A deposit on signing and a sign-off at every milestone
Take the deposit when the proposal is signed, set out each later milestone and send a short sign-off document when you hand one over.
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With QuoteCloud the deposit (a percentage or a fixed amount) is paid when the client signs the proposal, through your Stripe or PayPal account. Later milestones are written into the proposal as content. At each milestone you send a sign-off document from the Project Customer Acceptance Form template; the client signs it and you invoice that milestone from your accounting system.
The payment milestones of a sample website proposal, GS-2611, from a fictional studio, Glasswing Studio, for Sparrow & Pine Florist: a project fee of $21,098.00 including tax, drawn as a route of three flags. The first, the 40% deposit of $8,439.20, is stamped Paid via Stripe on signing. The second, design approved at 30% ($6,329.40), is raised when the design sign-off document GS-2611-M2 is signed on Friday 4 December, and tagged Invoiced by Glasswing. The third, launch at 30% ($6,329.40), is raised when the launch sign-off GS-2611-M3 is signed, also invoiced by Glasswing, with any signed change requests added to that invoice.
One payment on signing. Every milestone after it is yours.
Sparrow & Pine's three milestones are written into the proposal Ella and Luca signed. QuoteCloud takes the first; Glasswing invoices the other two when each stage is signed off.
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40%
Paid in QuoteCloud
Deposit
$8,439.20On signing
Paid on signing via Stripe
Paid by card straight after both owners sign, into Glasswing's own Stripe account. The proposal shows Paid.
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30%
Your milestone invoices
Design approved
$6,329.40Design sign-off, week 6
Invoiced by Glasswing at sign-off
Invoiced once Ella signs the design sign-off in week 6.
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30%
Your milestone invoices
Launch
$6,329.40Launch sign-off, week 14
Invoiced by Glasswing at sign-off
Invoiced once the launch sign-off is signed, with any signed change requests added.
- Paid in QuoteCloud
- $8,439.20 40%
- Project fee
- $21,098.00
- Your milestone invoices
- $12,658.80 60%
QuoteCloud takes a deposit (a percentage or a fixed amount) or the full fee on signing. It doesn't send milestone invoices, take instalments or remind clients to pay: the milestones are part of the proposal both sides sign.
A milestone sign-off, page by page
Glasswing's design sign-off for Sparrow & Pine: a short document of its own, sent from the Project Customer Acceptance Form template when the designs are ready.
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Glasswing StudioMilestone sign-off GS-2611-M2 Sample · fictional studio
Milestone sign-off
Design sign-off: milestone 2
Cover
Which milestone, for which project
Milestone 2 of GS-2611, design approved, with the client and the date. Sam starts it from the Project Customer Acceptance Form template.
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Glasswing StudioMilestone sign-off GS-2611-M2 Sample · fictional studio
Design milestone acceptance
Milestone 2 · Design approvedGS-2611 · week 64 of 4 met- Homepage and five page templates designed at desktop and phone sizes (met)
- Two revision rounds completed; feedback from round 2 applied (met)
- Colours, type and buttons agreed as the design system (met)
- Shop and booking pages show real product and workshop examples (met)
Build starts Mon 7 Dec 2026.
Milestone 2 invoice. 30% of the project fee ($6,329.40) is invoiced by Glasswing after sign-off, from Glasswing's own accounting system.
Signing confirms the designs are approved. Changes to approved designs after this are quoted as a change request.
Acceptance criteria
The criteria from the proposal, ticked
Each criterion agreed in the proposal, marked as met, then what happens next and how the 30% milestone is invoiced: by Glasswing, from its own accounts.
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Glasswing StudioMilestone sign-off GS-2611-M2 Sample · fictional studio
Accept and sign
Ella Mancini · Owner, Sparrow & Pine
Signed online · Fri 4 Dec 2026, 4:26 pm
Sign-off
- Milestone
- 2 · Design approved
- Project
- GS-2611
- Next
- Build, from Mon 7 Dec
Certificate of authenticity and audit trail attached
Sign-off
Signed, with no payment in QuoteCloud
Ella signs beside a summary of the milestone. There's no deposit on this document, so nothing is charged; the signature is the yes Glasswing needs to start the build.
From the signed proposal to the launch sign-off
How a studio can run its milestones with QuoteCloud. The dates are Glasswing's own plan; each stage is a document the client opens and signs.
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Week 0
Proposal signed, deposit paid
Both owners sign and the 40% deposit is paid. Discovery starts.
Payments on signing Essentials and up -
Week 4
Design review
Ella comments on the designs; the second revision round is applied.
Comments -
Week 6
Design sign-off
A sign-off against the agreed criteria, signed online. Glasswing invoices 30%.
