Milestone Billing with Billed
Milestone billing splits a project's price into payments tied to stages of the work. In Billed, you can set those payments as a schedule on one invoice, each with its own amount and due date.
Key Takeaways
- Milestone billing splits a project's price into payments, each due when a defined stage of the work is reached.
- In Billed, a payment schedule splits one invoice into installments; Billed's help center says "Add a percentage or flat amount and the due date for each installment."
- Billed's help center says "You can make unlimited installments. However, the sum of all installments should be equal to the total balance of the invoice."
- Write each stage and its amount into your contract, then set each installment's due date to when you expect that stage to be done.
What milestone billing is
Milestone billing splits a project's price into payments tied to stages of the work, such as an approved design, a finished build and a final handover. Each payment is due when its stage is reached, instead of one invoice at the end.
For US federal contracts, FAR 32.1002 (acquisition.gov, effective date 03/13/2026) says "Performance-based payments may be made on any of the following bases:" and lists "Accomplishment of defined events." as one of them. Private contracts set their own terms, so write each stage, its amount and what counts as done into your contract, and ask a lawyer if you're unsure.
Setting it up in Billed
Start with an estimate. Billed's features page says "Yes your clients can approve or reject your estimates online." Billed's invoice software page says you can "convert an approved estimate into an invoice", and Billed's help article on converting estimates says "You can add and edit any information here."
Then split the invoice into payments. Billed's help center says "A payment schedule lets you add a payment plan to the invoices." To set one up, it says to "Choose a suitable option among percentage or flat amount" and "Fill out the payment amount and due date of each payment." It also says "Clients can pay several installments against a single invoice."
Payment schedule or partial payments
Billed's help center says "You can either enable partial payments or scheduled payments." It says "Payment schedules will bind your clients to pay each installment within the due date." and that "partial payments give your clients the flexibility to decide the date and amount of partial payments".
A payment schedule fits milestone billing, because each stage has a set amount and a due date. Set each due date to when you expect that stage to be done.
Worked example: a website in four milestones
These are sample figures. A web studio quotes $12,000.00 for a website, and the contract sets four milestones: 25% to start, 25% when the design is approved, 30% when the site is built and 20% at launch.
25% of $12,000.00 is $3,000.00, 30% is $3,600.00 and 20% is $2,400.00. The client approves the estimate online, and the studio converts it into an invoice with four scheduled payments: $3,000.00 + $3,000.00 + $3,600.00 + $2,400.00 = $12,000.00. That matches the invoice total, as Billed's help center requires. The percentages are examples, not suggested terms.
Flat rate projects and getting paid
If you track the work as a project, Billed's projects page says "Track your flat rate projects with Billed." and "Invoice your client for the project from the dashboard whenever you want." Billed's features page says "Manage your flat rate projects and create Invoice at any stage of the project."
Billed's mobile app page says "Invoices carry a pay button when Stripe or PayPal is connected, so clients can pay by card the minute they receive it." Billed's invoice software page says "When a client pays by check or cash, record it as an offline payment so all your income is in one place." and "Invoice reports show which invoices are paid, partially paid or past due, and you can see who owes you money and send them a payment reminder."
Milestone Billing in Billed
Installments on One Invoice
Billed's help center says "Clients can pay several installments against a single invoice."
Related Features
Explore the Billed features that power milestone billing.
Frequently Asked Questions
Start Invoicing With Billed
Set up your account and send your first invoice with Billed.
At a glance
- A deposit before work starts: the first scheduled payment, as a percentage or flat amount.
- Payments as stages are done: more scheduled payments on the same invoice, each with its own due date.
- A client who pays when they can: partial payments instead of a schedule, since Billed's help center says you can enable one or the other.
- A separate invoice for each stage: on a flat rate project, invoice from the project dashboard at each stage.
Sources for this page. Billed capabilities come only from Billed's own pages: Invoicing (estimate conversion, offline payments, invoice reports), Features (online estimate approval, flat rate projects), Projects, Mobile app (pay button), and Billed's help center articles on payment schedules, scheduled payments, partial payments and converting estimates, all opened on October 30, 2026. The federal rule is quoted from FAR 32.1002 (effective date 03/13/2026).
When this isn't for you
If you bill each project in one payment when it's finished, a single invoice with a due date is simpler than a payment schedule.