The only quilt I have made to order and sold was a T shirt quilt. It was made from clothing of a guy who got a full scholarship to Harvard for wrestling. I didn't get a deposit because the folks were from my church and I knew the Harvard shirts etc. were very valueable to them. I ended up having to make two quilts as the collection was over 50 pieces and they wanted all of them included. I thought the lady would swallow her teeth when I gave her the bill but she paid. On the way out the door her husband asked if he could recommend me to others.
Before the longarmers put me out of business I did a good bit of handquilting for hire. I always got $50 up front and gave them a detailed account of the breakdown of prices for backing, batting and binding as well as marking if they wanted something special. I was able to get the balance due me everytime. I will admit that I was good at getting discounts or using coupons to purchase backings and batting. On the invoice I charged them the regular price. Hey I had to do the research and running to get the better prices. I also had overhead like thread, needles , thimbles, hoops or frames, lighting etc. etc. The price of doing business includes a lot of things.