Hi BrandenSewell , thanks for the question. It makes total sense.
In Jobber, the easiest way to take a deposit before the work starts is to use a Quote and collect a deposit through that. Quotes can be approved and paid upfront, so you don't need to wait until the job is closed to receive payment.
The common Jobber flow is:
Create a Quote and include the deposit amount, or request a deposit on the Quote. Send it to the client for approval, then they can pay the deposit right from the Quote. Once the Quote is approved and the deposit is paid, convert it to a Job and continue as normal. The final invoice can be created when the work is done, with the deposit automatically applied.
Would that work for your process, using a Quote to receive the deposit instead of an early invoice?