Long jobs don't get billed once. Draw against milestones, bill to a percent complete, or invoice a custom amount — and hold back retainage where the contract calls for it.
Milestone Draws
When the signed agreement carries a payment schedule, each milestone is a draw waiting to be billed. Billing the job pulls the next one, and the invoice stays linked to that milestone so the schedule always reflects reality.
This is the cleanest option when the customer agreed to a schedule up front — you're billing what they already said yes to.
- The payment schedule is created at signature.
- Each milestone bills as its own invoice, linked back.
- Deleting the invoice releases the milestone.
Percent Complete
Where there's no milestone schedule, bill to a percentage instead. Set the target percent of contract for this period and the draw is the difference between that target and what you've already invoiced.
It's clamped to what's actually billable, so a target below what you've already billed produces nothing rather than a negative invoice. You can also stage a straight custom amount with your own label.
- Draw = target % × contract − already invoiced.
- Clamped so it can never over-bill.
- Custom-amount billing with your own line label.
Retainage
Where the contract lets the customer hold back a percentage until completion, set the job's retainage rate. Retention accrues as that rate applied to what you've billed, and it's computed live rather than tracked as a running total that could drift.
Retention becomes releasable when the job reaches Completed. The receivables scoreboard shows both figures — what's held across all jobs, and what's now ready to bill — so finished work doesn't quietly leave money on the table.
- Retention = retainage rate × invoiced.
- Releasable once the job is Completed.
- Held and releasable totals appear on the Money scoreboard.
Pro tip: Check releasable retainage the week a job completes. It's money you already earned that nobody will remind you to invoice.