Staged (milestone) billing keeps cash flowing and limits your exposure on bigger jobs. Agree the schedule in writing before you start, and tie payments to visible milestones. For consumer contracts, remember the customer's cancellation rights on a deposit.
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This calculator breaks a job down into a deposit and a series of staged payments. Enter the total value, the deposit percentage and how many payments follow, and it shows the deposit and the amount of each stage.
It is for tradespeople quoting larger jobs — bathrooms, rewires, boiler installs, extensions — where waiting until the end to be paid is a cash-flow and risk problem. A deposit and progress payments keep money coming in and limit what you are ever owed at once.
The split is simple: the deposit is a percentage of the total taken up front, and the remaining balance is divided into equal payments tied to stages of the work.
Deposit = total × deposit%; Remaining = total − deposit; Each stage = remaining ÷ number of payments
The deposit is a percentage of the total job value, taken before work starts to cover initial materials and secure the booking. The rest is divided equally across the number of staged payments you set, each one falling due at an agreed milestone.
Type the full price of the job. Include VAT if you are registered, since the customer pays the gross figure across the stages.
Enter the deposit percentage. 20–30% is common — enough to cover initial materials and protect against a no-show without asking too much up front.
Enter how many payments follow the deposit. Tie each to a visible milestone — first fix, second fix, completion — so the customer can see what they are paying for.
The calculator shows the deposit, the remaining balance and the amount of each staged payment.
Tie payments to milestones, not dates. A stage payment the customer can see the value of — materials delivered, first fix done, job complete — is far easier to collect than one pegged to a calendar date. Set the milestones out in the quote so there is no argument later.
The deposit does two jobs: it funds the materials you buy before you are paid, and it filters out time-wasters. For a material-heavy job, make sure the deposit at least covers what you have to lay out before the first stage payment lands.
Put the schedule in writing and get it agreed before you start. For consumer jobs, be aware of the customer's cancellation rights on deposits, and keep the terms clear. This is a planning tool, not contract advice — align the schedule with your terms of business.
Staged (milestone) billing keeps cash flowing and limits your exposure on bigger jobs. Agree the schedule in writing before you start, and tie payments to visible milestones. For consumer contracts, remember the customer's cancellation rights on a deposit.
Commonly 20–30% of the job. The deposit should cover the materials you buy before the first stage payment and be enough to deter a no-show, without being so large it puts the customer off. For material-heavy jobs, lean toward the higher end so you are not funding the work yourself.
They are payments spread across the job rather than a single bill at the end — typically a deposit, one or more progress payments at agreed milestones, and a final balance on completion. They keep cash flowing and limit how much you are ever owed at any one time.
For short jobs you can usually invoice on completion, but a deposit still makes sense whenever you are buying materials up front or booking time you would lose if the customer pulled out. Match the deposit to your exposure — the money you would be out of pocket if the job fell through.
Pick points the customer can see and understand — materials on site, first fix complete, second fix complete, final sign-off. Milestones tied to visible progress are far easier to collect than arbitrary dates, and setting them out in the quote avoids disputes about what has been paid for.
Build a quote from materials, labour and margin.
Retention held on a contract and when each half is released.
Statutory interest and compensation you can claim on an overdue commercial invoice.
Sell price from cost, markup and VAT.
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