The supplier wants the purchase order now. The glazier deposit invoice is marked sent, one glass detail is unresolved, and the customer expects the job to move.
Do not release the glass. A glazier deposit invoice requests money. It does not prove payment, approve fabrication details, or authorize a supplier order. Put those decisions behind separate checks.
Route the order by installation address
Start with the jobsite. Record the street address, city, state, and ZIP code before you take money or promise an order date. Use that address to identify the authority having jurisdiction over contractor licensing, permits, and inspections.
Use a short routing card in the job record:
| Question | Where to check | What to record |
|---|---|---|
| Which authority handles contractor licensing for this scope and address? | The state, county, or city contractor licensing authority having jurisdiction | Authority, license classification and status, source, contact, and check date |
| Does regulated electrical, plumbing, or mechanical work form part of the scope? | Your state or city electrical, plumbing, or mechanical licensing office | Trade involved, license status, source, contact, check date, and who will perform the work |
| Does this installation need a permit or inspection? | The local building department | Permit number or hold, required inspections, source, contact, and check date |
| Does the business need an EIN or an answer on federal tax? | The IRS (opens in a new tab) | EIN or federal tax action assigned to the office |
The contractor licensing authority may sit at state, county, or city level. Find the authority for the installation address and scope. Record where you checked, who answered, and when you checked.
If the scope includes regulated wiring, plumbing, or mechanical work, ask the matching state or city trade licensing office who may perform it. Ask the local building department about permits and inspections for that address. Record the permit number or mark the order as held until the permit question is settled.
Keep each question with the body that handles it. The IRS does not decide contractor licenses, building permits, or state sales tax. The local building department does not answer federal tax questions.
Put the purchase order on hold until the license, permit, and inspection checks that apply to the job are recorded. Do this before committing to special-order material that may fit only one opening.
Freeze the opening before you request money
Inspect first. Price second. Request the deposit only after the opening and customer choices are controlled.
For the earlier survey and pricing work, use the glazier window replacement quote guide. It helps you pin down the opening, safety glass specification, access, and exclusions before billing starts.
Give each opening one label
Use a label that follows the unit from measure to installation. Put it on the site notes, fabrication sheet, quote, supplier purchase order, delivery record, and installation record.
Do not rely on “left window” or “bathroom panel” when several units look alike. A stable opening label lets the shop and installer match the delivered unit to the approved measure.
Record who completed the final measure. If the dimensions came from a drawing, template, customer, architect, or another contractor, say so in the job record. If the opening is not ready for final measure, mark fabrication as held.
The final measure may not match the drawing even after the customer pays. Payment does not settle the dimension. Stop the release, correct the approved fabrication sheet, and get any approval the changed scope requires.
Write the supplier-ready specification
Record the dimensions and measurement unit. Add the glass build-up, treatment, tint, coating, pattern, edge work, holes, notches, orientation, and quantity where they affect the order.
Include the frame, channel, seals, hardware, and fixing details that affect fabrication. Attach drawings and templates to the job. Do not release from a photo buried in a text thread.
State what the quote includes around the glass:
- Removal and disposal
- Temporary protection or boarding
- Access equipment and lifting
- Frame, trim, sealant, and finishing work
- Protection of floors, walls, and fixtures
- Cleanup and return visits
Write exclusions beside the scope. If another contractor must square the opening or complete the frame before measure, name that task and the person responsible.
Check the code details before customer approval
Ask the local building department whether the opening is a safety-glazing location and what glass designation the job requires. Check whether approved plans control the opening and whether the department requires product labels, reports, or other records for the permit and inspection.
Record the answer, source, contact, and check date on the job. Attach the approved plan detail or product record used for the decision. Keep fabrication on hold until the required glass designation matches the fabrication sheet and supplier purchase order.
Separate customer approval from fabrication approval
Ask the customer to approve visible choices. Tint. Pattern. Finish. Hardware style. Opening reference. Keep that approval with the job.
Then complete the contractor's technical check. Confirm the final dimensions, orientation, glass designation, treatment, edge work, holes, hardware preparation, and other supplier instructions. Customer approval of a color does not make an unchecked hole location safe to fabricate.
State the release condition in the accepted quote or agreement. Use terms reviewed for your business and location. The customer should know that paying the request does not release glass while the approved specification or required license, permit, and inspection checks remain incomplete.
