The job runs for weeks. The money arrives in pieces.
Kitchens, bathrooms, basements, decks, small additions. The work spans weeks, the cash arrives as a deposit then instalments, and what quietly costs you money is a change nobody wrote down. Built for that end of construction — not a fifty-unit build with a site office.
Where small jobs go wrong
Materials bought out of your own pocket
Set a deposit as a percentage or a flat amount on the quote, so the tile and the vanity are not financed by you for three weeks.
Paid in pieces, tracked in your head
Record each payment as it lands — cheque, e-Transfer, cash or card — and the outstanding balance keeps itself current.
“That wasn't what we agreed”
Photos of every stage sit on the job with dates attached. Most disagreements end the moment somebody scrolls back to what was behind the wall.
A quote with the deposit built in
On a fourteen-thousand-dollar bathroom, the deposit is not an awkward conversation you have after the fact — it is a line on the quote they are already saying yes to. Set it as a percentage or a fixed figure and it appears with the total.
Break the job into stages the homeowner recognises: demolition, rough-in, waterproofing, fixtures, finishing. It reads as a plan rather than a number, and it makes the later conversation about a change far easier because everyone can see what was in scope.
Sales tax comes from the province you set, so the HST line is right without checking.
Valid 30 days
| Demolition & disposal of existing bathroom | $1,250.00 |
| Rough-in plumbing relocation, vanity & shower | $2,400.00 |
| Waterproofing & tile setting, 60 sq ft | $3,150.00 |
| Supply & install vanity, toilet, shower valve | $2,780.00 |
| Electrical — pot lights, fan, GFCI (licensed sub) | $1,450.00 |
| Painting & finish carpentry | $980.00 |
| Project management & site protection | $650.00 |
| Subtotal | $12,660.00 |
| HST (13%) | $1,645.80 |
| Total | $14,305.80 |
| Deposit due to start (25%) | $3,576.45 |
An illustration of a TradePilot quote, not a real customer. Ontario HST shown at 13% — TradePilot applies the rate for the province you set.
Know what is still owed without doing sums
Renovation money rarely arrives in one piece. A deposit, something at rough-in, the balance at the end — and often a cheque handed over on site with no paperwork attached to it.
Record each payment against the invoice with the method it came in as, and the outstanding balance is always current. When somebody asks what is left on the job, the answer is on your phone rather than in a notebook in the truck.
Jobs that run longer than a day
A bathroom is not a two-hour call. Jobs can span a date range on the calendar, so a three-week reno occupies the days it actually occupies instead of pretending to be a single appointment. Assign your crew across it at no extra cost — the price does not move whether it is you and a labourer or six people.
One gap worth knowing: there's no change-order feature. When scope changes, send a second quote for the extra work — agreed in writing and separately invoiceable, but not a dedicated change-order document. If that's central to how you work, it matters.
Questions contractors ask
Can I take a deposit before starting?
Can I record a cheque handed to me on site?
Do you handle change orders?
Can a job span three weeks on the calendar?
Is this for big commercial construction?
Does the price change as I take on more people?
Try it on your next reno.
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