Take a deposit and split the balance
Payment schedules for deposits, instalments and a balance due before delivery.
Most photography work isn't paid in one hit: a deposit secures the date, the balance falls due before or shortly after the shoot. A payment schedule splits one invoice into several dated instalments, each payable on its own.
Adding a schedule
- On the invoice, switch on Payment schedule. Quick split sets up 50 / 50, 30 / 70, or a dollar deposit plus the balance in one click.
- For each instalment choose Percent or Amount (a fixed dollar figure, like a $500 deposit), and a due date. The last one can be Balance, which is whatever the others leave.
- Check the instalments add up to the invoice total. You'll be told if they don't.
The client sees the whole schedule on their pay page, with the next instalment due highlighted. They pay them one at a time, and the invoice moves to paid once the last one clears.
When an instalment is paid outside Stripe — a bank transfer, cash — press Record payment on the invoice and choose which instalment it covers. Until everything is in, the invoice shows as Partially paid with what's still owing. A schedule you use often can live in a template, so it comes with the package.
A non-refundable deposit to hold the date (commonly 25–30%), then the balance due a week before the shoot. Money collected before you turn up is money you don't have to chase after you've already done the work.
If you're registered for GST, GST applies to a deposit at the time it's paid, not when the job finishes. Your accountant will thank you for not deferring it.