Calculate an advance deposit by percentage or by exact amount, estimate the remaining balance, and copy simple deposit wording before you create an estimate or invoice.
Calculate An Advance Deposit
Use this calculator before approval when you want to request an upfront deposit. The result can help you write clear estimate terms, explain the remaining amount, and keep deposit wording separate from final invoice or receipt records. If the requested deposit exceeds the project amount, the calculator applies the project total as the advance and separates the extra amount as a Credit / Overpayment Balance.
Calculation Mode
Used for display only. No currency conversion is performed.
Deposit Amount0.00
Remaining Balance0.00
Credit / Overpayment Balance0.00
Copy-ready deposit wording:
A 25% advance deposit of 250.00 is required upon approval to secure scheduling. The estimated remaining amount of 750.00 will be invoiced upon completion, subject to approved changes in project scope.
Note: This calculator is for planning and wording only. It caps the applied advance at the project amount and separately labels any extra amount as a Credit / Overpayment Balance. Deposit requirements, refundability, contract terms, tax treatment, and payment rules can vary by business, location, and agreement.
Enter the full project amount, then choose whether you want to calculate the requested deposit from a percentage or from a specific upfront amount. The calculator shows the deposit result, the remaining balance, and a short copy-ready sentence you can place in estimate terms, contractor estimate notes, or invoice Payment Method & Terms when the invoice is being used to request an advance before work starts.
This calculator is most useful before work starts. It helps you describe the requested advance deposit clearly before a customer approves the job. Once the customer pays, the actual payment should be documented with a receipt, cash receipt, invoice paid amount, or deposit balance calculation.
Use percentage mode when your business asks for a standard deposit, such as 25% or 50%.
Use amount mode when you already know the exact upfront amount you want to request.
Review deposit wording for refundability, scheduling, materials, and scope changes before sending it.
When the customer actually pays the deposit, move from planned wording to a receipt, cash receipt, or Amount Paid / Deposit Credited entry on the invoice.
If a customer gives more than the estimated project amount, classify the excess as a Credit / Overpayment Balance unless the scope or agreement changes.
Keep planned deposit wording separate from records of money actually received.
The Formula, In Plain English
Two ways in, same answer. In percentage mode you give the agreed total and the share you want upfront, and the tool works out the deposit. In fixed-amount mode you give the deposit you have in mind and it works out what share of the job that represents. Either way it also reports what will be left to invoice at the end, and drafts wording you can paste into the estimate.
In notation: percentage mode uses Deposit = Total × (Percent ÷ 100). Amount mode uses Percent = Deposit ÷ Total × 100. In both, Remaining = Total − Deposit, and a deposit larger than the total is reported as an overpayment rather than a negative remainder. Amounts are handled in whole cents.
Two Worked Examples
Example figures — not real client data
Percentage mode: a booked event
Agreed total: 3,200.00.
Deposit policy: 50% on booking.
Deposit = 3,200.00 × 0.50 = 1,600.00.
Remaining after the job = 3,200.00 − 1,600.00 = 1,600.00.
Request 1,600.00 now · invoice 1,600.00 on completion.
The copy-ready wording underneath the result already says the deposit secures scheduling and that the balance follows completion, subject to approved scope changes — which is exactly the sentence that prevents the argument later.
Example figures — not real client data
Fixed-amount mode: covering materials only
Agreed total: 7,400.00.
You want enough upfront to cover materials: 2,000.00.
Percent = 2,000.00 ÷ 7,400.00 × 100 = 27.03%.
Remaining = 7,400.00 − 2,000.00 = 5,400.00.
A 2,000.00 deposit is 27.03% of the job · 5,400.00 to follow.
Naming the percentage matters even when you set the amount: customers compare percentages, and 27% reads as reasonable where “two thousand up front” can read as a lot.
Edge Cases, Rounding, And Input Limits
Cent-level arithmetic throughout, so the deposit plus the remainder always reconstructs the total exactly.
A deposit above the total is reported as an overpayment on its own row rather than as a negative remaining balance.
Zero total, zero percentage. With no total there is nothing to take a share of, so the percentage reads zero instead of erroring.
Negative entries are clamped to zero.
The copy-ready wording is a draft, not a contract clause. Read it, edit it to match what you actually promised, and delete anything that does not apply.
What This Calculator Does Not Do
It does not tell you what deposit is appropriate, whether the deposit is refundable, whether it should be held separately, or how tax applies to it — all of which vary by jurisdiction and by the type of work. It does not stage a job into multiple progress payments, handle retainers that roll over month to month, or track what has actually been received. Once money arrives, reconciliation moves to the deposit and balance calculator.
What the deposit should be is a judgement about risk. In our own operation the split is simple: one-off events pay 50% in advance, invoiced due on receipt and settled by card link, with a confirmation email that doubles as the booking confirmation; contract clients on Net-15 or Net-30 pay no deposit at all and are billed in arrears. The deciding factor is not the size of the job — it is whether there is a relationship and a payment history behind it. Should contractors ask for a deposit works through that decision in more detail.
Advance deposit calculator — checks performed after any change
Input
Expected result
Why it matters
Total 3,200 · 50% mode
Deposit 1,600.00 · remaining 1,600.00
Baseline percentage path
Total 7,400 · amount 2,000
27.03% · remaining 5,400.00
Baseline fixed-amount path
Total 1,000 · amount 1,200
Overpayment 200.00 · remaining 0.00
Deposit above total
Total 0 · 50% mode
Deposit 0.00 · 0%
Zero total guard
Total 1,000 · 100% mode
Deposit 1,000.00 · remaining 0.00
Full prepayment
Mode switch mid-entry
Figures recalculate, no stale values
Toggle must not strand a result
These cases are re-run by hand in the browser whenever the calculator changes. The wider testing routine is described on how we test.
Privacy: this calculator runs entirely in your browser. Amounts you type are never sent to a server, never stored on our systems, and disappear when you close the tab. No account, no signup, nothing retained.
Formula, worked examples, and limitations last reviewed by Khurram Naeem Jaswal, operator of ClearPaperwork. Spotted an error? Tell us.
Calculator FAQ
What Is The Difference Between An Advance Deposit And A Deposit Balance?
An advance deposit is usually planned before work begins. A deposit balance calculation is usually used after a customer has already paid part of the job and you need to show what remains.
Can I Copy The Deposit Wording Into An Estimate?
Yes. Use the copy-ready wording as a starting point, then adjust it to match your actual agreement, refund policy, payment method, and scope details.
Should I Use This After Payment Is Received?
Use it only for math or wording. After money is received, create a receipt or cash receipt so the payment record is clear.
How much deposit should I ask for?
There is no universal figure, and anyone quoting one is guessing about your business. The practical questions are how much you must spend before you get paid, how easily you could re-sell the slot if the customer cancelled, and how much history you have with them. In our own work, one-off bookings pay half in advance and established contract clients pay nothing upfront — the difference is the relationship, not the amount.
Is a deposit refundable?
That depends entirely on what you wrote down before taking it. Say plainly on the estimate whether the deposit is refundable, partly refundable up to a cutoff date, or non-refundable because it covers materials or a reserved slot. A deposit with no stated cancellation position is the most common cause of a payment dispute.
Should I charge tax on the deposit?
Treatment varies by jurisdiction and by what the deposit is for, so confirm it once with your tax authority and then apply the same rule to every job. This calculator makes no assumption either way.
What do I send after the deposit is paid?
A receipt confirming the amount received and, ideally, confirming the booking in the same message. When the work is finished, invoice the remaining balance — the deposit and balance calculator reconciles it, and the invoice generator will credit the deposit on the final document.