Deposits for a one-person AI agency: when to ask and what to say

A dog groomer says yes on a Friday call. You're pleased, you have a free week, and it feels rude to talk about money straight after a handshake. So you start on Monday. By Thursday you have a homepage draft, a booking page and a colour palette she loved on the call. You send the invoice for the first half. She replies that her business partner wants to "hold off until spring".

You've done four days of work for a project that no longer exists, and nothing in writing says you should be paid for any of it.

A deposit prevents most of that week. It's a payment the client makes before you start, agreed in the proposal. It confirms they're committed, it pays for the time you set aside, and it gives both of you a clear start date. Asking for one is normal, and done well it makes you look more organised, not less trusting.

Should I ask for a deposit before building a website?

Yes, for any project where you'll spend real time before the client sees something finished. For a small business website, that's almost every project.

A deposit does three jobs:

• It confirms the yes. A client who has paid has decided. A client who has only said yes on a call might still be deciding.
• It pays for booked time. When you hold two weeks for a client, you turn other work away. The deposit covers that.
• It sets the start date. "Work starts when the deposit arrives" is a clear rule for both of you, and it stops the project drifting.

It also sorts out the awkward cases early. A client who pays the deposit without fuss is likely to pay the final invoice the same way. A client who argues about the deposit is showing you how the rest will go.

How much deposit should I ask for a website?

There's no single right amount, and a number you copy from someone else tells you little about your own work. Work it out from what you'd lose if the client walked away:

• Time before the first review. The deposit should cover the work you'll do before the client sees anything they can approve.
• Costs you pay up front. Themes, stock photos, a domain bought on their behalf, any paid tools for their project.
• The time you've held for them. Especially if you turned other work down.

Many freelancers split a website into two payments (one to start, one before launch) or three (start, first review, launch). Two is simpler for a small site. Three suits a longer project, because no single stage leaves you far out of pocket.

Whatever split you choose, it follows from the total price, so settle that first. How much to charge for a website covers working out the total from your own costs and time.

When should I ask for the deposit?

In the proposal, before the client says yes. Not after the call, not in a separate email once you've started, and never in the invoice that arrives as a surprise.

The payment terms sit in the price section, next to the price, so the client reads them as part of the deal:

Price and payment: One price for the work above. Half is paid to start, and the rest before the site goes live. Work starts the week after the first payment arrives. This price holds for 30 days.

If you work from a website proposal template, put that section on the first page. Clients look for the price first, and they should find how it's paid in the same place.

Agreeing terms in writing before you start also matters beyond good manners. The UK government's guidance for businesses says you can set your own payment terms, such as payment upfront, and that unless you agree a payment date, a business customer must pay within 30 days of getting your invoice or the service. Rules differ by country, so check what applies where you work. The general point holds almost everywhere: terms you both agreed before starting are much easier to rely on than terms you mention afterwards.

What should I say when I ask for a deposit?

Say it plainly, as a normal part of how you work. You don't need to justify it or apologise.

On the call:

"The way I work is half to start and half before launch. Once the first half's in, I'll book your start date and send the list of what I need from you."

In the proposal, the price section above does the job. In the email with the invoice:

"Thanks for saying yes. Here's the invoice for the first payment. As soon as it arrives I'll confirm your start date, which at the moment would be the week of the 26th."

Two things make these easier to say. First, tie the deposit to something the client wants: a booked start date. Second, say it early. The longer you wait, the more it sounds like a condition you've just invented.

When does the work actually start?

When the money has arrived, and not before. That sounds obvious until a client texts "all paid!" on a Friday and you'd like to get going.

A few rules keep this clean:

• Paid means received. A screenshot of a bank transfer, a promise on a call or "it's on its way" are not payments. Check your account.
• Keep the invoice date and the paid date separate. Both go in your records. An invoice sent is not money in.
• Don't start early "to be nice". If the deposit is late, move the start date and tell the client the new one. That's fair to the next client in your queue.

This is also why a weekly look at your money helps. An agency weekly review includes a list of who has paid and what's still owed, with the invoice and paid dates separate. A deposit that hasn't arrived shows up there before it turns into a week of unpaid work.

What should the deposit terms say?

Keep them to a few lines in the proposal. Cover the questions a client might ask later:

Question	What to write
How much, and when?	The split, and that work starts when the first payment arrives
What if the client cancels before work starts?	Whether any of the deposit is returned
What if they cancel after work starts?	The deposit covers the work done so far
What if they go quiet for weeks?	After a set time, the project is paused and restarting is rebooked
When is the final payment due?	Before the site goes live, or before the domain is switched over

Write these in your own words and keep them short. This is general practice, not legal advice. If your projects are large or your clients are companies with their own contracts, have someone qualified look over your terms once.

What does a deposit protect?

Your time, mostly. For someone running client work alone, time is the thing you can't get back. A deposit means the week you set aside for a client is paid for, whether or not their business partner changes their mind.

It protects the client too. A clear split tells them exactly what they owe and when. There are no surprise invoices, no awkward "so, about payment" emails halfway through, and a start date they can plan around. If you run client work on your own, freelancers running client work alone sets out more of the everyday work around a project.

Where do deposits and payments live?

Most deposit problems are record problems: the terms were said on a call, the invoice went by email, and the payment turned up as a screenshot in a text.

Volant keeps the offer, the terms and the payment together for each client. Clients pay through your own Stripe account, and Volant marks a payment as received only when Stripe confirms it, so a message saying it's paid doesn't start the work. The page on quotes, deposits and payments shows the steps, and keeping track of clients and promises covers what happens after the work begins.

Whatever your AI agency uses: agree the deposit in the proposal, start when the money arrives, and write down both dates.