Acceptance form template -
Week 7
A change request
Gift cards and a weddings page, sent as version 2 and signed before work starts.
Revise Last Version Version history: Business -
Launch
Launch sign-off
Both owners sign off the live site. Glasswing invoices the last 30% plus the change.
Multiple signers
Nothing here sends, invoices or reminds by itself: your team sends each sign-off when the stage is ready, and invoices from your accounting system.
Get every milestone signed off
Free for 14 days, no credit card required. Start from the Project Customer Acceptance Form template, or send us yours to convert during the trial.
Signed off in the afternoon, invoice drafted in Xero
When Ella signs the design sign-off, Glasswing's Zap runs on the Recipient Signed Document trigger and drafts the milestone 2 invoice in Xero for $6,329.40. Sam checks it and sends it from Xero.
On the Business plan, Xero and QuickBooks connect natively instead. Either way the invoice comes from your accounting system, and QuoteCloud keeps the signed sign-off with its certificate of authenticity and audit trail.
- Zapier trigger: Recipient Signed Document
- Xero and QuickBooks: native on Business, otherwise through Zapier
- The sign-off's audit trail: opened, signed, when
Zapier, Make and the API: Essentials and up (document creation fees apply to API and Zapier documents)
Project tools, CRM & accounting connectionsDesign milestone acceptance
- Homepage and five page templates designed at desktop and phone sizes (met)
- Two revision rounds completed; feedback from round 2 applied (met)
- Colours, type and buttons agreed as the design system (met)
- Shop and booking pages show real product and workshop examples (met)
Build starts Mon 7 Dec 2026.
Milestone 2 invoice. 30% of the project fee ($6,329.40) is invoiced by Glasswing after sign-off, from Glasswing's own accounting system.
Signing confirms the designs are approved. Changes to approved designs after this are quoted as a change request.
Activity
- Sign-off sentFrom the acceptance form template
- Opened by EllaFri 4 Dec, 3:58 pm
- Signed by EllaCertificate of authenticity attached
- Draft invoice in XeroMilestone 2 · $6,329.40 · through your Zap
Set up deposits and sign-offs in five steps
Once, in your templates; then every project runs the same way.
Write the milestones in
Add the payment milestones to your proposal template as content: stage, when and share.
Set the deposit
Connect Stripe or PayPal and set the deposit as a percentage or a fixed amount.
Make a sign-off template
Start from the acceptance form and add your criteria and next steps.
Send it at each stage
When a milestone is ready, send the sign-off. The client signs; nothing is charged.
Invoice from your books
Invoice the milestone from Xero or QuickBooks, by hand or through a Zap.
Milestones and sign-off: your questions
Can clients pay a deposit when they sign a web project proposal?
Yes, from the Essentials plan. Connect your Stripe or PayPal account and set the deposit as a percentage or a fixed amount, or take the full fee. The client pays straight after signing and the proposal is marked paid. QuoteCloud doesn't take instalments or send payment reminders.
Does QuoteCloud collect the later milestone payments?
No. Write the later milestones into the proposal as content, so the client agrees to them when they sign. When a milestone is reached you invoice it from your accounting system, by hand or through a Zap or a native Xero or QuickBooks connection on the Business plan.
How do I get a client to sign off a milestone?
Send a short sign-off document, for example from the Project Customer Acceptance Form template, with the milestone, the criteria from the proposal and what happens next. The client signs it online. It's a separate document from the proposal, with its own certificate of authenticity and audit trail.
Is a sign-off document charged to the client?
Only if you set a deposit or payment on it. A sign-off without a price table or payment setting is just signed: nothing is charged, and you invoice the milestone yourself.
Can a signed sign-off create the invoice in Xero?
It can start one. A Zap on the Recipient Signed Document trigger can create a draft invoice in Xero or QuickBooks, from the Essentials plan (document creation fees apply to Zapier and API documents). On the Business plan Xero and QuickBooks also connect natively.
More for web studios
Every page of the QuoteCloud web developers & SEO microsite.
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- Portfolio & case studiesYour best work, team bios and process as content library blocks, dropped into every proposal and kept up to date in one place.
- SEO proposals & retainersAudit, technical fixes, content and link building as monthly charges in the agreement, with results only ever your own estimate.
- Hosting, maintenance & support plansCare plan tiers as packages, monthly or annual charges in the agreement, expiry dates and renewals bulk-sent for signing.
- Web, SEO & app templatesReal QuoteCloud templates for website development, redesigns, SEO, maintenance and app projects, ready to make your own.
- QuoteCloud implementation for studiosYour proposal templates converted, your rates in the catalogue, Stripe connected and your project tools linked.
- FAQAnswers to the questions web studios, developers and SEO specialists ask most.
Every milestone, signed off
Free for 14 days. No credit card required.