Deposits and payment plans

Big jobs deserve better than "pay it all at the end and hope". Two tools cover it.

Deposits at approval

A quote can require a deposit the moment the customer approves it, right on the approval page. They tap approve, pay the deposit, and the work is funded before your truck rolls.

The deposit is a real payment attached to the quote, so when the final invoice goes out later, the invoice page shows the remaining balance net of the deposit, and its pay button charges only what is left. There is no way for a customer to accidentally pay the full total twice; the balance math is computed from every payment on record, always.

Installments (payment plans)

For larger invoices, split the remainder into up to three scheduled installments. PoolChecker charges each slice automatically on its date using the customer's saved payment method, and the invoice flips to Paid when the final slice lands.

Details that matter:

• Bank payments work: if the customer's saved method is a bank account, the plan reuses the same authorization for every slice; the customer approves once.
• A failed slice retries on its own for a bounded window rather than forever. If it keeps failing, the invoice stays honestly open and you will see it among unpaid invoices; chase it with a fresh payment link.
• Refunds reopen balances. Refund a slice and the invoice's remaining balance grows back by that amount. The invoice page and the books always agree.

When to use which

• Repair over a few hundred dollars: deposit (materials covered).
• Resurfacing, equipment packages, anything four figures: deposit plus installments for the remainder.
• Routine monthly service: neither; that is what recurring billing is for.

One honest caveat

Installments charge off-session (no customer click each time), which requires a saved card or bank authorization first. Get the payment method saved at deposit time, when the customer is already in a paying mood, and the rest of the plan runs itself.