PressureWashingBossPro Blog — Billing & Payments

Deposits on Big Roof and Commercial Jobs: A Pressure Washing Invoicing Policy That Holds Up

A $175 driveway does not need a deposit. A full roof soft wash on a large two-story house, or a parking garage that will take two night crews and a lot of chemical, is a different story. When a big job falls through the day before, you have blocked a whole day on the schedule and maybe bought materials for it. A deposit is how many owners protect themselves on that kind of work.

A Deposit Is a Policy, Not a Feature

Collecting the Card at Sign-Up: Setting Up Pressure Washing Billing Before the First Wash covered how to settle payment before the first wash. Deposits take that one step further for the jobs where the stakes are higher.

There is no single right deposit policy. Some owners never take one. Some take one on every roof. Some only on commercial work above a certain size. What matters is that you decide ahead of time, write it down and apply it the same way every time. A policy you only remember when you are worried about a particular customer is not a policy, and it feels personal to the customer when you spring it on them.

Which Jobs Usually Get a Deposit

Owners who take deposits tend to apply them to jobs that share a few traits:

• Large roof soft washes, which take a full day or more and a lot of setup.
• Commercial one-time jobs like a parking garage, a full shopping center facade or a large fleet, where the crew blocks out nights for it.
• Jobs with special materials you would not otherwise buy, such as a rust treatment for a whole parking lot.
• New customers on big jobs, where there is no history to go on.

Recurring commercial accounts on monthly statements and yearly house wash customers with a card on file rarely need one. They have a track record, and the card or the statement already covers the risk.

Running a Deposit With Two Invoices

The simplest way to handle a deposit is with two invoices:

1. The deposit invoice. When the customer approves the estimate, send an invoice for the deposit amount, with a line such as “Deposit — Roof Soft Wash, scheduled for May.” The customer pays it online from the customer app, or it is charged to their card on file.
2. The balance invoice. When the crew taps Complete, the job's invoice is created. Adjust it so the customer only owes the balance, and include a line that shows the deposit already received.

The customer sees the full price, what they already paid and what is left. Nobody has to keep a sticky note about who paid what.

Schedule the job once the deposit is paid. That keeps the rule simple for the office: no deposit, no date.

How Much to Ask For

The amount is your call. Some owners pick a flat amount for each kind of job, such as a fixed deposit on every roof. Others tie it to the cost of materials and time they would lose if the job canceled. Whatever you choose, put it on the estimate so the customer sees it before they approve. A deposit the customer learns about after approving feels like a surprise fee.

Also decide what happens to the deposit if the job is canceled or rescheduled. Many owners apply it to a rescheduled date and keep it for late cancellations. Write that down too. If you are not sure what you can and cannot keep where you work, ask someone who knows local rules before you put it in writing.

Deposits on Commercial Work

Commercial customers often have their own payment processes, and some will not pay deposits at all. For one-time commercial jobs, a deposit invoice sent to the accounts payable contact with the approved estimate attached usually goes smoother than a request by phone. For ongoing commercial work, setting the account to Monthly so every visit lands on one statement is usually a better fit than deposits on each visit.

Big commercial jobs on night routes have their own billing rhythm, covered in Billing Night Commercial Routes: Pressure Washing Invoices Ready Before the Manager Opens.

Say It the Same Way Every Time

Customers accept deposits more easily when they sound routine. A short, consistent line on the estimate and in the office script helps: “Roof soft washes are scheduled once the deposit is paid. The deposit comes off the final invoice.” Put the same sentence in your estimate template so it shows up automatically on every roof quote. Estimate templates and packages in PressureWashingBossPro make that easy to keep consistent.

Protect the Big Days

A deposit policy does not have to be complicated. Pick the jobs it applies to, pick the amount, put it on the estimate, send a deposit invoice on approval and show it on the balance invoice at completion. PressureWashingBossPro gives you the estimates, invoices, card on file and online payment to run it. For the rest of the billing side, see the pressure washing invoicing software page.