Smart Milestone Contracts for remodelers, deck builders and project handymen

Payments built into the job, not added after it.

A phasecontract puts the scope and when each part is paid into one proposal your client approves once. Then you run the job from it.

  • Collect each payment as the work reaches it, in one tap.
  • Price every change and get it approved before you do it.
  • Keep fixes, approvals and progress in one workspace your client can see.
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Payment timing per phase
Deposits with a purpose
Price and approve extras

Select a screen to view full size.

Same job, two ways

Each job pays for itself as it goes.

Billed the usual way, you buy the materials and pay the crew before your client’s payments catch up, and that money is stuck in the job. A phasecontract times each payment to when the job costs you, so your cash stays in your business.

See it on a job like yours:

Guest bath vanity swap and tile repair · $6,000

The cash drain, day by day

The job's cash, day by day: paid now against paid on a phasecontract.−$2k$0+$2k+$4k1 payroll3 payrollswk 1wk 2Worst paid now: −$2k
Whole job
Nothing down, the rest at the end
  • −$1,500 out of your pocket at worst, day 1.
On a phasecontract
  • Press › to walk through every payment.

The usual way

Nothing down, the rest paid at the end

You buy the vanity and tile, do the work, then wait for the final payment.

At its worst, $1,500 of your own money is in this job.

Over time: every job like it holds your cash until it ends, so the next one starts short.

A phasecontract

Each part paid around when it costs you

The vanity and tile are paid when you order them, a small payment holds your days, and the rest is paid when your client approves.

None of your own money goes into this job.

Over time: each job carries its own costs, so your cash is free for the next one.

Phase 1: $500 collected at start, $2,000 when the client approves the install. Open full-size screenshot
Two phases: the install split, the finish paid on approval. Open full-size screenshot
The $1,500 materials deposit, collected before the order. Open full-size screenshot
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Primary bathroom remodel · $25,000

The cash drain, week by week

The job's cash, day by day: paid now against paid on a phasecontract.−$5k$0+$5k1 payroll3 payrollswk 1wk 2wk 3wk 4wk 5Worst paid now: −$7k
Whole job
25% down, the rest after each stage
  • −$7,300 out of your pocket at worst, week 3.
On a phasecontract
  • Press › to walk through every payment.

The usual way

25% down, the rest invoiced after each stage

The 25% down runs out on the orders. The crew and the plumber are paid weekly, before each stage’s invoice is.

At its worst, $7,300 of your own money is in this job.

Over time: every job like it holds your cash until it ends, so the next one starts short.

A phasecontract

Each part paid around when it costs you

The tile and the vanity are paid when you order them, and the costly stages collect part of their price as they start.

None of your own money goes into this job.

Over time: each job carries its own costs, so your cash is free for the next one.

Phase 1: $4,200 collected before demolition, $2,800 on approval. Open full-size screenshot
Three phases, each with its own payment timing. Open full-size screenshot
Deposits for the tile and the vanity, each collected when it’s ordered. Open full-size screenshot
Slide1 / 3

Backyard composite deck, 16×20 · $25,000

The cash drain, week by week

The job's cash, day by day: paid now against paid on a phasecontract.−$10k−$5k$0+$5k1 payroll3 payrollswk 1wk 2wk 3wk 4Worst paid now: −$10k
Whole job
25% down, the rest after each stage
  • −$9,600 out of your pocket at worst, week 3.
On a phasecontract
  • Press › to walk through every payment.

The usual way

25% down, the rest invoiced after each stage

The 25% down covers the lumber. The decking and the crew’s weeks come out of your account.

At its worst, $9,600 of your own money is in this job.

Over time: every job like it holds your cash until it ends, so the next one starts short.

A phasecontract

Each part paid around when it costs you

The lumber and the decking are paid when you order them, and each stage collects part of its price as it starts.

None of your own money goes into this job.

Over time: each job carries its own costs, so your cash is free for the next one.

Phase 1: $4,200 collected before the footings, $2,800 on approval. Open full-size screenshot
Two phases, both split: the crew’s days are paid as they start. Open full-size screenshot
The lumber deposit, collected before the order; the decking deposit next. Open full-size screenshot
Slide1 / 3

86% of builders and remodelers say clients pay on time, and 76% still run short of cash (Houzz, 2026). The difference is when each payment lands.

Run your own job through the calculator →

Built the way your jobs already run.

Your jobs run in stages: you order, your crew works, your client checks the result. A phasecontract follows the same order.

