The short answer: collect a refundable $500-$2,500 design deposit at the customer portal, then a 4-5 milestone draw schedule across construction. Pool Launch integrates Lyon Financial, HFS Financial, and LightStream pre-qual directly so homeowners see monthly payments alongside the design deposit. Pre-qualified deposit-paid customers close at 60-75% vs 25-40% for non-pre-qualified.
Design deposit — pre-consultation
- $500-$2,500 refundable design deposit at the customer portal via Stripe.
- Refundable trigger: homeowner cancels within 14-30 days, design consult reveals the backyard isn't viable, or financing pre-qual ultimately doesn't approve at acceptable terms.
- Refund timing: within 7 business days via Stripe.
The design deposit funds 1-3 hours of design + on-site walkthrough by the builder. Without it, no-show rates on design consults run 40-60% in mature pool markets. With it, show rates run 90-95%.
Standard construction draw schedule
Most pool builders use a 4-5 draw schedule across the 60-180 day construction timeline:
- Contract signing: 10-15% of contract. Funds plans, permits, and initial sub-contractor mobilization.
- Excavation start: 20-25%. Funds excavation crew + initial materials.
- Shell + plumbing complete: 25-30%. Funds gunite/fiberglass shell + plumbing + electrical rough-in.
- Decking + plaster: 20-25%. Funds finishing trades.
- Fill + final walkthrough: 10-15%. Balance released after pool fill, equipment commissioning, and final inspection.
Each draw should tie to verifiable milestone completion, not arbitrary calendar dates. The customer portal shows progress against each draw automatically.
Financing pre-qual integration
At $40K-$150K average ticket, financing is the dominant path for most pool customers. Pool Launch's customer portal integrates pre-qual widgets from:
- Lyon Financial — pool-industry-specialist lender.
- HFS Financial — broader home-improvement financing.
- LightStream — unsecured personal loan path.
Homeowners get a soft-pull decision in seconds without affecting their credit. They see their monthly payment number alongside the aerial render and pool price, which makes the design deposit a much easier yes.
How Pool Launch automates the deposit workflow
- Homeowner scans postcard QR. Lands on customer portal with aerial render + pool dimensions + price band.
- Financing pre-qual. Soft-pull decision in seconds; monthly payment displayed.
- Stripe checkout integrated. Homeowner taps "Pay $X to book your design consultation."
- Design deposit confirmed. Automated email + SMS.
- Construction draws generated as Stripe payment links at each milestone.
- Refund button available in the CRM if needed.
Common deposit mistakes
- No pre-consult design deposit. 40-60% no-show rate on design consults wastes a builder's expensive sales-engineering time.
- Skipping financing pre-qual. Design hours get spent on consults that can't be funded.
- Front-loaded draw schedules. Collecting 50%+ at contract signing creates trust issues; spread draws to align with verifiable milestones.
- Slow refund processing on cancelled designs. Drives bad reviews; refund within 7 business days.
Pre-qualified deposit-paid pool leads. Automated.
Free account, free aerial rendering, $1 per mailed pool quote. Stripe deposit + Lyon/HFS/LightStream pre-qual on every customer portal.
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