Guides / Progress Invoicing and Deposits: Get Paid As the Work Gets Done

Progress Invoicing and Deposits: Get Paid As the Work Gets Done

Updated 2026-07-29

Big jobs shouldn't mean waiting weeks to see a dollar

A remodel or a multi-week install ties up materials cost and labor time long before the final invoice goes out. Progress and milestone invoicing lets you bill as the work happens, so cash flow tracks the job instead of lagging behind it by a month.

Two ways to structure it

• Milestones — break the job into stages (rough-in, inspection, finish work) and each one becomes its own invoice once it's reached
• Deposits — collect a portion upfront before work starts, with the remainder billed on completion or on its own milestone schedule

Set it up once per job

When you build the quote, split the total into the milestones or deposit structure that fits the job. Once it's accepted, each milestone becomes an invoice you send when that stage is actually done — not before, and not forgotten after.

Customers see exactly what each invoice is for

A milestone invoice is itemized against the original quote, so a customer sees precisely which portion of the job they're paying for at each stage — no confusion about why an invoice arrived mid-project.

Works with everything else

Each milestone invoice gets the same automatic follow-up sequence, the same payment methods, and the same branded PDF as any other invoice — progress invoicing changes how a job gets billed, not the rest of the collection process that gets it paid.