Progress invoicing

Progress invoicing splits a project into phases—discovery, build, launch—each with its own invoice when the milestone is accepted.

It improves cash flow on long projects and reduces the chance that a single final invoice becomes a painful surprise.

Clients often prefer it too: they pay as value appears rather than funding everything up front or everything at the end.

A deposit is usually upfront before work. Progress invoices are tied to completed stages. Many projects use both.

Think of a deposit as risk control and progress invoices as alignment with delivery. Together they keep both parties honest about momentum.

If you only bill at the end of a three-month project, you are effectively financing the client. Progress billing fixes that.

Choose milestones that are observable and accept-able: signed wireframes, approved design, staging handover, go-live. Avoid vague checkpoints like “midpoint.”

Write acceptance criteria into the proposal. Invoice within a day of written acceptance while the win is fresh.

If a client delays acceptance indefinitely to avoid payment, your contract should allow billing after a review window expires.

Project total $10,000: 30% deposit ($3,000) to start, 40% on design approval ($4,000), 30% on launch ($3,000).

Invoice line items should name the milestone and reference the master quote. Example: “Milestone 2 of 3 — design approval per Quote Q-90.”

If scope expands after Milestone 1, issue a change order and adjust remaining milestone amounts before you continue.

Track percent complete and amounts billed so you never accidentally overbill or forget a stage.

Remind clients a week before a milestone invoice is likely. Surprises slow approval.

What to do next: rewrite one large project proposal into three milestones with amounts and acceptance criteria.