A deposit or progress payment is the point in a water treatment contract where money leaves your account before the equipment is in your home. The quote may look complete, but the payment schedule decides how much leverage you keep until the work is done and the system is running. Read this part before you sign, not after the first invoice arrives.
Find out how much is due at signing
Look for the amount due when you sign and whether it is a fixed sum or a percentage of the total. Ask whether the deposit is refundable if the job is cancelled before installation, and if so, on what terms. Some companies make the deposit nonrefundable once custom parts are ordered, which can be reasonable, but that rule should be written in the contract rather than left for a conversation later.
Tie each payment to a milestone you can see
A fair schedule links each payment to something you can observe or verify: equipment delivered to the site, installation finished, a start-up test run in front of you. Be cautious of a schedule that bills most of the total before any hardware arrives, or one where the final payment is due at signing of a completion form before you have seen the water tested. Ask the company to name each milestone and state what counts as completing it.
Confirm who receives the money and how it is recorded
Ask whether payments go to the company directly or to a third party, and whether you will receive an itemized receipt for each one. If a lender or financing company is involved, its payment dates may differ from the job milestones, so confirm the timing in the same document. Keep copies of every payment record together with the signed contract.
Check the warranty start against the final payment
Many warranties begin on installation or on the first test date. If the final payment falls due before that date, you may be paying in full while the coverage has not yet started. Ask when the warranty begins, when the final payment is due, and whether any part of the payment depends on you receiving the warranty paperwork.
What to ask before you sign
Ask for the full payment schedule in writing, the refund terms for each stage, the milestone that triggers each payment, the warranty start date, and the name of the party that receives the money. If those answers are not in the contract, have them added or get a written amendment before you pay anything beyond the first deposit. For how the companies on Best Water Companies STL are chosen, see the award methodology.