> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.hiveku.com/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Take a Deposit Now and Bill the Rest Later

> Split a job into a deposit invoiced straight away and a balance invoiced on a later date, and check what your client will be asked to pay and when before anything is sent

A deposit plan bills one job in parts. You enter the job's lines once, choose how much is due now and how much later, and Hiveku creates an invoice for each part: the deposit goes to your client straight away, and the balance waits until its date.

This guide sets up a holiday order for Lena Ortiz at Quillfeather Bakehouse: 60 bags of a holiday blend with Quillfeather's own label, \$1,000 in all. Half is due when the roasting starts on October 26 and half on December 4, when the bags are delivered. It saves the plan as a draft, so nothing is created or sent until it is started.

## Start a deposit plan

**1. Open Schedules**

Click **Commerce** in the left rail, then **Schedules**, then **New schedule** at the top right.

![The Billing schedules page with the New schedule button outlined](https://mintcdn.com/locusdigital/qri6G8dYdAkg0sgt/images/how-tos/commerce/dep-01-new-schedule-closeup.webp?fit=max\&auto=format\&n=qri6G8dYdAkg0sgt\&q=85\&s=b420c7282eb24bc519638c552b2fbc5c)

**2. Choose Deposit + balance**

Under **Schedule**, click **Deposit + balance**. **Split installments** works the same way, for a job paid in several parts with no deposit.

Type a **Name** to find the plan by: your client never sees it. The **Invoice title** is printed on each invoice. Pick the **Client**. A **Deal** is only needed if a payment should be billed when the client accepts a quote.

![New billing schedule with Deposit + balance outlined, Name Quillfeather holiday blend, Invoice title Holiday blend, private label and Client Lena Ortiz, each outlined, and Deal left empty](https://mintcdn.com/locusdigital/qri6G8dYdAkg0sgt/images/how-tos/commerce/dep-02-type-and-client-closeup.webp?fit=max\&auto=format\&n=qri6G8dYdAkg0sgt\&q=85\&s=481153abb03e62450d65fd274886e896)

**3. Add the whole job's lines**

Add the lines for the whole job, as on any invoice: type them, or use **Pick from catalog…**. **Plan total** is the full price, which is split across the payments.

![Two lines outlined, 60 Holiday blend 12 oz bags with your label at 14.00 and 1 Label design and printing at 160.00, and the Plan total of \$1,000.00, plus tax worked out when the plan is created, split across the installments, outlined](https://mintcdn.com/locusdigital/qri6G8dYdAkg0sgt/images/how-tos/commerce/dep-03-lines-closeup.webp?fit=max\&auto=format\&n=qri6G8dYdAkg0sgt\&q=85\&s=cde26c4f9d77f2ce8dfa5cb223d9aaa4)

## Set the deposit and the balance

**1. Choose when each part is billed**

The plan starts as a 50% **Deposit** and a 50% **Balance**. Type other percentages to change the split; **Add installment** adds a part. The badge reads **100% balanced** when the parts add up.

Each part has a menu for when it is billed:

* **Straight away** bills it on the start date, or the number of days after it that you type in the box beside it.
* **On a specific date** bills it on the date you pick.
* **When I release it** keeps it as a draft invoice until you send it yourself.
* **When the estimate is accepted** bills it when your client accepts a quote on the deal you linked.

Northwind leaves the deposit on **Straight away** and sets the balance to **On a specific date**.

![The Installments card with the Deposit and Balance rows at 50% each, and the Balance's menu open with Straight away, When the estimate is accepted (needs a deal), On a specific date outlined, and When I release it](https://mintcdn.com/locusdigital/qri6G8dYdAkg0sgt/images/how-tos/commerce/dep-04-balance-trigger-closeup.webp?fit=max\&auto=format\&n=qri6G8dYdAkg0sgt\&q=85\&s=721e7dfac32ffd7a0e323b9c4e57f129)

**2. Pick the dates**

The **Start date** is the day the plan begins: a part set to **Straight away** is billed that day, or the number of days after it you typed. Northwind starts on October 26 and bills the balance on December 4.

