profitability

Account profitability

Customer profitability is the difference between what you bill an account and what it costs you to serve it.

[See all 53 glossary terms](https://attendo.me/en/glossary)

## Shall we look at it with your data?

We will show you how what you just read works in attendo, with your own assets, tickets and customers. If it is not a fit, we will tell you.

- With your operation, not a generic demo
- A real person from our team replies
- No cold calls afterwards

Would you rather talk first?

- Phone [+34 910 053 530](tel:+34910053530)
- Email [sales@attendo.me](mailto:sales@attendo.me)
- Monday to Thursday 9:30 AM to 6:30 PM and Friday 9:30 AM to 2:30 PM (Spain time)