Set the glass order deposit from real commitments
Build the full selling price first. Add the labor, glass, frames, hardware, seals, consumables, freight, access, disposal, and other job costs. Add overhead and markup to produce the selling price. Use your own supplier quotes and labor plan, not a borrowed rate.
If you need to rebuild the price, use the job pricing framework to separate cost from markup.
Next, list what you will commit before installation:
- Supplier charges released with the purchase order
- Freight or delivery commitments
- Templates and shop preparation
- Hardware bought for this opening
- Labor completed or booked before installation
- Costs that remain payable if the customer cancels
Calculate the glass order deposit from costs you cannot recover. Total the noncancelable supplier order, committed freight, completed pre-installation work, and other unrecoverable commitments. Subtract supplier credits, returnable items, and material you can reuse on another job.
Future installation labor does not automatically belong in the deposit. Include it only when the signed agreement and the actual commitment support it. Test the requested amount against the signed agreement and any local requirements that govern deposits or advance payments.
Ask the supplier what can be canceled, returned, altered, or reused after release, then keep that answer on the job. Do not pick an arbitrary percentage because it looks familiar.
Decide how the agreement credits the money. Is it a down payment applied to the contract price, or security handled under the agreement? The invoice title does not decide that question. Use terms prepared for your business and jurisdiction, and have your legal adviser review any cancellation, refund, or retention wording.
The deposit is part of the customer account. Credit it once at final billing. It is not another sale added on top of the accepted price.
Build a glazier deposit invoice that points to the job
Keep the document short enough to read and specific enough to match. The invoice should identify the customer, installation site, accepted quote, job, covered openings, amount requested, and release condition.
It should point to the approved fabrication sheet. It should not replace that sheet. For the core billing fields, use the invoice writing guide.
Copy-ready deposit invoice field list
| Field | Placeholder wording |
|---|---|
| Contractor | [Legal business name, address, and contact details] |
| Bill to | [Customer or company name and billing address] |
| Installation site | [Street address, city, state, ZIP code] |
| Invoice number | [Deposit invoice identifier] |
| Invoice date | [Date issued] |
| Quote and job references | [Accepted quote or agreement reference] / [Job reference] |
| Work covered | [Opening labels and short description of special-order glass] |
| Fabrication record | [Approved fabrication sheet, drawing, or schedule reference] |
| Amount requested | [Deposit amount] |
| Payment due | [Due date or agreed payment trigger] |
| Payment method | [Accepted methods and payment reference] |
| Deposit credit | [State that cleared payment will be credited toward the contract price under the accepted quote or agreement] |
| Fabrication-release condition | [Approved fabrication sheet, cleared funds, recorded license, permit and inspection checks, and matching supplier purchase order] |
| Sales tax | [Treatment confirmed for this transaction and jurisdiction] |
Do not draft cancellation, refund, retention, scope, or fabrication-risk terms on the invoice. Keep those terms in the accepted quote or agreement and reference that document from the invoice.
Do not put every hole, notch, and edge detail on the invoice. Put those on the approved fabrication sheet and cite its reference. That keeps the payment request readable without weakening the supplier check.
A glazier deposit invoice marked sent or pending is still a request. Once money arrives, issue or save a payment receipt showing what was received and when. Only cleared payment satisfies the payment gate.
Keep the document chain clean
| Record | The job it does |
|---|---|
| Quote | States scope, exclusions, selling price, and payment stages |
| Customer approval | Records accepted scope and visible selections |
| Fabrication sheet | Controls dimensions and technical ordering details |
| Deposit invoice | Requests the agreed pre-fabrication payment |
| Receipt | Records money received |
| Supplier purchase order | Commits your business to the supplier specification |
| Delivery record | Matches units received to openings and notes damage |
| Installation record | Shows what was fitted and what remains |
| Change order | Approves a change to the original agreement |
| Glazing progress invoice | Requests an agreed stage payment and approved additions due at that stage |
| Final invoice | Reconciles the contract, approved changes, and prior payments |
| Job-cost record | Holds actual labor, material, freight, and other costs |
One record cannot quietly do another record's job. An accepted quote is not a technical fabrication release. A receipt is not a purchase order. A customer payment is not job profit.
If emergency work came first, keep the make-safe work order and charges separate from the replacement order. Use the emergency board-up to replacement process to hand the job over without burying the first visit inside the replacement-glass deposit.
Check sales tax without guessing
Use the IRS only for EIN and federal tax questions. The IRS does not decide state or local sales-tax treatment.
