Deposits on repair work: how much, when, and how to refund

Three weeks ago you took in a Stihl BR600 blower for a carb rebuild. Customer said she'd be back that weekend. She's been back never. The blower is on your back bench collecting dust, you've got $110 in parts and 1.5 hours in labor on it, and you're starting to wonder if you should list it on Marketplace just to recover costs.

A real repair shop deposits policy fixes this. Not the kind you mumble about at the counter when it suits you — a written, posted policy you apply to every ticket, every time. It improves cashflow, reduces abandonment by 60-80%, and turns "I'll pick it up later" customers into real commitments. Here's how to build one.

Why deposits matter more than you think

Three real benefits:

• Cashflow. You're paying the parts supplier net-30. If you don't collect a deposit, you're floating the parts cost for at least a month and often longer. A deposit closes that gap.
• Abandonment reduction. Customers with money at stake come back. Customers with zero money at stake disappear when the repair costs more than their emotional attachment to the equipment.
• Commitment filter. Anyone unwilling to put $50 down is a high-abandonment risk. Finding that out on day one is better than finding it out on day 90.

There's a fourth benefit nobody talks about: deposits end the awkward "what's this going to cost" conversation at pickup. Customer already knows the ballpark. Your counter person doesn't have to break news.

What to charge — a real framework

This is what works in most shops. Numbers are a starting point; adjust to your market.

Job value	Deposit	When collected
Under $100 (tune-ups, blade sharpens)	$25 flat	At intake
$100-$200	$50 flat	At intake
$200-$500	25% of estimate	At diagnosis approval
$500-$800	25% of estimate	At diagnosis approval
$800-$2,000	50% of estimate	Before ordering parts
Commercial / contract work	50%	Before parts ordered
Estimate-only (no commitment to repair)	$75	At intake, applied to repair if done

A few principles built into this:

• Under $100, flat $25 is simpler than calculating. Don't make your counter do math.
• Between $100-$800, 25% is the industry norm and customers accept it without pushback.
• Over $800, half up front is reasonable because parts are expensive and commitment needs to match.
• Estimate-only deposits keep you from doing free diagnostic work. If they repair, it applies. If they don't, you covered your time.

When to collect it

Two clean options. Pick one and stick with it.

Option A: Deposit at intake. You collect before the unit hits the bench. Simpler, stronger cashflow, fewer abandonments. The downside is the customer might push back before you've earned trust.

Option B: Deposit at diagnosis approval. You do the diagnosis free (or for a diagnostic fee), text the customer the estimate, and collect the deposit when they approve the work. Softer for the customer, more friction for you.

Most established shops run Option A for jobs under $200 and Option B for larger jobs. Solo operators and newer shops should run Option A across the board — you need the cashflow and the commitment.

The refund policy — the part most shops get wrong

Deposits are not a gift. But they also can't be a one-way street. A fair policy looks like this:

• Labor incurred is non-refundable. If your tech has already spent 30 minutes diagnosing, that time is billed against the deposit.
• Parts ordered are non-refundable unless we can return them. If the part is special-order or custom, the customer owns it.
• If we cancel the job for reasons on our side, the deposit is fully refunded. You missed a promised date by too much. The part is unavailable. The problem is outside your scope.
• If the customer cancels before work begins, full refund. No questions.
• If the customer doesn't pick up within 30 days of "ready" notice, we begin the abandonment process. More on that below.

The abandonment process

State law varies, so check yours. In most states, small engine equipment can be considered abandoned after 60-90 days with proper notice. A common workflow:

1. First ready notice (text and email) on the day the job is done.
2. Second notice at day 14.
3. Certified-mail notice at day 30, stating the unit will be considered abandoned at day 60 or 90 per state law.
4. At the legal cutoff, you can sell the unit to recover costs. Keep records of every notice.

The deposit doesn't change the abandonment math — you still have to follow the legal process — but it reduces the number of times you go through this dance by a huge margin.

Sample counter wording you can post

Print this, laminate it, put it at eye level behind the counter. Update the shop name and numbers:

Repair Deposits — Miller's Small Engine

We take a deposit on every repair. It secures your place in our queue and covers parts we order on your behalf.

• Jobs under $100: $25 deposit
• Jobs $100-$200: $50 deposit
• Jobs $200-$800: 25% of the estimate
• Jobs over $800: 50% of the estimate

Deposits apply to your final bill. If we can't complete the work, your deposit is fully refunded. If you cancel before work begins, your deposit is fully refunded. Labor already performed and special-order parts are non-refundable.

Completed units not picked up within 30 days may be subject to storage fees of $5 per day. Units left over 60 days will be considered abandoned per state law.

That's the whole policy, in one paragraph, visible to every walk-in. No surprises.

How to actually collect — three rules

1. Ask every time. The number one reason shops don't collect deposits is that they forget or feel awkward. Put it in your intake checklist so it's not a decision your counter person makes case-by-case.
2. Take a card on file, not cash. A card authorization is faster than cash handling and the deposit can be applied to the final invoice in one step. Tap-to-pay on a phone works fine if you don't have a terminal.
3. Hand them a written receipt with the deposit amount and policy. Email or text the receipt immediately. If a dispute comes later, the paper trail is what matters.

What changes when you start

A reasonable expectation for a shop that's never taken deposits before:

• 5-10% of walk-ins will balk. About half of those will come back next week and pay.
• Abandonment drops 60-80% within 90 days.
• Cashflow improves visibly — you stop floating parts costs for a month.
• One or two negative reviews from the balkers. Ignore them; every shop that collects deposits has them.

Track these numbers before and after. If abandonment doesn't drop, your policy isn't being enforced consistently — which is the most common failure mode, not the policy itself.

Common mistakes

• Taking deposits on some jobs and not others. Inconsistency is the enemy. Pick the rule, apply it.
• Not putting the policy in writing. If it's not written down, every interaction is a negotiation.
• Refusing refunds that should be refunded. A deposit isn't a penalty. Being fair on refunds protects the policy.
• Skipping the deposit "because they're a regular." Regulars are fine paying. It's the ones who push back who probably shouldn't be regulars.
• Letting unpicked-up units sit forever. The storage clock has to start or your back bench fills up.

A quick note on mechanics

Most modern ticket systems handle deposits cleanly. Crankshop applies the deposit automatically to the final invoice and tracks the refundable portion as labor hours accrue, but any system that lets you attach a payment to a ticket and carry it forward will work. The mechanics matter less than the policy behind them.

Bottom line

A written repair shop deposits policy — posted at the counter, applied every time, with clear refund rules — pays for itself in the first month. Start at $25-$50 flat on smaller jobs and 25% on anything over $200, hold the line consistently, and abandonment drops sharply while your cashflow gets a lot healthier.