If you work on your own, asking for money can feel personal. You just spent an hour earning someone's trust, and now you have to name a number.
A deposit is easier to ask for when you stop treating it as a favor. It is what holds a place in your calendar, and it is how both of you know the work has really started.
Put it in the offer, not in the follow-up
The awkward version happens after the client has said yes: "Oh, and one more thing." By then, the deposit sounds like a new condition.
Name it where you name the price, before anyone has to ask:
The engagement is $6,000. A $3,000 deposit holds your start date, and the balance is due at handover.
Two lines. No apology, and nothing to negotiate around.
Say what the deposit does
People rarely object to paying. They object to not knowing what they are paying for. So tell them what it buys:
It holds a date. You turn down other work for that time.
It starts the work. Preparation begins once it arrives.
It says what happens if plans change. Decide whether it is refundable, and say so in writing.
That last point protects both of you. Have a lawyer look at your terms if the amounts are large.
Pick a number you can say out loud
There is no single right percentage. Think about what you would lose if this client disappeared a week before the start date: the time you held, and the work you had already prepared. Your deposit should cover that.
Whatever you choose, use it every time. A deposit that is firm with one client and flexible with the next starts to feel like a negotiation.
Make paying the easy part
Every extra step between "yes" and "paid" gives the moment a chance to cool. A client who has to hunt for an invoice, or wait until you remember to send one, may still be happy to pay. They will just do it later.
Send the agreement and the payment together, while the conversation is still warm.
A line you can copy
Here's the proposal. If it looks right, sign it and pay the deposit on the same page, and I'll hold your start date.
How this works in SoloBase
Your proposal lives in the client's Client Hub. They read it, type their name to sign and pay the deposit there. The money goes straight to your own Stripe account, and SoloBase takes no cut of it.