The bathroom quote is accepted, but the customer is still choosing between two tile formats and the supplier needs a product reference. Do not collect money against an open selection. Send a tile contractor deposit invoice only after the order, labour commitment and approval trail are clear.
Treat the deposit as a gate. Cleared payment releases a named supplier order, a defined installation slot, or both. It is not a vague percentage of the job.
Lock the accepted scope before requesting payment
Start with the accepted quote. It should name the room, surfaces, preparation, waterproofing boundaries and exclusions. The deposit document comes next. It does not replace the scope.
Record whether you are tiling floors, walls, niches, curbs, benches, backsplashes, reveals or other measured surfaces. State who removes existing finishes. State who boards, levels, primes and waterproofs the substrate.
Write down what is excluded. Hidden damage, framing repairs, unsuitable substrates and preparation outside the measured area need clear treatment. If the accepted scope is loose, revise it before asking for money. Use the guide to writing a clear quote to set out the work, assumptions and exclusions.
Freeze the product before the order moves
A product photograph is not an order specification. Record the details needed to buy the right material:
- Supplier and product reference
- Tile range, colour and finish
- Format and thickness
- Measured quantity and agreed waste allowance
- Matching trim, profiles, mosaics and accessories
- Supplier-noted batch or shade details
- Delivery address and access instructions
- Name of the person approving the selection
- Date and written record of approval
Compare that approval with the supplier order and accepted quote. If the format changes, cutting time, trim, layout and quantity may change too. Update the scope and price before placing the order.
This is a common stop point on site. The bathroom quote is signed, but the customer is still choosing between two formats. Do not guess which one they meant. Send the specification, get a written yes and attach it to the job.
Record who approved the selection
The customer, tile approver, site contact and payer may be different people. Name each one.
Builder work needs tighter control. Do not accept a product change from someone who cannot approve the price. The tile contractor builder-work guide shows how to keep the instruction, work order and payer aligned.
Decide who buys the tile before calculating the deposit
Write one plain sentence in the quote: the contractor buys the tile, or the customer supplies it. Do not leave the decision to a phone call after acceptance.
When your business places the supplier order, the tile material deposit can fund that approved commitment. You control the order reference, delivery record and supplier invoice. Your customer-facing material price still follows the accepted quote.
When the customer buys the tile, leave it out of your material deposit. You can request an agreed labour advance, but you cannot bill for a supplier commitment you are not making.
Customer-supplied material needs its own boundaries. State who checks quantities, damage, shade, trim and delivery. State what happens to the planned installation period if the material is missing, wrong or late. Do not promise that every customer-supplied product is suitable before you inspect it.
Build the tile material deposit from the approved order
Do not pick a standard percentage. Start with the supplier commitment you are about to release.
Build the customer material amount using the pricing method in the accepted quote:
- Enter the supplier cost for the approved tile.
- Add trims, profiles and other approved order items.
- Add delivery and supplier charges included in your scope.
- Apply the material markup already used in the accepted quote.
- Match the result to the quoted material amount covered by this payment.
Supplier cost and customer price are not the same thing. Markup pays for the work and risk attached to ordering, checking, moving and administering the material. If you need to rebuild the price, use the job-pricing framework for labour, materials and markup.
If the current order no longer matches the accepted quote, stop. Revise the quote or issue a written change order. Do not hide a product increase or added trim inside a larger deposit request.
Show what the tile material deposit covers
Use separate lines where they help the customer follow the order. Tile, trim and delivery can sit on distinct lines. Each line should point back to the approved specification.
Do not copy the supplier invoice and call that your selling price unless that is how the accepted quote was built. Do not add an unexplained amount for possible extras. Uncertain work belongs in an allowance, revised scope or later change order, not a padded deposit.
Set the labour advance from the installation commitment
Define the work period you plan to reserve after payment. Use dates or a clear booking window. Name the work attached to it, such as preparation within scope, setting tile, grouting and finishing.
Build the labour advance from the quoted labour assigned to that period. It remains part of the accepted labour price. Credit it against that labour on the final invoice.
Do not calculate the labour line from the tile order. Material value does not tell you how much installer time is committed.
