Progress billing: what it means
DefinitionProgress billing is a way of charging for a large job in stages, such as a share at start, another at a midpoint and the rest at completion. Each stage is tied to a milestone, so money arrives as work advances instead of all at the end.
How it works in a service business
Longer jobs strain cash. Materials, subcontractors and wages are paid long before the final invoice. Progress billing, sometimes called draws, spreads the customer's payments across the project to match. The tradeoff is administration: more invoices, more milestones to define and more chances for disagreement about whether a stage is truly done. A common mistake is vague milestones such as halfway done, which invite debate. Tie each payment to something observable, like cabinets installed or inspection passed, and write the schedule into the agreement before work begins. Keep the running total visible so the customer can see how much has been billed and what remains, and avoid billing ahead of the work.
Example
A deck builder bills a third at signing, a third when framing passes inspection, and the balance when the railings are installed and the customer walks the finished job.
Where Apex touches this
In progress
Part of this is built. The rest is not. Status as of 2026-10-07; the badge shows the least-built feature involved.
- ES20Progress billing / draws(In progress)
- IN10Partial payments / installments(Rolling out)
Apex Flow Scheduler is in early access. See how we label status.