Deposits and balances
A signed confirmation is a commitment. A deposit is that commitment with money behind it: the figure that holds the date and tells you the client is serious. 1pm lets you ask for one on a confirmation, then tracks the deposit and the balance for you, all the way to paid.
This article covers setting a deposit, how the balance is worked out, chasing what is overdue, and the report that shows it across every booking.
Setting a deposit on a confirmation
A deposit lives on an event confirmation. While the confirmation is a draft, choose how much to ask for:
- A percentage of the total (handy when every booking takes the same share), or
- A fixed amount (when this one is a round number you have agreed).
Give it a due date, and that is the deposit set. If you have a default deposit in your Tax and invoicing settings, it is filled in for you, so a confirmation with your usual terms is no extra typing. Leave the deposit off entirely when a booking does not need one.
The deposit and the balance
Once a deposit is set, 1pm splits the total in two: the deposit, and the balance (everything left after it). Each carries its own due date, with the balance defaulting sensibly from your settings so you are not entering the same date twice. The confirmation shows where things stand at a glance: the deposit amount, what has been paid, and the balance still to come.
As payments are recorded, the figures update. When the deposit is covered it shows as paid, and the balance tracks down to zero as the rest arrives, so the outstanding number is always current wherever the confirmation appears.
When a client wants to pay it all at once
Some clients would rather settle the whole thing in one go than pay a deposit now and a balance later. You do not have to set that up: when you have online card payments switched on and a deposit is the amount due, the client's confirmation page offers a quiet Or pay in full option next to the Pay deposit button. It is their choice, made at the moment they pay.
For your tracking, paying in full is simply a single payment that covers everything. The deposit shows as paid and the balance drops straight to zero, rather than the two landing on separate dates. The booking confirms exactly as it would on a deposit, because any payment that meets or beats the deposit is enough to hold the date. The client has just cleared the balance at the same time.
The pay-in-full option only appears while a deposit is the current step and there is more than the deposit still owing. Once the deposit is paid and only the balance remains, the same button simply pays the balance. If you take deposits offline instead of through 1pm, this option does not show, and you record a full payment yourself the usual way.
Staying ahead of what is overdue
A deposit is only useful if it is paid on time. Overdue deposits and balances surface as planner-facing reminders, so a late payment is something you chase on purpose rather than discover the week of the event.
For the whole picture in one place, the Deposits and balances report lists what is outstanding and what is overdue across every confirmation, ready to print or export to CSV. It is the list to work down when you want to see, in one go, who still owes a deposit and who has a balance due.
Related articles
- Event confirmations covers raising the confirmation a deposit sits on.
- Getting paid covers recording payments and taking card payments online.
- Reports covers the rest of the reporting suite, including Revenue and Invoices.