  1. AI plans the proposal around your cash flow

    Describe the job by voice or text. The Cash-Flow Planner AI drafts the whole phasecontract around how the job will actually run.

    • Named deposits for what you’ll buy
    • The work phases in order, each with its payment timing
    • Aims to keep your cash positive at every stage, on terms your client will accept

    Every suggestion is marked. Keep it or change it.

  2. Payment timing that matches each phase

    Match each payment to what it costs you: the more a phase costs you before it’s done, the earlier it’s paid.

    • Pay on approval Paid when your client approves the finished phase. The default.
    • Split payment Part at the start, the rest when your client approves.
    • Pre-funded Paid before the phase starts, for work that costs you up front.

    Your client sees each timing, and why, before saying yes.

  3. Deposits for real costs

    Each deposit is a real purchase at what it costs, collected when you order it, instead of a round percentage up front, so you don’t carry the cost.

    • The vanity and tile order, the cabinets, the decking delivery
    • Permits, rentals and special orders too

    Your client sees what each deposit buys before saying yes.

  4. Collected in one tap

    Your client approves the terms and a payment method once. When a payment is due, you tap Collect. You’re not waiting on invoices or payment links.

    • Credit Card or Bank Transfer, from the method your client approved
    • Each payment stays with the work it paid for

    Your client follows every phase and payment in the shared job workspace.

How each part works ↓

What every phasecontract handles.

Break the job into deposits and work phases and choose when each one is paid. Extras and fixes get their own place too, and your client sees all of it before saying yes.

Ask for the cabinets, not for 30%.

A percentage deposit leaves your client wondering where the money goes. Name each early cost instead (the cabinet order, the lumber package, the permit), give it its own amount, and collect it in one tap right before you place the order.

Example kitchen remodel: the $9,500 cabinet deposit, collected before the order. Open full-size screenshot
  • For you materials are paid for before you order them, not out of the last job’s money.
  • For your client they see what each deposit buys, and when it’s due, before they agree.
  • Example $9,500 for the cabinet order, collected before it goes in.

Collect each phase when it starts costing you.

Choose the timing per phase, by what that phase costs you to carry. Add a one-line reason, and your client sees why each phase is timed the way it is before they agree.

Split payment: half collected at start, half due on approval. Open full-size screenshot
Pay on approval: the client approves the finished bathroom and pays.
Pre-funded: for the rare phase that needs it, the whole phase collected before it starts. Open full-size screenshot
Slide1 / 3
  • Split payment part due at start, the rest on approval; you choose from 1% to 99%. The start covers the crew, the subs and room for a delay. $14,000 install: $5,600 at start, $8,400 on approval.
  • Pay on approval paid when your client approves the finished work, or after 72 hours with no objection. For finish work and short phases. $3,900 of tile labor.
  • Pre-funded paid before the phase starts. The rare case, for weeks of crew or subs no sensible split would cover.

Extras priced before they’re built.

“While you’re here” turns into unpaid work when it lives in a text thread. Send the change from the phase in a few taps: what it adds, its price and when it’s paid. Your client accepts it with a one-time code, and the change and its payment stay on the job.

Example kitchen remodel: a $750 extra with its own price and timing, collected when approved. Open full-size screenshot
Example two-story addition: the client agrees the price of an extra before the work. Open full-size screenshot
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  • Its own timing pre-fund what you have to order, split a bigger one, or leave a small extra for the phase’s approval.
  • Nothing lost who agreed to what, for how much and when is on the record.
  • Example $750 pantry pull-out shelves, paid before they’re ordered.

Most questions are answered before they’re asked.

Every phasecontract comes with a shared job workspace. Your client checks it for where the job stands, what’s next and every payment still to come, so the call or text that reaches you on another site becomes rare. A call usually means admin afterwards: writing up the change, sending a new price, noting what was agreed. Here a change goes through the job as a change order, already on the record.

Example kitchen remodel, the client’s view: what’s paid and what’s waiting for them. Open full-size screenshot
Example kitchen remodel: the client reviews the photos before approving. Open full-size screenshot
Slide1 / 2
  • For you fewer calls on site, and less admin after them.
  • For your client the answer to most questions, any time, without waiting for a call back.
  • Every job runs the same way, so working with clients becomes routine, not a scramble.

Fix it while it’s still easy.

When a phase is finished, your client has 72 hours to approve it or ask for a fix within the agreed scope, with photos. Up to three fixes per phase are included. Issues come up phase by phase, while the walls are open and before the grout sets, not as one long punch list at the end.

