AI agents for business finance: what they can and can't do
What AI agents can do in bookkeeping, close, collections and compliance today, where a person must stay in charge, and how to judge a product.
The short answer
Take a deposit that matches the costs you commit on the client's behalf, collect the rest in stages tied to supplier deadlines, and write cancellation terms that keep only what you have spent or earned. In the UK, consumer law treats terms that let a business keep a cancelling client's money without equivalent rights the other way, or that impose disproportionate charges, as potentially unfair, and off-premises or distance contracts carry a 14-day cancellation period. Hold client money apart from your own.
Why deposits cause most disputes
A Nigerian wedding abroad, or a destination wedding in Lagos planned from London or Houston, can involve a venue, caterer, decorator, DJ, photographer, asoebi supplier, MC and travel, each wanting money in advance. When a couple postpone, split or argue about the bill, the question is always the same: whose money was it, and what has been spent? A clear contract and clean records answer it before anyone is angry.
Setting the deposit
A deposit should be explainable. Tie it to what booking the date costs you: your time for planning and the non-refundable deposits you pay suppliers on the client's behalf. A round 50% that has nothing to do with costs is harder to defend if challenged.
| Stage | Typical trigger | What it pays for |
|---|---|---|
| Booking deposit | Signing | Your planning fee for the early work; venue hold |
| Second payment | When key suppliers need their deposits | Caterer, decor, photographer deposits |
| Third payment | Final numbers confirmed | Balance of catering, rentals, printing |
| Final balance | Two to four weeks before the date | Everything else, plus your remaining fee |
Cancellation terms that hold up
In the UK, the Consumer Rights Act 2015 lists examples of terms that may be unfair in a consumer contract (Schedule 2, Part 1). Two are relevant to deposits: a term letting a trader keep payments when the consumer cancels, without the consumer getting equivalent compensation if the trader cancels (paragraph 4), and a term requiring a consumer who cancels to pay disproportionately high compensation (paragraph 5). Other countries have similar rules; the safe design is the same everywhere:
- A sliding scale: the closer to the date, the more of the price is kept, matched to costs already committed.
- A written list of supplier deposits paid, with receipts, so a cancelling client sees what was spent.
- The same consequences if you cancel: refund in full plus a defined amount.
- Postponement terms separate from cancellation: one free move within a set period, then a fee.
- A force majeure clause covering travel bans, venue closure and similar events.
If you sign contracts with consumers away from your premises or at a distance (online, by email, by phone), the UK Consumer Contracts Regulations 2013 give a cancellation period for services that ends 14 days after the contract is made (regulation 30). Build that into your booking process and say clearly what happens if work starts within those 14 days.
Paying suppliers in Nigeria and abroad
Supplier risk is your risk: if a decorator in Lagos takes a deposit and disappears, the couple will still expect the hall dressed. Use suppliers you or a trusted contact have seen work, and spread large jobs so no single failure ruins the day.
- Pay suppliers by bank transfer to an account in the supplier's business name, against an invoice; avoid paying a decorator's personal account or a relative.
- Get written terms from each supplier that mirror your own cancellation scale, so a postponement does not leave you paying twice.
- For naira payments, agree whether the price is fixed in naira or in your currency, and when you will convert; exchange-rate moves between deposit and balance can wipe out a fee.
- Keep a payment schedule per wedding showing what was received from the client and what was paid out.
Our guide on paying wedding vendors in Nigeria from abroad covers the supplier side, and a traditional wedding budget from abroad helps couples plan the totals.
A worked example
Example only. A planning package costs £12,000 including supplier costs. The client pays £2,000 at booking, £4,000 three months out, £4,000 six weeks out and £2,000 two weeks out. Two months before the date they cancel. You have paid £3,500 of non-refundable supplier deposits and done £1,500 of your planning work. On a cost-based clause you keep £5,000 and refund £1,000 of the £6,000 received. A clause keeping the full £6,000 regardless would be harder to defend.
Records that protect you
For every wedding keep the signed contract, each variation agreed by email, every supplier invoice and receipt, and a running schedule of money in and out. When a client queries a bill, a dated record of each decision ends most arguments. Send a written summary after every planning meeting so that changes in numbers, menu or decor are agreed in writing, with the cost effect stated.
Client money
Keep client payments in a separate account from your own business takings, and do not use one couple's deposit to pay another couple's supplier. If something goes wrong with your business, clients and suppliers can see what was theirs.
Where Pryme fits
A Pryme Business Account holds pounds, dollars, euros and naira in one account, so client deposits and Nigerian supplier payments sit side by side. Invoicing gives each stage payment a numbered invoice, and Swap shows the rate and the fee before you approve a naira conversion.
Questions people ask
How much deposit should a wedding planner take?
An amount you can tie to your early work and the supplier deposits you commit for the client. Staged payments matched to supplier deadlines are easier to defend than one large deposit.
Can I keep a client's full deposit if they cancel?
In the UK, a term letting you keep payments without equivalent rights for the client if you cancel, or imposing disproportionate charges, may be unfair under the Consumer Rights Act 2015. Keep what matches your costs and work.
Do UK clients have a cooling-off period for wedding planning?
For off-premises or distance contracts, the Consumer Contracts Regulations 2013 give a cancellation period for services ending 14 days after the contract is made.
How do I pay Nigerian wedding suppliers safely from abroad?
By transfer to an account in the supplier's business name, against an invoice and written terms, and keep a payment schedule per wedding.
Sources
- legislation.gov.uk: Consumer Rights Act 2015, Schedule 2 · accessed Oct 2026
- legislation.gov.uk: Consumer Contracts Regulations 2013, regulation 30 · accessed Oct 2026
This article is general information, not financial, legal or tax advice. Products described are provided under the terms on this site and are subject to regulation and eligibility.