Split a big estimate into two or more invoices — a deposit up front, progress payments as the work moves along, and a final bill at the end. You set the split once on the estimate, then create each invoice with one click when it is time to bill it. Nothing goes out until you say so.
Available on Startup plan and higher.
In This Article
- Set up the schedule
- Make the first payment a deposit
- Bill each payment
- What your customer sees
- Changing a schedule after you have billed part of it
- Common questions
Set up the schedule
- Add your items to the estimate first. The split is based on the estimate total, so you want that total to be right before you divide it up.
- Under the estimate total, click Add Deposit or Payment Schedule on the Billing row, then choose Payment schedule. LawnPro starts you with two rows: Payment 1 at 50%, marked as the deposit, and Final Payment at 50%.
- Pick % or $ with the Split as buttons.
- Fill in a row for each payment — a description your customer will recognize (“Deposit”, “Materials”, “Final payment”) and the amount.
- Use + Add Invoice for another payment, or the red × to drop one.
- Watch Remainder at the bottom. When it reaches zero, save the estimate.
A few rules LawnPro checks when you save:
- You need at least two payments. One payment is just a regular invoice.
- In % mode the percentages have to add up to 100.
- In $ mode the amounts have to add up to the estimate total.
- Leave a description blank and it becomes “Payment 1”, “Payment 2”, and so on.
- A row with no amount is dropped.
Tip: Percentages are the safer choice when the job might still change. A 30 / 40 / 30 split keeps working if you add an item later, where fixed dollar amounts would need editing.
Make the first payment a deposit
Required estimate deposit is ticked on the first row by default, which makes that payment the deposit on the estimate. Untick it if you don’t want to collect it up front. Your customer can pay it right from the quote when they approve, and when you later create the invoice for that first payment, the deposit they already paid is applied to it for you.
Choosing Payment schedule turns off Enable Pay in Full for that estimate, since the whole point is that they are paying in stages.
Bill each payment
Open the estimate and look for the Payment Schedule box. Across the top is a bar showing where the money stands:
- Green: Paid
- Yellow: Awaiting Payment (invoiced and sent)
- Dark grey: Draft (invoiced, not sent yet)
- Light grey: Remaining (not billed yet)
Underneath, each payment has its own row with the due date, status, percentage, description, total and remaining balance.
When you are ready to bill one, click Generate on that row. LawnPro creates a real invoice for that amount, named after the payment — for example Progress invoice 2 of 4 — Materials. The invoice carries every item from the estimate, each one scaled to that payment’s share, and shows two columns so the customer can follow along:
- Item Total — what that item costs on the whole job
- Due This Invoice — the slice you are billing right now
The invoice starts out unsent, so review it and send it like any other invoice. The schedule row then turns into a link straight to it.
You can generate payments in any order, and you can wait as long as you like between them — nothing is billed until you click. Clicking Generate twice will not create two invoices. You need permission to create invoices to see Generate.
Once you generate the first invoice the estimate counts as converted, and once every payment has been generated the estimate is marked Invoiced.
Note: Create Invoice disappears from More Actions on an estimate that has a payment schedule. Billing the full amount there and generating the scheduled payments would bill your customer twice, so LawnPro takes the option away.
What your customer sees
On the quote — both in their customer portal and on the estimate PDF — the payment schedule is listed in place of the usual Required Deposit line, so they can see exactly how the job will be billed before they approve it.
Every invoice you generate also shows the full schedule at the bottom with the payment they are looking at in bold, on screen, in the portal and on the PDF. It answers “where are we in this job” without them having to ask.
Changing a schedule after you have billed part of it
- Payments you have already invoiced are locked. They show as Issued and cannot be renamed, re-priced or removed — the invoice already exists.
- Payments you have not billed yet can be edited freely: rename them, change amounts, add another, remove one.
- You cannot switch the schedule off once any payment has been invoiced. You can only change what is left.
- The last unbilled payment absorbs any difference, so the schedule always adds back up to the estimate total even after you have edited it midway through a job.
Common questions
How many payments can I have?
At least two, and as many as the job needs. Deposit plus final is common; deposit, materials, progress and final works just as well.
Does my customer get billed automatically?
No. Each invoice is created only when you click Generate, and it is not delivered until you send it.
What if the job total changes after we start?
Percentage rows recalculate against the new total on their own. Fixed dollar rows keep their amount, and the last payment you have not billed yet takes up the difference so the schedule still ties out to the estimate.
Can I change the amount on a payment I already invoiced?
Not on the schedule, and the line amounts on a progress invoice are locked because they come from the estimate. If an amount needs to change, adjust the rows you have not generated yet — or handle the difference on the final invoice.
Why can I not select Payment schedule?
The billing options are part of the paid plans. On the free Solo plan you will see an upgrade prompt instead.
Can I still charge a deposit without splitting the whole estimate?
Yes. Choose Deposit only instead of Payment schedule and set the one amount. That works the way it always has.