Example kitchen remodel: the client’s fix request, with a photo, on the contractor’s phone. Open full-size screenshot
Example kitchen remodel: the client’s fix, made and resolved within the phase. Open full-size screenshot
Slide1 / 2
  • For you a shorter punch list, and no rework under finished surfaces.
  • For your client one clear place to raise an issue, attached to the phase it belongs to.
  • Bigger than a fix? It becomes a priced change order.

You don’t have to be on every site.

Assign a foreman to a job. They start the phases you’ve agreed, add photos and submit finished work from the site. Prices and payments stay with you: a foreman sees no money, and a change they propose comes to you before it reaches your client.

Example: invite your crew by email; a verified employee can be assigned as a job’s foreman. Open full-size screenshot
Example two-story addition, the foreman’s view: the work and the next step, no money. Open full-size screenshot
Slide1 / 2
  • For you keep more than one job moving without standing on each site.
  • For your foreman the work and the next step, on their phone.

Give your quote a reason to be trusted.

Clients don’t only compare prices; they wonder whether they can trust the business behind the quote. Earn the PhaseContract Verified Business badge and it sits beside your name on every proposal and job page, with a dated review your client can open.

Example: the badge details a client can open on your proposal. Open full-size screenshot
  • What we review your business identity, operating presence and customer reputation, plus your trade license and insurance where they apply.
  • For you a proposal that stands out on the kitchen table, alongside your reviews and references.
  • And yes sending a phasecontract instead of a paper invoice says something too.
How collection and review work
  • Pre-funded and split work starts once the Credit Card payment succeeds or the Bank Transfer clears.
  • Pay-on-approval payments and the part of a Split payment due on approval are collected when your client approves the finished work, or after a 72-hour review with no objection.
  • Your client can ask for up to three in-scope fixes. Approving the work and collecting the payment are separate steps.
  • A payment can need your client to confirm it, or can fail. You carry any part that isn’t collected yet.
  • Payments collect into your own Stripe account, and Stripe pays out to your bank on its usual schedule.

Your client approves once. You collect in one tap.

Your client reviews the scope, the price of each part and when each payment is due, then approves it all once, with their Credit Card or Bank Transfer.

  • When a payment is due, you tap Collect
  • No invoice to write, send or chase
  • Each payment stays with the work it paid for

The job keeps its own record, payment by payment.

Three phases, each with its own payment timing. Open full-size screenshot

Your client checks the job, not your phone.

You send your client a phasecontract, and it comes with a shared job workspace. They open it from one link, with no app or account.

  • What’s done, what’s being worked on, what’s paid and what’s next
  • Every payment still to come, its amount and when it’s due
  • A text or email when something needs them: a phase to review or a change to approve

The rest of the time your phone stays in your pocket, and a call about one job doesn’t interrupt the one you’re standing on.

See what your client sees Or explore a sample job, no account needed

The client’s view: where the job stands and what’s paid. Open full-size screenshot
Each phase shows what’s paid and what’s due next. Open full-size screenshot
Each deposit shows what it bought. Open full-size screenshot
The schedule and the money, any time, without a call. Open full-size screenshot
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Before your first job.

Straight answers to what owners ask first.

Will my clients go for this?

They see exactly what each part costs and when it’s paid before they agree, and they approve finished work before its payment. Most clients prefer clear terms to a surprise invoice.

See what your client sees
I already use software.

Keep it for estimating and bookkeeping. Use PhaseContract for one job’s agreement, payments and client link. There’s nothing to migrate.

See how it fits your business
What does it cost?

30 days with no PhaseContract fee, from when your payment account is ready. After that, Solo has no subscription and a small fee on each collected payment; Crew and Company trade a monthly price for a lower fee. Card and bank processing fees are separate.

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When does the money reach my bank?

Payments collect into your own Stripe account. Stripe pays out to your bank on its usual schedule; PhaseContract never holds or delays the money.

More about collection

Put your next job
on PhaseContract.

Pick one upcoming job. Set out the parts, choose when each is paid, and send it to your client. One phase is enough to start.

The $25,000 bathroom remodel above brings in $12,900 before you spend it. The Crew fee on the whole job: $125.

You can prepare a job draft while payment setup is in progress.

30-day free trialno billing card needed

No PhaseContract fee during your trial, which starts when your payment account is ready. Card and bank processing fees apply when a payment collects.

Set up your first job Explore the demo

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