Milestone pricing

A fixed fee split into staged payments released as each phase is signed off.

Best for: Larger builds where a single upfront payment is a hard sell.

Avoid when: The project is short enough that deposit-and-balance covers it.

How it works

You break a fixed-fee project into phases, each with its own deliverable and its own payment. Work on a phase starts when the previous one is paid, which keeps you and the client moving at the same pace.

What it looks like

£12,000 across four phases: 25% on signature, 25% on designs approved, 25% on build complete, 25% on launch.

Example project

A six-month platform rebuild

A £48,000 rebuild split into four £12,000 phases: discovery, design system, build, then migration and launch. Each phase invoices on sign-off, with a five-day deemed-acceptance clause so one quiet stakeholder can't stall your cash flow for a fortnight.

Where it wins

  • Cash flow through a long project instead of at the end of it.
  • Limits your exposure if the relationship goes wrong.
  • Gives the client visible progress to approve.

Where it hurts

  • Sign-off can stall and take your cash flow with it.
  • More admin: more invoices, more chasing.
  • Phase boundaries need to be unambiguous.

Milestone pricing: frequently asked questions

How should I split a project into milestones?

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Split on deliverables the client can see and approve — discovery, design, build, launch — rather than on time elapsed. Three to five milestones suits most projects. Fewer gets you paid too slowly; more buries you both in invoices.

What percentage should each milestone be?

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An even split is simplest and easiest to defend. Weight the first milestone higher, at 30 to 40%, if you want a stronger commitment upfront, and keep the final payment small enough that it isn't worth disputing.

What if a client delays signing off a milestone?

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Put a deemed-acceptance clause in the contract: if there's no response within a set window, the milestone is approved and invoiced. Without it, your cash flow depends entirely on someone else's inbox.

Is milestone pricing the same as a payment plan?

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No. A payment plan spreads a fee over dates; milestone pricing ties each payment to completed work. The distinction matters when a project stalls, because it decides who carries the cost of the delay.

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