Photography billing runs on one rule: the camera doesn’t come out until the date is held with money. Fee-Lion lets you quote a package, take a retainer that locks the date, then collect the balance before a single image hits the gallery — so you never shoot an unpaid wedding.
Build the package as an estimate
Every job starts in the sidebar under Estimates. Click New Estimate, pick your client, and price the package with the three line-item types Fee-Lion gives you:
- Tasks (hours × rate) — shoot day coverage, second shooter, editing time.
- Fees — flat package price, travel, engagement session.
- Units (qty × rate) — the add-ons clients love: prints, an album, extra hours, a USB box. Set the quantity and the math handles itself.
Add your tax if you charge it, and set a deposit % on the estimate — this is your retainer. For a wedding, many photographers reserve the date with 30–50% down. Set it once as a default at Settings → Preferences so every estimate inherits it.
Tip: Name the deposit line so it reads as a date-hold, not a discount. Clients respect “Non-refundable retainer — reserves your date” far more than a vague “deposit,” and it sets the tone before the contract conversation even starts.
Send it, and let the client approve and pay the retainer
Hit Send and your client gets a magic-link portal — no login, no password, no “can you resend that PDF.” They open it, see the package, and click Approve. The retainer is payable right there by card.
- Open the estimate and choose Send.
- The client approves in the portal and pays the deposit with the Pay button.
- The money lands in your Stripe account — connect it first under Settings so you’re ready to get paid.
The date is now held, in writing, with a signature and a payment behind it. That’s the whole point.
Convert to a project, then bill the balance before delivery
Once the retainer’s in, click Convert on the approved estimate. Turn it into a Project so you can track the shoot through your own sub-statuses — Booked, Shot, Culling, Editing, Ready to Deliver — and keep a checklist so nothing (shot list, contract, model release) slips.
When editing wraps, send the balance invoice for everything the retainer didn’t cover. Set its payment terms to due before delivery and gate the gallery on it. The client pays the same way — one Pay button, card, straight to your Stripe.
- Booked a destination wedding with travel? Log those costs as expenses attributed to the project so you can see your real margin after the album and gas money.
- Client wants more prints after the reveal? Add them as units on a follow-up invoice — no re-quoting the whole job.
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