The cheapest payment problem to solve is the one that never happens. A deposit collected before work begins, followed by payments tied to defined project stages, removes most of the chase-before-delivering risk that solo service founders accept by default. The time to design that structure is the proposal conversation, not the first awkward invoice reminder.
AIGA’s payment-strategy guidance for design businesses calls an up-front payment common practice in the industry, and IPSE, the UK self-employment association, makes the same recommendation in its guidance on getting paid on time. This worksheet organizes that advice into a pre-project checklist. It is an editorial planning tool, not legal or financial advice, and a signed agreement controls over anything written here.
Key takeaways
- Ask for an up-front payment before any billable work starts, and treat it as standard practice, not a special favor.
- Tie every payment to a defined stage with named deliverables, not to vibes or calendar drift.
- Enforce the policy consistently; exceptions become your new policy faster than you think.
- Decide your answers to common client objections before you hear them.
Why the deposit does the heavy lifting
Without money up front, you are extending the client credit and effectively working on spec against a promise. AIGA frames the deposit as the client’s good-faith commitment: it signals the project is real on their side too. IPSE adds the practical edge – a deposit financially ties both parties to the project, and presenting substantial work before it arrives gives the client the option to walk away with your ideas in hand.
There is a second, quieter function: a client who cannot or will not pay a deposit is telling you something about how the rest of the engagement will go. Learning that before you invest weeks is the bargain.
Structure the schedule around stages
For smaller or short projects, AIGA describes a simple split as typical: half up front before work starts, half on delivery of final files. Longer, multi-phase engagements call for several payments tied to specified phases, with each payment due at a defined point against defined deliverables. IPSE’s version of the same idea is a milestone rule in two or three stages: deposit, first presentation, final delivery.
The percentages are industry-practice examples, not rules. What is not optional is the shape: money arrives before the work it covers, and every payment point names what the client gets for it.
- Deposit (What triggers the payment: Signed agreement, before work starts; What the client receives: A reserved start date and project slot)
- Mid-project (What triggers the payment: A named, reviewable deliverable; What the client receives: The first presentation or working draft)
- Final (What triggers the payment: Delivery of the agreed final files; What the client receives: The finished work and handover)
Enforce it like a policy, not a mood
AIGA is blunt on this point: the strategy works only if you enforce it consistently, firmly and without apology, and you do not begin work until the payment arrives. “The check is being processed” is not a deposit.
Expect objections and pre-decide your answers. AIGA sorts them into a useful taxonomy: the reasonable (corporate procedure requires a purchase order first), the plausible (we only cut checks on the 15th), and the red flag (why should I pay for work I have not seen, or money is coming soon). Some can be accommodated with documentation or a short documented delay. The red-flag answers are early warnings about collection risk, and the cheapest time to decline a project is before it starts.
Put the mechanics in writing
The agreement should carry the whole schedule: each payment’s amount, its due date, and the deliverable attached to it. Two details from AIGA’s guidance save repeated pain later. First, decide how out-of-pocket expenses and unanticipated costs are billed – incrementally or on completion – and say so. Second, additional work gets a change order approved before the cost is incurred, not after, when your leverage is gone.
Frequently asked questions
How much should a freelance deposit be?
There is no universal figure. AIGA describes 50 percent up front as typical for smaller projects, with phased percentages for larger ones. Set yours from the project’s length, your costs and your risk.
When exactly should I ask for the deposit?
During the agreement conversation, before any billable work begins. IPSE’s guidance is not to present substantial work before the deposit arrives.
What if the client refuses any up-front payment?
AIGA’s advice is to push back and note that up-front payment is standard practice. If the refusal stands, treat it as information about future collection risk and decide deliberately whether the project is worth it.
Are deposits the same as a retainer?
No. A deposit prepays defined project work. A retainer reserves ongoing capacity under a guarantee – a different arrangement with its own rules.
Method: AIGA’s payment-strategy guidance and IPSE’s freelancer payment guidance, both fully fetched October 16. Splits and stages are cited industry practice, not universal rules; your signed agreement and local law control the enforceable terms.