A reservation charge is different. If you use one, the accepted quote and terms must name it separately and state whether it will be credited later. Do not silently turn a reservation charge into a labour advance, or the other way around.
Use this worksheet with your own figures:
TILE MATERIAL DEPOSIT Approved tile supplier cost: [amount] Approved trim and accessory cost: [amount] Delivery and supplier charges: [amount] Material cost subtotal: [amount] Material markup used in accepted quote: [amount] Customer material amount requested now: [amount] LABOUR ADVANCE Installation period or booking window: [dates] Work assigned to that period: [scope] Quoted labour covered by this advance: [amount] Advance against quoted labour: [amount] Separate reservation charge, if agreed: [amount] CONTROL TOTALS Accepted quote reference: [number] Quoted material covered now: [amount] Quoted labour covered now: [amount] Quoted value left for later billing: [amount]
The arithmetic must tie back to the accepted quote. The terms must say what cleared payment does next.
Keep the CRA check separate from the permit check
Do not dump tax, licensing and permits into one office task. Each question has a different owner.
Ask the Canada Revenue Agency (opens in a new tab) about your business number, GST/HST treatment and records for the advance. Check before issuing the document. Do not add GST/HST by habit or assume the final invoice can repeat tax already handled on the advance.
Ask your provincial or territorial trade licensing and safety authority whether the work needs a trade licence or trade permit. Tile work can sit inside a wider renovation with regulated plumbing, electrical or other work. Keep that question separate from your tax check.
Ask the municipality whether the project needs a building permit or local business licence. Do not send a building-permit question to the CRA.
If you need to register a business name, ask your provincial or territorial business registry. If you have workers, ask your provincial or territorial workers' compensation board about coverage. One question. One body. Write down each answer against the job or business record.
Write the tile contractor deposit invoice as an order release
Choose the document before you label it. An invoice records an amount billed. A payment request asks for payment. Use the document that matches your accounting and tax treatment.
A tile contractor deposit invoice should connect the payer to the job, quote and product approval. Give it its own document number and issue date. State CAD, the amount due, payment instructions and the reference the customer must use.
Separate material, delivery and labour lines. Then state what happens after cleared payment. For example, the supplier order is released, the installation window is reserved, or both.
Use this copy-ready form:
TILE CONTRACTOR DEPOSIT INVOICE Invoice number: [number] Issue date: [date] Payment due: [date or agreed wording] Currency: CAD Status: [issued / due / paid / credited] SELLER Legal name: [name] Operating name: [name, if different] Business address: [street, city, province or territory, postal code] Contact details: [phone and email] Business number and GST/HST details: [include as required after CRA check] CUSTOMER AND JOB Customer or business name: [name] Billing address: [address] Job address: [address] Site contact: [name] Person authorized to approve tile: [name] Person responsible for payment: [name] Accepted quote: [quote number and acceptance date] APPROVED TILE SPECIFICATION Supplier and product reference: [details] Range, colour and finish: [details] Format and thickness: [details] Measured quantity and waste allowance: [details] Trims, profiles and accessories: [details] Delivery address and instructions: [details] Approval record: [name, date and record location] INVOICE LINES Tile material deposit against approved order: [amount] Approved trim and accessories: [amount] Delivery and supplier charges: [amount] Advance against quoted labour: [amount] Separate reservation charge, if agreed: [amount] GST/HST: [amount or treatment confirmed for this transaction] Total now due: [amount] PAYMENT Method: [instructions] Payment reference: [reference] AFTER CLEARED PAYMENT Supplier order released: [yes / no and order description] Installation period reserved: [date or booking window and conditions] FINAL INVOICE CREDIT Material payment will be credited against: [quoted material] Labour advance will be credited against: [quoted labour] Reservation charge will be treated as: [agreed treatment] TERMS ATTACHED Tile substitutions and selection changes: [clause reference] Delivery movement: [clause reference] Site readiness: [clause reference] Change orders: [clause reference] Installation-date movement: [clause reference]
Check the structure against the invoice writing guide. Issued, due, paid and credited are different statuses. Do not mark the document paid until you match cleared money to it.
Put the tiling payment terms beside the invoice
Send the terms before payment. The customer must know what the money authorizes and what still has to happen.
