Go to Settings > Invoicing and find the Customer Approval section. It decides what a customer has to do to approve an estimate you send with Send for Approval.

  • Approval only: the customer types their name and approves, and the invoice is created right away. No payment is taken. Any shop can use this.
  • Deposit required: no approval without a deposit. The customer approves and pays the deposit online by card, and the invoice is created once the payment goes through. This option needs Manifold Pay pay by link connected under Settings > Payments. Until it is, the option is greyed out.

With Deposit required selected, set "Default deposit (% of the estimate total)". It starts at 25%. Whoever sends an estimate can change the deposit for that estimate, as a percentage or a dollar amount. Click Save.

Only owners and store managers can change this setting.

How a deposit works

  1. The customer clicks "Approve and pay $X deposit" and is taken to your payment processor's secure card page. Your shop never sees the card number.
  2. Once the card is approved, Manifold turns the estimate into an invoice, marks the estimate Won, and records the deposit on the new invoice. It shows in Payment History as Manifold Pay, via Manifold Pay link. This usually takes a minute or two, and at most about five minutes. Do not record the deposit by hand.
  3. You get a "Deposit paid online" notification.

If the customer approves but leaves without paying, their link shows "Approved, deposit not paid yet" and the estimate stays as it is. When they open the link again they get a "Pay $X deposit" button. If you edit the estimate before they pay, they are asked to approve the new version.

A deposit that is paid always ends up on an invoice, even if the estimate was marked Lost or turned into an invoice at the counter in the meantime.

To give a deposit back, refund it from the invoice. See "Sending a customer a pay link" for how refunds of online payments work.