![Start date 10/26/2026 outlined, and the two installment rows outlined: Deposit 50% Straight away 0 days, and Balance 50% On a specific date 12/04/2026, with 100% balanced](https://mintcdn.com/locusdigital/qri6G8dYdAkg0sgt/images/how-tos/commerce/dep-05-installments-closeup.webp?fit=max\&auto=format\&n=qri6G8dYdAkg0sgt\&q=85\&s=5958218d9473ad3fe27eefa519549ac7)

**3. Sending and charging**

With **Email each invoice to the client** on, each invoice is emailed with a link to pay on the day it is billed. Off, each one is marked sent without an email.

**Charge the client's saved card** charges each invoice when it is due, to a card your client saved. It needs a payment processor. Northwind has none connected, so it stays off.

Below, **Delivery** sets who gets the invoices and **Other settings** switches reminders, partial payments and receipts on or off, as on a recurring invoice.

![Sending and charging with Email each invoice to the client switched on and outlined, and Charge the client's saved card switched off and outlined](https://mintcdn.com/locusdigital/qri6G8dYdAkg0sgt/images/how-tos/commerce/dep-06-sending-closeup.webp?fit=max\&auto=format\&n=qri6G8dYdAkg0sgt\&q=85\&s=90e0228d0b0bf7286cb9da2e95282cc7)

## Check what your client will pay, then save

**What happens next**, at the bottom, says in plain words when the invoices are created and when each part is due and emailed. Read it before you save.

Click **Save as draft** to keep the plan paused: nothing is created or sent until you start it. **Create schedule** starts it at once.

![What happens next outlined: On Oct 26, 2026, 2 invoices are created for Lena Ortiz; Deposit (50%) due Oct 26, 2026, emailed straight away; Balance (50%) due Dec 4, 2026, emailed on that day; Not charged automatically. The Save as draft button is outlined next to Create schedule](https://mintcdn.com/locusdigital/qri6G8dYdAkg0sgt/images/how-tos/commerce/dep-07-what-happens-next-closeup.webp?fit=max\&auto=format\&n=qri6G8dYdAkg0sgt\&q=85\&s=bada1551d27464f5c9c569434e7d16d7)

The plan opens marked **Draft**, with its **Plan total**. When you are ready, click **Start**. Northwind leaves it as a draft.

![Quillfeather holiday blend with the Draft badge outlined, the Start button outlined between Edit and Stop schedule, and the notice Draft: nothing is created or sent until you start it. Once started, its invoices will be created on Oct 26, 2026, outlined. Below, the Dates, Client and Plan total \$1,000.00 cards](https://mintcdn.com/locusdigital/qri6G8dYdAkg0sgt/images/how-tos/commerce/dep-08-saved-draft-closeup.webp?fit=max\&auto=format\&n=qri6G8dYdAkg0sgt\&q=85\&s=da58539eee30b01ae6647b8f6d9537aa)

To see each part's amount again, click **Edit**. **What happens next** at the bottom lists them in dollars: $500 due October 26 and $500 due December 4.

![What happens next on the edit page, with the two lines outlined: Deposit (\$500.00, 50%) due Oct 26, 2026, emailed straight away, and Balance (\$500.00, 50%) due Dec 4, 2026, emailed on that day](https://mintcdn.com/locusdigital/qri6G8dYdAkg0sgt/images/how-tos/commerce/dep-09-amounts-closeup.webp?fit=max\&auto=format\&n=qri6G8dYdAkg0sgt\&q=85\&s=6713e9eb62b3d43dc6dbc2cfee69fb02)

## What your client gets

Once the plan is started, both invoices are created on the start date:

* **The deposit** is emailed straight away, for \$500.
* **The balance** waits as a draft invoice under **Invoices** until December 4. Then it is emailed.

Each invoice carries the **Invoice title** and one line named after its part, **Deposit** or **Balance**, with its amount.

## Good to know

* **Check the plan and its dates before you save.** Once it is saved, its client, lines, tax and parts can't change. To change them, click **Stop schedule** and set up a new plan.
* **Taking a deposit on a quote?** On an estimate, **Split into payments** sets up the same kind of plan, and the invoices are created when your client accepts. See [Send a Quote and Turn It into an Invoice](/how-tos/commerce/send-an-estimate).
* **Online payment needs a payment processor.** Northwind has none connected, so its clients would pay by check or transfer. To record those, see [Record a Payment by Check, Cash or Transfer](/how-tos/commerce/record-a-payment).
* **More:** [Invoices](/commerce/invoices) covers every invoice setting. To bill the same lines every month instead, see [Bill a Client Every Month](/how-tos/commerce/recurring-invoice).


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