How to Take a Deposit Before You Start Work in Nigeria

“I will pay when it is ready” is how a lot of custom work in Nigeria turns into unpaid fabric, wasted ingredients, or a blocked Saturday.

If the job needs your money or your time before delivery, take a deposit first.

Quick answer

Collect at least 50% before you buy materials or block the date. Collect the balance before you release the work.

Who this is for

• tailors and fashion brands making to order
• bakers and caterers
• salons and barbers booking peak slots
• photographers, makeup artists, and consultants

Ready-made items you already have in stock can be paid in full. Custom work should not start on a promise.

A simple deposit rule

1. Say the rule before you start

“I take 50% to start, and the balance before pickup or delivery.”

Say it once, in the same words, every time. If it changes per customer, people will negotiate it down.

2. Match the deposit to your risk

• materials you cannot reuse: 70% to 100%
• your time only, easy to resell the slot: 30% to 50%
• peak dates, December, weddings, owambe weekends: higher, not lower

3. Do not start on a screenshot alone

Wait until the transfer reflects, or until the payment shows as received. A pending alert is not a deposit.

4. Write down what the deposit covers

Name, what they ordered, amount paid, balance left, and the date. If it only lives in WhatsApp, you will forget who has paid.

5. Collect the balance before release

Pickup, delivery, and sending files all wait for the balance. A finished job in the customer’s hands is much harder to collect.

What to avoid

• starting because they are a friend or a referral
• using the deposit to fund a different order
• delivering first and “chasing balance later”

How Fisco helps

Fisco lets service businesses take bookings and collect a deposit up front, and product businesses invoice the balance so it is not a chat reminder. See how to take bookings online in Nigeria.