State the order and booking triggers
Write when the supplier order will be released. Write when the installation period becomes reserved. Those triggers may be the same, or the labour booking may also depend on delivery and site readiness.
Do not describe a tentative date as fixed while product approval, preceding work or delivery remains open. Use a defined window and list the conditions.
Control selection and delivery changes
State how a customer-requested product change will be handled after approval. The change may affect tile price, trim, quantity, cutting work and the planned installation period.
Do not make a blanket promise about cancellation or returns. Check the supplier commitment and the contract rules where the job is made and performed. Record the result in the customer terms before taking payment.
If the supplier offers a substitute, get the customer's written approval before changing the order. A similar appearance is not approval.
Make site readiness a condition
Define ready. The room may need to be clear, dry, accessible and released by preceding contractors. Required substrate work must be complete. Services and site facilities must match the agreed plan.
The tile can arrive while the room is still not ready because another contractor has not completed the substrate. Photograph the condition. Record who was told. Do not start outside-scope preparation without price and approval.
Stop for a written change order
If the installer finds preparation outside the accepted scope, stop the affected work. Describe the condition, labour, material and schedule effect. Get a written change order before proceeding.
Use the same rule when the customer changes the tile after authorization. Update the product specification, price and installation commitment together. Do not let the fifth email become the only record of a changed job.
Match payment before placing the supplier order
Check the payer, amount and payment reference against the document. Mark the invoice paid only after the money clears. Then release only the supplier order and labour booking named on that document.
Save these records against one job reference:
- Accepted quote and approval
- Approved tile specification
- Deposit invoice or payment request
- Payment receipt
- Supplier order and confirmation
- Delivery record
- Labour booking
- Change orders
- Final invoice
Keep cost tracking separate from customer billing. Record the supplier commitment when you order. Record actual tile, trim and delivery costs when they arrive. Record labour cost from actual crew time. Record the customer payment against the deposit document.
Those are different records. A customer deposit is not job profit. The tile contractor job-costing guide explains how to compare actual preparation, materials and labour with the quoted job.
Credit the advance once on the final invoice
The final invoice should show the accepted job value, approved change orders, earlier payments and the remaining balance. Earlier payments are credits. They are not fresh negative sales lines with no explanation.
Match each credit to its deposit document and payment receipt. Credit the tile material deposit against the material amount it funded. Credit the labour advance against quoted labour. Treat any separately agreed reservation charge exactly as the accepted terms describe.
The Oak Street electrical job is the house example for document control. All figures below are sample currency units, not a rate card.
Quote Q-1847 for R. Chen at 14 Oak Street was 1,105. It covered a bathroom exhaust fan, 150 mm and ducted through the roof, plus four LED downlights. The lined ceiling was recorded, and chasing was excluded.
Extra cable and chasing were approved on site as a 160 change order. Invoice INV-1847 was therefore 1,265. The original quoted work had a job cost of 850 and profit of 255 because 1,105 minus 850 equals 255. Margin was about 23%, and markup was 30%.
Do not calculate profit on the 1,265 invoice. The cost of the 160 change order is not given. Combining the 850 original cost with the changed invoice would produce a false result.
Apply the same document discipline to tile work. Keep the accepted quote, deposit credits, change orders and final balance visible. Never charge the same tile or labour twice.
Common questions
What details belong on a special-order tile invoice?
Include the seller, customer, job address, accepted quote, approved product reference, quantity, trim, delivery arrangement and payment instructions. Separate the material and labour lines. State what cleared payment releases and how the payment will be credited later.
Should the customer or tile contractor order the tile?
Choose one buyer before quoting the deposit. If you buy it, connect the material charge to your approved supplier order. If the customer buys it, keep that material out of your invoice and set terms for quantity, delivery, damage and suitability.
Can a deposit hold an installation date?
It can trigger a booking under your agreed tiling payment terms. State the date or window and every condition, including tile delivery and site readiness. Do not call the date fixed if those conditions are still open.
What happens if the customer changes the tile after paying?
Stop the affected order or work where possible. Price the changed product, trim, labour and schedule, then get written approval through a change order. Update the job records before releasing the revised order.
Before sending your next tile contractor deposit invoice, put the accepted quote, approved product reference and supplier order side by side. Fix every mismatch, then issue the payment document.