Deposits Overview and FAQ

Deposits let you require a partial up-front payment from clients before a job is scheduled or started. You can add a deposit to any estimate or invoice and track whether it's been paid.

You can set a default deposit in your billing settings so one is automatically added to every new estimate or invoice your team creates, or you can add a deposit to individual documents as needed.

Please Note: This feature is primarily designed for junk removal businesses. If you're a roll-off business or broker, read the FAQ at the bottom before enabling it.

Before You Start

Here are a few things to know before you continue:

• Depending on your permissions, you may not be able to access billing settings. Please reach out to your Account Owner if you need additional access.
• Deposit status (paid or unpaid) only appears on invoices, not estimates.
• There is no separate step to pay just the deposit. When a payment is applied to an invoice, Docket checks whether the amount equals or exceeds the deposit amount. If it does, the deposit is marked as paid. If not, it stays unpaid. 
• Turning on a default deposit only affects estimates and invoices created afterwards; existing ones won't be updated.
• You can remove or adjust the deposit amount on each estimate/invoice as needed.

Set a Default Deposit

Setting a default deposit means Docket will automatically add a deposit to every new estimate and invoice your team creates. This is great to use if you collect a deposit ahead of every job.

Please Note: Turning on a default deposit only affects estimates and invoices created after you save the setting; existing ones won't be updated.

To set up a default deposit for estimates/invoices, just follow the instructions below:

1. Click on “Account” in the bottom left corner.
2. Click on “Settings” at the top.
3. Click on “Company” right below.
4. Click on “View” on the Billing Settings card.
   
   
5. Click to expand the Pricing Tools section.
   
   
6. Toggle on (blue) the Deposit setting.
   
   
7. By default, Invoices will already be selected (highlighted dark blue). Decide if you want to enable deposits on Estimates instead of or in addition to Invoices.
8. Decide whether you want the deposit to be a flat dollar amount or a percentage of the invoice/estimate.
9. Enter the dollar or percentage amount that each deposit should be.
   
   
10. Don't forget to click "Save Settings" at the top of the page!
    
    

You'll now see a deposit automatically added to every new estimate/invoice your team creates and you can remove or adjust the amount as needed.

Edit or Remove a Deposit Amount

You can adjust or completely remove the default deposit on an individual estimate or invoice without touching your account default. 

This is helpful if only certain jobs require a deposit or when you need to charge a different amount for a specific client/job.

To edit or remove a deposit on an estimate or invoice, follow the below instructions:

1. Open the estimate or invoice you'd like to update.
2. Click on "Edit Estimate" or "Edit Invoice" in the top right corner.
   
   
3. Click to expand the Pricing Tools section.
   
   
4. Toggle off the Deposit option (gray) if you want to completely remove the deposit amount.
   
   Edit the amount shown or change the type of deposit if you want to adjust the deposit amount.
   
   
5. Click "Update Estimate" or "Update Invoice" to save your changes.

Please Note: The deposit amount can't exceed the total of the estimate/invoice. If you enter an amount higher than the total, Docket will show you an error message.

Track Deposit Status

Once a deposit is added to an estimate or invoice, you can see it in a few places in Docket:

1. In the estimate and invoice editor as shown in the above screenshots.
2. In the client's PDF below the line items.
   
   
3. On the client's Client Dashboard under their estimates and invoices.
   
   

Please Note: Only invoices show a paid or unpaid deposit status. Estimates only display the deposit amount because an estimate can't be paid on.

When a payment is applied to an invoice that requires a deposit, Docket will first apply that payment amount against the deposit amount and mark it Paid. 

If the payment amount doesn't fully cover the required deposit, the deposit status will remain Unpaid and the invoice will remain open.

If there's a payment amount left over, Docket will then apply that towards the invoice's amount. If there's still an invoice amount left over, the invoice will remain open with the remaining balance.

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

These FAQs address common questions and quick clarifications to help you use this feature with confidence.

How Does Docket Know if a Deposit is Paid?

Docket doesn't process deposits as a separate transaction. When you apply any payment to an invoice, Docket compares the total amount paid to the deposit amount. If the payment equals or exceeds the deposit, the deposit is marked as Paid. If not, it stays Unpaid.

You don't need to do anything extra to mark a deposit paid. Apply payment to the invoice as you normally would and Docket handles the status automatically.

Can My Roll-Off Business/Brokerage Use This Feature?

You can add deposits to estimates and invoices regardless of your business type, but we don't recommend changing your existing billing workflow based on this feature. 

The deposits feature was built specifically for junk removal businesses where collecting a partial payment before a job is standard practice.

If you're a roll-off business and want to explore how deposits might fit your workflow, reach out to our Success team via customersuccess@yourdocket.com before making any changes.

Why Doesn't My Estimate Show a Paid or Unpaid Deposit Status?

Estimates can't be paid in Docket, so there's no paid or unpaid status to display on them. 

When a deposit is added to an estimate, only the deposit amount will appear on the document. 

The deposit status begins tracking once an invoice is created.

If you have any questions, please reach out to our Support team through the chat widget on the bottom of this page or by sending an email to support@yourdocket.com!