How to collect a deposit over the phone
A customer says yes on the phone and you want money down before the truck rolls. Pillar creates a deposit invoice against the job and sends a card payment link by text or email while they are still on the call.
Open the job and press Request deposit
Where to clickJobsopen the jobDepositsRequest deposit
Press Jobs in the left sidebar and open the job you are booking. Scroll to the Deposits card, titled Phone-in deposit requests and their payment status, and press Request deposit.
If you have just created the job, the success toast carries its own Request deposit button that opens the same dialog. Both routes end up in the same place.
The dialog builds the payment link on your own Stripe account, so connect Stripe first if you have not already. Owners and dispatchers can request a deposit; technicians see the card read only.
Choose what to ask for
Where to clickRequest depositModeAmount ($)
Mode sits at the top of the dialog with three choices: Flat amount, Percentage of estimate, and Service call fee.
Flat amount and Service call fee both just want a number, and the field renames itself to Service call fee ($) in the second one. Percentage of estimate needs an estimate on the job and does the math for you, showing the estimate total next to the deposit it works out to.
Due date (optional) defaults to 7 days from today, and Notes (optional) ride along on the deposit invoice.
Send the link while they are on the call
Where to clickSend link viaSMSEmailRequest deposit & send link
Send link via at the foot of the dialog holds two checkboxes, SMS and Email, and at least one has to be ticked. Each is ticked already when the customer has that detail on file.
The SMS box needs texting set up for your company and a phone number on the customer record, and the dialog names the missing piece underneath it when either is absent.
Press Request deposit & send link and Pillar creates the deposit invoice, builds the payment link, and reports each channel as sent, skipped, or failed. The same panel shows the invoice number, the amount, and the link itself, so you can read it out without hanging up.
What your customer sees
Where to clickTheir text or emailPay deposit securelyPayment received
The text is one line: your business name, the amount, the job it covers, and the link. The email is your branded deposit request with the invoice number, amount, due date, any notes, and a Pay deposit securely button.
Both open a secure checkout page in your business name, and a successful payment lands the customer on a Payment received page with an emailed receipt to follow.
Track it, resend it, or void it
Where to clickJobsopen the jobDepositsView invoice
Back on the job, each request shows a status badge, its invoice number, the amount, the mode it used, and who asked for it. A deposit reads UNPAID until the money lands, PAID afterwards, and VOID if it was canceled.
View invoice opens it like any other invoice, and while it is unpaid you also get Copy link and Resend. Resend reuses the same invoice and quietly refreshes the payment link if the old one has expired.
Void is owner only: it closes the link so nobody can pay it and frees the job for a new request. A job holds one open deposit at a time, so a second attempt offers to resend the existing link instead.
When the customer pays, the deposit invoice flips to PAID on its own and owners and dispatchers get a notification.
Common questions
Does my customer need a Pillar login to pay a deposit?
No. The link opens a secure checkout page in whatever browser they tap it in, so there is no account to create and no password to remember.
Can I ask for a deposit before there is an estimate?
Yes. Flat amount and Service call fee only need a number from you, and Percentage of estimate is the one mode that requires an estimate on the job.
What if the customer never pays the link?
The deposit sits on the job as UNPAID until somebody acts on it. Press Resend to send it again, which refreshes the payment link if the old one has expired, or have an owner void it and start fresh.
Can a deposit be paid by bank payment instead of a card?
No. Deposits are card only on every account, even where bank payments are switched on for ordinary invoices, because a bank debit takes days to clear and a deposit is usually what releases the schedule.
Who on my team can do this?
Owners and dispatchers can request a deposit, copy the link, and resend it. Only owners can void one, and technicians can see the deposits on a job without acting on them.