Check the official state or local tax authority for the installation address and transaction. Record the authority, source, contact, answer, and check date in the customer account. Ask your accountant to apply that answer consistently to the deposit request, receipt, progress billing, and final invoice.
Keep the tax decision separate from fabrication release. A correct tax line does not approve dimensions. Approved dimensions do not settle the tax treatment.
Release the supplier order through one controlled check
Put one named person in charge of release. That person checks the whole record before the purchase order leaves the business.
Use this release card:
- Accepted scope and exclusions are attached.
- Customer selections and technical fabrication details are approved.
- License, permit, inspection, and code checks are recorded.
- Payment shows as cleared, not requested or pending.
- Supplier purchase order matches the approved fabrication sheet.
Compare the purchase order line by line. Check opening label, dimensions, build-up, glass designation, treatment, finish, edge work, holes, notches, orientation, hardware preparation, and quantity.
Record the releaser's name and the date. Save the exact purchase order sent and the supplier acknowledgment. The installer must be able to see what the business ordered without reconstructing it from messages.
If the supplier asks for immediate approval while funds remain pending, leave the order on hold. Speed does not transfer the payment risk back to the customer.
Stop the job when an approved condition changes
After release, sort every problem by cause. Use separate records for a customer selection change, a changed opening, contractor measurement error, supplier error, and transit damage. They may all lead to another unit, but they do not belong in the same customer charge or job-cost bucket.
Write the change before ordering again
Take new dimensions and photos. Describe the changed condition. Price revised glass, labor, freight, access, and scheduling effects from current job information.
Send a change order when the customer is responsible for an added or changed scope. Get approval before ordering or doing the changed work. Do not turn a verbal site instruction into a surprise line on the final invoice.
If the customer changes tint or hardware after paying but before release, hold the original purchase order. Update the selection record, approved fabrication sheet, price, and change order if needed. Then run the release card again.
If another contractor alters the opening after final measure, do not force the ordered unit to fit. Record the new condition. Decide whether the opening will be restored or the glass remade, then document responsibility and approval before work continues.
Bill only the agreed progress stage
Use a glazing progress invoice only when the agreement defines a stage that has been reached. State the stage, contract amount covered, approved change orders included, prior payments credited, and amount now requested.
Do not rebill the deposit as fresh work. Do not add an unapproved remake to progress billing. A progress request should show why the amount is due without rewriting the supplier order.
Worked example: keep the changed amount visible
Oak Street is the house example from another trade. All figures below are sample currency units, not glazing rates.
R. Chen's electrical quote Q-1847 for 14 Oak Street was 1,105. It covered a bathroom exhaust fan, 150mm and ducted through the roof, plus four LED downlights. The ceiling was lined, and the quote excluded chasing.
Extra cable and chasing were approved on site as a 160 change order. Invoice INV-1847 was therefore 1,265. The account keeps the original 1,105 quote and the approved 160 change visible instead of replacing the first price with an unexplained total.
The job cost of 850 and profit of 255 are measured against the original 1,105 quote: 1,105 − 850 = 255. Margin is 255 ÷ 1,105, about 23%. Markup is 255 ÷ 850, which is 30%.
The costs of the 160 change order are not given. Do not calculate profit from the 1,265 invoice or combine that invoice total with the 850 job cost. Customer billing and cost measurement need connected references, not mixed arithmetic.
Reconcile the account before requesting glazier final payment
Start with the accepted contract amount. Add only approved change orders. Then subtract each payment received once.
Use this account structure with the job's own figures:
Accepted contract amount: [amount] Plus approved change orders: [amount] Revised contract amount: [amount] Less deposit received: [amount] Less progress payments received: [amount] Balance requested: [amount]
Match every credit to a receipt. If a payment failed, was refunded, or belongs to another job, correct the customer account before issuing the final invoice. Never leave the office to infer payment status from a bank screenshot or an email subject line.
Keep job cost separate. Labor used, glass bought, freight paid, remake costs, and disposal charges tell you whether the work made money. Deposit and progress payments tell you how much the customer has paid. One does not replace the other.
Before requesting the balance, match delivered units to opening labels. Check installation records, damage notes, punch work, customer sign-off, and any inspection status recorded for the job. Then credit the glazier deposit invoice once and issue the final account with the original contract, approved changes, prior payments, and remaining balance in view.