Balance Deposits for furniture makers
You buy the timber when the order lands and get paid the rest when the piece is finished. A deposit plan that charges when you say ready fits that exactly.
The usual plan
Most makers take 30% to 50% on order to cover materials, with the balance due when the piece is ready to deliver. In Balance Due that is a percentage deposit with the balance rule set to 'when the order is ready' and an outer limit of, say, 120 days. Nothing is charged until you press mark ready on the order; the customer is told the card is being taken that day, and delivery is booked once it clears.
Example: £2,400 oak dining table, 40% deposit. £960 at checkout, £1,440 taken the day you mark it ready, fulfilment on hold until then.
Why the fulfilment hold matters here
Furniture usually ships by courier or your own van and the booking happens outside Shopify. The hold keeps the order visibly unfulfillable in Shopify until the balance clears, which stops a helpful colleague booking delivery on an unpaid table. The morning digest lists the pieces paid in full overnight, which is your delivery-booking list.
Long lead times
Twelve-week builds mean cards expire and customers move house. The three-day reminder before the balance and the pay link on any failed charge handle most of it; for the rest, reschedule the payment from the order and the customer gets a fresh reminder. If a customer wants to pay in stages over the build, put the product on an instalment plan instead.
Policy wording that works
Say in the product description and your policy page: what the deposit is, that it is non-refundable once making begins, that the balance is taken from the same card when the piece is ready, and what happens if it cannot be taken. Balance Due shows your policy text under every payment email and on the customer's payment page.
Questions
Can I take the balance before delivery rather than on a fixed date?
Yes, that is the 'when the order is ready' rule. You control the day with mark ready, or collect now if you want it sooner.
What if the customer changes the spec and the price goes up?
Edit the order in Shopify. Balance Due sees the higher outstanding amount and adds the difference to the balance.
We deliver ourselves. Does the hold get in the way?
No. It only stops the order being marked fulfilled in Shopify; you release it by collecting the balance or by hand.
Not on the list?
If your customers commit before the work is done, Balance Due fits. Tell us what you sell and we will suggest a plan.