Balance 
Deposits for garden rooms and outbuildings
A garden room is a survey, a base, a timber package and three days of two men on site. The deposit funds the materials; the balance should be in before anyone turns up.
At a glance
How a garden room builder usually sets this up.
- Typical deposit
- 25% to 40% at order
- Balance charged
- 7 to 14 days before install
- Balance rule
- Exact date, or ready if dates move
- Held until paid
- Yes, off the install schedule
- Per-order fee
- None, at any order value
- Shopify plan
- Any Shopify plan
One plan on your room products. The deposit covers the timber package and the base materials; the balance is cleared before the crew is committed, so the install date is never a day you are chasing money.
Where the money lands
A £24,000 garden office at 30%, balance ten days before the install.
Balance Due charges a flat monthly plan, not a percentage of the order.
Enough room to sort a failed card before two men and a van are committed.
The charge, then retries after 1, 3 and 7 days with a payment link each time.
At this value, check your payment provider's limits before the first order. A £7,200 card payment is unremarkable for Shopify Payments, but some providers and some customers' own card limits will baulk, and it is better to know that before a customer is sitting at the checkout.
From survey to sign-off
The money follows the job rather than the other way round.
- 1
Site survey and quote
Nothing yet
You survey, you quote, they accept. Create the product for the job type with the price set per order through a variant, and send them the link.
- 2
Customer checks out
£7,200 taken
They pay the deposit through your normal Shopify checkout. The order lands with the balance and its date recorded against it, and the timber package goes on order.
- 3
Base and groundwork
Nothing charged
If the ground needs more than the photos suggested, edit the Shopify order and the difference is added to the balance that is already scheduled.
- 4
Ten days before install
£16,800 charged
The balance is charged to the saved card on the date you set. The customer gets a receipt, and the job shows paid in full in your morning digest, which is your crew-booking list.
- 5
Card declines or limit hit
Payment link sent
The customer gets a Shopify payment link that accepts any card, or pays by bank transfer and you record it against the order. The charge retries after 1, 3 and 7 days.
- 6
Install and sign-off
Paid in full
The hold releases itself once the job is paid. The crew turns up to a job that is already settled, and the order is closed off when the customer signs it off.
Selling a five-figure job through a website
Most of this trade quotes after a site survey, so the product page is not where the sale happens. It is where the deposit is taken. Create a product for the job type with the price set per order through a variant, attach the plan, and send the customer the link once they accept the quote. They check out through Shopify's normal checkout, the deposit is taken and the schedule is set.
Balance Due cannot take deposits on draft orders, so the order has to come through checkout. That is also what saves the card for the balance, which is the whole point.
A £24,000 job does not need a different process from a £2,400 one. It needs the same process with more care about card limits.
Setting it up
About fifteen minutes, plus a call to your payment provider about limits.
- In Shopify, check Settings, Payments: capture must be automatic at checkout or manual, not per fulfilment. Then check the per-transaction limit on your provider.
- Create a plan in Balance Due: 30% percentage deposit, balance rule exact date if you book install dates firmly, or when the order is ready if they move with the weather.
- Attach the plan to your room products, one product per job type with the price set per order through a variant.
- When each order lands, move the balance date on the order to ten days before its install date, if you are using exact dates.
- Add the Deposit option block to your product template once, under the buy buttons. It only appears on products that carry a plan.
- Place a test order with Shopify's Bogus Gateway on a development store and watch the schedule email, the hold and the balance charge.
If install dates move around with the weather, the ready rule is safer. Nothing is charged until you press mark ready, which you do when the job is confirmed for the following week.
One stage or two
A single deposit and balance covers most jobs. Some builders want a third payment when the base is poured.
| How you want to be paid | How to sell it | What the customer sees |
|---|---|---|
| Deposit, then balance before install | One product, one plan | One checkout, one deposit, one balance on a date they know in advance. |
| Deposit, base payment, then balance | Two products: groundwork and build, each with its own plan | Two orders, each with its own deposit and balance. Cleaner for your accounts as well. |
| Deposit, then balance on sign-off | One product, ready rule | The balance is charged the day you mark the job complete, not before. |
| Payment in full up front | One product, no plan | A normal order. Only sensible on small outbuildings. |
A product carries one plan at a time. If you use the two-product approach, the customer checks out twice, once at each stage, which most are happy with on a job this size.
