Compare the deposit with cash due before the final customer payment, rather than with total project cost alone.
Try this with your own numbersFormula and worked example
Funding gap = early cash cost − quote × deposit rate
| Input | Example |
|---|---|
| Cash needed before customer balance payment | 3,000 |
| Total customer quote | 6,000 |
| Deposit rate | 30 % |
| Calculated result | 1,200 |
Choose reliable inputs
Account for delivery time, review work and when you expect to be paid for each engagement. For this real estate agency calculation, use time sheets, engagement scopes and invoice ageing and a consistent definition of one completed sale.
- Marketing: include the portion belonging to this completed sale or reporting period, and record where the value came from.
- Agent time: include the portion belonging to this completed sale or reporting period, and record where the value came from.
- Transaction support: include the portion belonging to this completed sale or reporting period, and record where the value came from.
Use the same currency for every money input. Do not mix weekly costs with monthly revenue, or count the same expense in both an itemised cost and allocated overhead.
Does a deposit cover the project cash requirement?
Compare the deposit with cash due before the final customer payment, rather than with total project cost alone.
Deposit permissions and contract terms must be determined separately; no legal entitlement is implied.
What if this input changes?
If cash needed before customer balance payment rises by 10%, this example changes by 300 . This shows the effect of one change; it does not predict what will happen.
Open the calculator, save your baseline, then change the input supported by the least reliable estimate in your records. Compare both scenarios before committing to a price or capacity promise.