Estimates

Payment-term guardrails

Use job-site rules to create safer deposits, payment schedules, and customer-facing estimate terms.

What the rule engine does

Payment terms begin with the contractor's preferred template, but the estimate rule engine checks the specific job before the estimate is saved or sent. It can reduce an upfront deposit, preserve a complete payment schedule, and add the applicable notice to the customer estimate preview.

The engine is a compliance aid, not legal advice. Contractors remain responsible for confirming that their contract, license, payment schedule, and job scope meet the requirements that apply to their work.

Use the work-site location

In the estimate's Payment terms section, enter the work-site country, state or province, and property type. This is the property where the work will happen.

The rule engine does not use the contractor's business address or the customer's billing address to decide a deposit guardrail.

Use Rule details and qualifying materials when the contract type, a pool/spa project, or qualifying special-order materials affect the available rule.

How a guardrail changes terms

When a configured statewide rule applies, CrafterOps:

Calculates the maximum permitted initial deposit from the current contract price.
Limits milestones due upon approval to that amount.
Moves the remaining amount into a later payment milestone when the schedule originally totals 100%.
Rechecks the limit on every saved estimate and on a customer proposal whose selected options change the total.
Shows the rule snapshot and applicable payment notice in the customer estimate preview.

For California residential work, the preview includes the required down-payment notice and the progress-payment notice. Progress payments must be tied to completed work or delivered materials.

Configured statewide guardrails

The initial rule set covers these residential contexts:

California: the lesser of 10% of the contract price or $1,000.
Maine: one-third of the contract price for covered home-construction contracts over $3,000.
Maryland: one-third of the contract price; do not collect payment before the written contract is signed.
Massachusetts: one-third of the contract price, or documented qualifying special-order materials when greater.
Ohio: 10% for covered fixed-price residential contracts over $25,000.
Pennsylvania: for covered projects over $5,000, one-third of the contract price plus documented special-order materials.
Tennessee: one-third of the contract price for covered home-improvement work.
Nevada: the lesser of 10% of the contract price or $1,000 for residential pool or spa work.

Rules are evaluated only when the job context matches. A commercial project, an incomplete location, or a state without a configured rule does not receive a statewide cap from CrafterOps.

Exceptions and review

Some laws include exceptions for items such as qualifying bonds, written waivers, cost-plus agreements, special-order materials, or a particular project definition. CrafterOps calculates the exceptions it explicitly captures, such as qualifying special-order materials in Massachusetts and Pennsylvania.

When the estimate identifies an exception that is not automatically modeled, review it with the contractor's records and legal counsel before relying on it. Do not relabel a pre-work charge as mobilization, materials, or another fee to bypass a deposit rule.

Official estimate versions

When an estimate is officially sent, its payment terms, rule snapshot, calculated schedule, and customer-facing notices are saved with that revision. Later edits create a working revision; they do not silently alter what the customer received.