The couple said yes on a Sunday night. Great. Monday you’re pricing rentals, Tuesday you’re holding the date against two other inquiries, and the deposit is still “we’ll send it this week.” By Friday you’ve texted twice and you feel like a debt collector for your own wedding.

The deposits you end up chasing are the ones you mentioned and never wrote down.

This is the Nair & Castellano wedding: 150 guests on Saturday, December 19, at $95 a guest.

Step 1: Put the payment schedule on the proposal

On the proposal, open Terms and find Payment schedule. Putting the deposit here makes it part of the price they accept.

The proposal’s Payment schedule: “What the client pays, and when. The offer states this in dollars, so they accept the schedule along with the price.” This proposal asks for: A deposit, then the balance. Deposit: A fixed amount, 3500. The balance: In one payment. Balance due (days before the event): 10, with “0 means the balance is due on the day. The client’s final guest count is due the same day as the balance.” Other choices: The full amount, when the client accepts, and Nothing online: you arrange payment with the client. Below, What the client will read: Deposit to confirm the date $3,500.00; Balance, due Wednesday, December 9, $10,750.00; Your final guest count is due Wednesday, December 9. The total does not change after that.
A $3,500 deposit, the balance 10 days out, and exactly what the client will read.

Choose A deposit, then the balance. The deposit is A percentage of the order or A fixed amount. The balance comes In one payment or In several payments. Balance due (days before the event) sets the date, and the final guest count is due the same day, so you stop buying for a number that can still move.

The other two choices suit other jobs: The full amount, when the client accepts for a small job or a new client, and Nothing online: you arrange payment with the client for the regulars you bill your own way.

While you’re on the terms, use Anything else the client should know to say whether the deposit comes back if the date falls through, and until when. It’s the first thing a couple asks.

Step 2: The client accepts the schedule with the price

The client opens the proposal on their phone. The payment schedule is right there, in dollars and dates.

What the client sees: PAYMENT SCHEDULE. Deposit to confirm the date $3,500.00. Balance, due Wednesday, December 9, $10,750.00. Your final guest count is due Wednesday, December 9. The total does not change after that.
The client reads the deposit and the balance date before they accept.

When they accept, they type their name and tap Accept for $14,250.00.

The client’s accept form: Your full name, Priya Nair. Note for Harbor & Hearth Catering, optional. “Nothing is charged today. Harbor & Hearth Catering will send an agreement to sign next.” A button: Accept for $14,250.00.
Their yes includes the deposit. Nothing is charged yet.

Step 3: Read what Book the event says is missing

Back on the event, Book the event lists what’s still missing, in plain words.

Book the event: Still missing before you book. The agreement is not prepared yet, so nobody has signed it. The accepted proposal sets a $3,500.00 deposit. Nobody has asked the client for it yet. Below: Why book without them? A text box, “Your reason is kept with the event, with your name and the time,” and a Book anyway button.
Accepted, but no signed agreement and no deposit yet.

CostCook won’t book on the yes alone. It books the event when four things are true: the proposal was accepted, the agreement is signed by everyone, the deposit came in, and the day still has room.

Step 4: Prepare the agreement

Tap Prepare agreement. The payment dates come across from the proposal the client accepted, so the contract says what the offer said.

The contract review’s Payment schedule: Deposit $3,500.00, Confirms the date. Balance $10,750.00, Due Wed Dec 9. Final guest count due Wed Dec 9. The total does not change after that.
The agreement repeats the dates the client already accepted.

Write the terms, name who signs, review, and send it with Send for signatures.

Step 5: Ask for the deposit

On the event’s kitchen draft, enter the Deposit amount and pick How you will take it.

Deposit amount: 3500. How you will take it: A check, cash or a transfer is selected; My own card processor is the other choice. “To email the client a card link, finish connecting Stripe in Settings.” A button: Ask for a deposit.
Asking puts the deposit on the books. Getting it to the client is the next step.
  • A card, by email appears once Stripe is connected in Settings. The client gets a link and pays on Stripe’s page into your own Stripe account.
  • A check, cash or a transfer, or My own card processor: tapping Ask for a deposit records what’s owed, but it doesn’t email the client anything by itself. Step 6 does that.

Once you’ve asked, the amount is fixed. If it’s wrong, fix it before you tap Ask for a deposit.

Step 6: Send the request, then record the check

Open the order and tap Money. Payments shows what’s owed and when.

Payments: “What the client pays, and when.” A Record a payment button. $0.00 paid of $14,250.00; $10,750.00 due Wed, Dec 9. Deposit $3,500.00, Not paid, with “Write how clients pay you to request this by email. Add payment instructions.” Balance $10,750.00, Due Wed, Dec 9: “You collect this one, so it goes on Home on Wed, Dec 9. No email goes out on its own.” At the foot: “Due dates are part of what the client agreed to. Amend the terms to move one.”
What's owed, when, and a straight answer about reminders.

Under the deposit, tap Add payment instructions and write how clients pay you: who the check is made out to, or your bank details. Once they’re saved, Request payment emails the client the amount and the instructions. If a week goes by, Send again.

The check comes in. Tap Record a payment, pick what it’s For, the Method, the Amount received, and a Receipt or reference you’ll recognize in March.

Record a payment: “Money the client paid the kitchen directly. CostCook did not process the money.” For: Deposit · $3,500.00 still owed. Method: Check. Amount received (USD): 3500. Receipt or reference: check #204, with “Each payment needs its own, for example check #204 or cash 9/11.” A button: Review payment.
The deposit, by check, with the check number.

Review payment shows it back to you once more before it’s saved.

Record $3,500.00 by Check? Reference: check #204. A recorded payment cannot be edited later. Buttons: Check it again and Record payment.
A recorded payment can't be edited later, so read it once.

Step 7: Book when the last item clears

Back on Book the event, the deposit is off the list. What’s left is the signature.

Book the event: Still missing before you book. The agreement is not signed by everyone yet. Why book without it? Book anyway.
The deposit's in; the signature is all that's left.

When the agreement comes back signed, Book the event books it. Booking commits the kitchen to the event; confirming the order comes later, when the kitchen plan is ready.

An owner or manager can tap Book anyway with a reason. Sometimes that’s right, like the planner you’ve worked with for six years. The reason is kept with your name and the time.

A few things aren’t automatic

  • The deposit is asked for by hand. Nothing reminds the client about the deposit on its own. Use Request payment, and Send again if it’s late.
  • Balances by card get one reminder. Three days before the due date the client gets an email with a pay button. Balances you collect yourself don’t send email; they show up on your Home page on the due date.
  • Refunds are yours to send. Cancelling an event doesn’t refund anyone. Card payments are refunded in Stripe; a check deposit, you refund your usual way.
  • A changed guest count doesn’t re-bill. The deposit and payments stay as agreed. A change to what they owe is an invoice correction you make on purpose.

The week after the yes

  • The proposal named the deposit, the balance and the balance date before they accepted.
  • The agreement repeats those dates, and it’s out for signatures.
  • The deposit request went out with your payment instructions, and the check is recorded with its number.
  • You booked when all four were true, or you booked anyway and wrote down why.