Configurable payment stages
Set up how you'd like customers to pay you — one lump on completion, 50 / 50 deposit + final, deposit + interim + final, or a custom schedule.
Why stage payments
Most trade jobs above ~£500 aren't paid in a single go. Common patterns:
- 50 / 50 — deposit at acceptance, balance on completion.
- 25 / 25 / 50 — deposit up front, interim at a milestone (materials delivered, first fix done), final on completion.
- Custom — some jobs want a different split (e.g. 40 / 30 / 30, or three interim payments across a long build).
TradesOps supports all of these. You pick a default preset in Settings; the AI proposes it on every new quote; you can override per quote.
Pick your default preset
Go to Settings → Payment schedule. Options:
- Single payment on completion — customer pays everything after the work's done. Default for small jobs.
- 50 / 50 — 50% deposit, 50% on completion.
- 25 / 25 / 50 — 25% deposit, 25% interim milestone, 50% on completion.
- Custom — build your own stages with a label, percentage, and "due" trigger for each.
Click Save. The next quote you draft will use this preset.
Custom preset — how to build one
If you pick Custom, the form lets you add stages one by one:
- Label — what the customer sees on the schedule ("Deposit", "Interim payment — materials delivered", "Final on completion"). Keep it plain.
- Percentage — the stage's share of the quote total. Percentages must add up to exactly 100.
- Due trigger — one of "On acceptance", "At milestone", "On completion". These triggers are advisory: you can raise any stage's invoice manually from Telegram or the dashboard whenever you like.
Percentages are stored as pennies once TradesOps resolves them against a specific quote total. That means the schedule always sums to the exact quote total — no rounding drift.
What the customer sees
A Payment schedule section on the quote email and the /q/<token> page:
- Deposit — £1,500.00 (on quote acceptance)
- Interim payment — £1,500.00 (at agreed milestone)
- Final payment — £3,000.00 (on completion)
Total: £6,000.00
Customer sees exactly what they're accepting. When they tap Accept quote, they're accepting the schedule too.
Raising the invoice
Once the customer's accepted the quote and you've done the work, open the accepted quote in your dashboard and tap Convert to invoice. TradesOps mints a draft invoice pre-filled with the quote total for you to adjust — extras, materials, changes on site — before sending. The payment-schedule breakdown you set on the quote is a guide, not a hard commitment. The actual amount is yours to set at convert time.
Once the invoice is in draft:
- Edit it — adjust the description, amount and due date. VAT recomputes automatically if you're VAT-registered.
- Raise it when you're ready — customer gets an invoice email with pay-by-card and BACS options.
- Mark paid once the money's in — TradesOps records it and, on the final invoice, fires the review request.
Full detail: How stage invoicing works.
What if I change the labour/materials price after the customer accepted?
You can't. Once the customer accepts, the payment schedule is fixed. If you've realised the job's grown, cancel the quote (mark declined manually or void it), redraft, and re-send. Better to over-scope and refund than under-scope and argue.