Deposits, and why the first invoice is the important one
A deposit is not primarily about cash. It is the cheapest available test of whether a client will pay at all.
Asking for money before starting work feels like an imposition, particularly for a new studio. It is standard practice in most of the industry, and it does something more valuable than improving cash flow.
It is a qualification test
A client who pays a deposit promptly has an approved budget, a working payment process and the intention to pay. A client who delays, negotiates it away or produces obstacles has told you something important, at the cheapest possible moment. Where recorded minutes are rounded for payroll or billing, this page gives additional context on one commonly discussed rounding rule.
Nearly every non-payment story in small studios includes a deposit that was waived, deferred or reduced at the client's request.
The rule only works if it is applied. A studio that begins work on the promise of a deposit has converted a test into a courtesy.
Sizing it
Between a quarter and a half of the project value is normal for project work, and the underlying principle is that it should cover the work you would do before the next payment point, plus enough that walking away is not catastrophic. Where client costs are passed through, HMRC guidance on costs and disbursements provides useful tax-context guidance.
For longer projects, the deposit matters less than the staging: frequent smaller invoices limit exposure more effectively than one large payment up front.
Stage against deliverables
Payments tied to calendar dates get disputed when the project slips, and projects slip for reasons on both sides. Payments tied to deliverables are tied to something visible.
This also gives the phase structure commercial force: if a payment does not arrive, the next phase does not begin, and that is a stated term rather than a decision made under pressure.
Keep the final payment small
The last invoice is the hardest to collect. The work is delivered, the client's urgency has gone, and your leverage is minimal.
Structure so the final payment is a small proportion — ten or fifteen percent — with the bulk collected during delivery. A studio holding forty percent until final sign-off is exposed on every project.
Keep something until the last payment
Where practical, retain something the client needs after final payment: the source files, the transfer of the account, the production deployment, the intellectual property assignment.
This has to be stated in the contract to be legitimate — in many jurisdictions rights transfer on payment only if the agreement says so. Written down in advance, it is a normal commercial term; asserted after the fact, it is a hostage situation and will be remembered as one.
Apply it to everyone
Deposits waived for clients who seem trustworthy are waived precisely where judgement is least reliable, because the impression of trustworthiness is what got them the exception.
A stated policy applied to everyone, including referrals and repeat clients, is easier to hold and easier to explain than a series of individual decisions.