The three ways a job changes after the deposit
Surveys, planning and the customer's own bank are where these jobs go sideways.
The survey changes the price
Ground conditions, access, a base that needs more groundwork than the photos suggested. Edit the Shopify order and the difference is added to the balance, due with the payment that is already scheduled.
- Price goes up: the difference is added to the balance
- Price goes down: the balance shrinks
- The customer's payment page always shows the current figure
Planning is refused
Many garden rooms fall under permitted development, some do not, and the customer is usually the one responsible for finding out. It is the single most common reason one of these jobs dies after the deposit is paid.
- Say in your terms what happens to the deposit if planning is refused
- Cancel the plan from the order and nothing further is collected
- Handle the deposit under your policy in Shopify as normal
The customer's card has a limit
£16,800 on a personal card is not always possible, even when the money is there. The payment link accepts any card, and a bank transfer recorded against the order works just as well.
- Take the transfer and record it against the order in Shopify
- Balance Due follows the order's outstanding amount and closes the plan
- The saved card is not charged on top
Policy wording that works
Say in the product description and on your policy page: what the deposit is, that it is non-refundable once the timber package is ordered, that the balance is taken from the same card on the date before install, what happens if it cannot be taken, and what happens if planning is refused. Balance Due shows your policy text under every payment email and on the customer's payment page.
A room built to the customer's specification is usually outside the 14-day cancellation right in the UK, but only if you have said so before they buy. Write it on the product rather than relying on the policy page alone.
Put the install date on the order notes and in your confirmation email. The balance date on the order should be set from it, and the customer should be able to see both.
What it costs
Nothing per order and nothing per transaction, which is the point on a five-figure job. The Free plan covers three jobs with an open balance at any one time, and Starter covers thirty. The limit counts open balances rather than orders a year, so a room paid for before install stops counting the moment it clears.
Deposits taken through Balance Due are ordinary Shopify payments, so your normal gateway rates apply and nothing is deducted by us. See pricing for the plan limits.
Related
Deposits for kitchens and joinery
The same quote-then-checkout pattern.
Automatic balance collection
Dates, retries and overdue alerts.
Pricing
No percentage fee on high-value orders.
Furniture makers
Deposit on order, balance when the piece is ready, nothing leaves the workshop unpaid.
Upholsterers
Fabric is cut to order and cannot go back: the deposit covers it before you order a metre.
Jewellers
Bespoke and engagement pieces: the deposit covers the stone, the balance lands on completion.
Questions
Can I take a third payment when the base is poured?
Sell the job as two products, groundwork and build, each with its own deposit plan. Each stage then has its own deposit and its own balance, which is also cleaner for your own accounts.
What if the customer wants to pay by bank transfer?
Take it however you like and record it against the order in Shopify. Balance Due follows the order's outstanding amount, so the plan closes when the money lands.
Is there a limit on the order value?
Not from Balance Due. The limits that matter are your payment provider's and the customer's own card.
What if the install date moves because of weather?
Reschedule the balance payment from the order to suit the new date and the customer gets a fresh reminder before it. Or use the ready rule from the start and press mark ready when the job is confirmed.
What if planning is refused after the deposit is paid?
Cancel the plan from the order and nothing further is collected. What happens to the deposit is your policy, so say it in your terms before they buy.
Can the customer pay the balance early?
Yes, from the pay now button on their payment page.
Do I need Shopify Payments?
For automatic charges, yes, or PayPal Express. On other providers the customer gets a payment link on the due date instead of an automatic charge.
Does the deposit option show on every product?
No. The block only renders on products that carry a plan, so accessories and small outbuildings sold at full price look exactly as they do now.
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.