Deposit
An upfront payment collected before install to secure scheduling and cover material costs.
A deposit is the upfront payment collected from a customer when they sign the estimate. Industry standard is 30-50% of the contract total, due at signing, with the balance collected at substantial completion.
Deposits cover material orders (you don't want to buy $5,000 of LVP on the customer's hope) and lock in the install date in the crew calendar. The contractors who collect deposits consistently have far healthier cash flow than those who chase invoices after the install.
Pay-by-bank (ACH) is the right channel for deposit collection — card fees on a $10,000 deposit add up. Make ACH the default and offer card as a backup.