Getting paid · For photographers, videographers and content creators
How to ask clients for a deposit, and get paid on time
By the bckendIQ team7 min read
The short answer
Ask for the deposit when you send the contract, as the step that holds their date. Then write every payment date into the contract and remind them before each one.
The balance was due two weeks before the wedding. The wedding has been and gone, and the money hasn’t come. You write a reminder, delete it, and write it again, because you don’t want to sound rude. One business owner summed it up on a forum: “I have run into my first late payment.”
Why ask for a deposit, and how much should it be?
A deposit holds the date, and photographers typically charge 25% to 50% of the package for it. That range comes from a 2026 Aftershoot guide on cancellation policies.
Once you say yes to one couple, you turn down everyone else who wants that Saturday. The deposit pays you for that promise. Pick a figure that would cover you if they cancel and you can’t fill the date.
The word matters. In advice PhotoShelter published from an ASMP webinar, a lawyer says a deposit pays toward the work. A retainer pays to keep your time free, and he says retainers are almost always non-refundable.
Whatever you call it, say in the contract whether it comes back if they cancel. Rules differ by place, so check local law.
How do you ask for a deposit without sounding pushy?
Make it the next step, not a favour. Send it with the contract, say what it holds, and give one clear way to pay. A good deposit email covers five things:
- The date it holds, written out in full.
- The amount, and what’s left to pay after it.
- The day it’s due.
- How to pay, with one link or your bank details.
- What happens if it isn’t paid, said kindly.
If they go quiet after you send it, here’s what to do when a client ghosts you.
What payment dates should go in the contract?
All of them, in writing, before anyone signs. List the deposit, any part payments, and the final balance, each with its due date.
Tie the balance to the shoot, like “14 days before the wedding”. Then it moves if the date moves, and nobody argues about it.
If you want a late payment fee, write it in now. Say how much it is, when it starts, and how often it’s added. Rules on late fees differ by country and state, so check local law first. Add it before they sign, not after something is late.
If the date moves after signing, see how to change a signed contract.
What do you do when a payment is late?
Start friendly, and get firmer one small step at a time.
- The day after: a short note with the amount, the due date and the pay link.
- A week later: a second note that quotes the payment clause in their contract.
- Then pick up the phone. A short call can sort out what emails can’t.
- Last, apply what your contract says, such as a late fee or holding delivery until it’s paid.
How do creators get brands to pay on time?
Agree the payment terms in writing before you post, then invoice the day the content goes live.
Being paid late is common for creators. In a 2026 Censuswide survey for Visa of 1,000 UK creators, 49% had been paid late. And 41% had turned down work because of cash flow.
A 2023 Tipalti survey of 1,231 US and UK creators shows what that costs. Of those paid late, 48% said it hurt their motivation and 46% felt financial strain.
“Payment takes over a month, and often only comes after the creator chases them down.”
Before you sign with a brand, ask these four things:
- When do you pay, and how many days after the invoice?
- Who pays it, and what’s their email?
- What do you need on the invoice to pay it first time?
- Can we split it, with part paid up front?
In the UK, the law lets a business charge interest when another business pays late. The rate is 8% plus the Bank of England base rate. With no agreed date, a bill is late 30 days after the invoice or the work, whichever is later.
Making brand content as a team? See how it works for content studios.
How bckendIQ handles it
Set the payment plan once on the booking. The dates, the first payment and the receipts all follow from it.
- 1
Set the dates once
Choose “on booking” or “14 days before the shoot” for each payment. If the shoot moves, that date moves with it. Nothing falls due before they’ve booked, and a date you pick yourself stays put.
Open it in bckendIQ → - 2
The first payment confirms the date
Once a couple has signed and paid the first part of their plan, the booking confirms itself. A booking that got stuck can be confirmed in one click.
Open it in bckendIQ → - 3
Reminders reach both of them
Add a partner’s email to the couple’s card, and reminders reach both of them.
Open it in bckendIQ → - 4
They tell you the transfer is sent
Their pay page always offers “I’ve sent the transfer”, with an optional screenshot. You see it on their page and record the payment right there.
Open it in bckendIQ → - 5
Record it, and the receipt goes out
Each agreed payment is a row on the client’s Invoice tab. Press Record payment, choose how they paid and the day it arrived, and the receipt is emailed.
Open it in bckendIQ →
Getting paid: the usual way and with bckendIQ
| Task | The usual way | With bckendIQ |
|---|---|---|
| The shoot date moves | Change each payment date by hand | “14 days before the shoot” moves with the shoot |
| Confirming the booking | Check the bank, then update your records | Signed plus first payment confirms it |
| A bank transfer arrives | “Did you get it?” emails back and forth | They press “I’ve sent the transfer” and you record it |
| Sending a receipt | Make one and email it yourself | Recording the payment emails it |
| Booking minis | A booking app plus a separate pay link | One pop-up page: they pick a time and pay on your own Stripe |
| A client pays in another currency | Convert it by hand in a spreadsheet | Counted at the rate each payment landed |
Questions people ask
- How do you politely ask for a deposit?
- Send it with the contract and say what it holds: their date. Give the amount, the due date and one easy way to pay.
- Should a deposit be refundable?
- Decide, and say so in the contract. Retainers pay to hold the date, and a lawyer at an ASMP webinar said they are almost always non-refundable. Check local law.
- Can I charge a late payment fee?
- Yes, if it’s in the contract they signed and your local law allows it. State the amount and the day it starts. In the UK, businesses can charge interest when another business pays late.
- How do I get clients to pay on time?
- Put every date in the contract, tie the balance to the shoot date, and remind them before each payment. Make paying easy, with one link or clear bank details.
- When should the final balance be due?
- Pick a date before the event or before delivery, and write it in the contract. Tie it to the shoot, so it moves if the shoot moves.
Sources
- HoneyBook Community: late fees feature thread, June 2025
- UGC Job community: a creator on brand payments
- Aftershoot: photography cancellation policy guide, September 2026
- PhotoShelter: advice on handling contract cancellations for photographers, 2020
- Visa UK: survey of 1,000 UK creators by Censuswide, 2026
- Tipalti: brand and creator report, 1,231 US and UK creators, 2023
- GOV.UK: late commercial payments and debt recovery
- GOV.UK: charging interest on late commercial payments
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