We bill our landed home projects using progressive milestone payments, not lump sums upfront. After 15 years of building, we've found this protects both our clients' interests and our ability to deliver properly. Here's exactly how it works and why we structure payments this way.

How Progressive Milestone Billing Actually Works

We break every project into clear construction phases, with payments tied to completing actual work you can see and verify. For a typical landed rebuild, our milestones usually follow this pattern:

• Commencement: 10-15% upon signed contract and permit approval
• Foundation completion: 20-25% when concrete is poured and cured
• Structural frame: 20-25% when load-bearing elements are complete
• Roof completion: 15-20% when the structure is weather-tight
• Services rough-in: 10-15% when electrical, plumbing, and HVAC are installed
• Final completion: 5-10% upon handover and defect rectification

The exact percentages vary based on project complexity, but the principle stays the same: you pay for work that's actually been completed to our agreed standards.

Why We Don't Take Large Upfront Payments

Some contractors ask for 30-50% upfront. We deliberately avoid this because it creates the wrong incentives. When we've already been paid for work we haven't done yet, there's less pressure to maintain quality and schedule discipline.

We've structured our business so we don't need your money to buy materials or pay subcontractors before work begins. This keeps the commercial relationship balanced: we deliver first, then get paid for what we've delivered.

For our QP and submission work, we do charge those fees early since that professional work happens upfront. But for the physical building work, payments follow completion.

Cash Flow Protection for Both Sides

Progressive billing protects your cash flow too. On a typical $800K to $1.2M landed rebuild, paying everything upfront would tie up most homeowners' liquidity for months. Our milestone system lets you release funds as you see tangible progress.

From our side, we get paid regularly for work completed, which keeps our own cash flow healthy without front-loading risk onto clients. We've found this creates better project relationships because both parties have skin in the game throughout the build.

If issues arise mid-project, the payment structure gives us natural checkpoints to address them before moving forward. We've seen too many projects go sideways when the money flows differently than the work.

How Milestone Verification Works in Practice

Each milestone has clear, measurable completion criteria. For foundation work, that means concrete testing results and dimensional checks. For structural frames, it's about load-bearing elements being properly installed and certified.

We document everything with photos and, where required, engage third-party testing (like concrete cube tests for structural elements). You get copies of all reports. Our QP signs off on structural milestones before we invoice.

If a milestone isn't met to standard, payment waits until it is. This has happened on a handful of our projects over the years—usually weather delays on concrete work or supplier delays on structural steel. The milestone system makes these situations manageable rather than contentious.

What This Means for Project Timelines

Some clients worry that milestone billing slows projects down. In our experience, it does the opposite. Because each payment is tied to completed work, we're incentivised to maintain momentum and quality simultaneously.

We build milestone reviews into our project schedules, typically allowing 2-3 days between milestone completion and invoice approval. Most of our landed clients pay within a week of invoice, so cash flow interruptions are minimal.

The structure also helps with change orders. When clients want modifications mid-project, we can price and bill those changes at logical breakpoints rather than trying to reconcile everything at the end.

What happens if we need to pause a project mid-milestone?

We bill only for work actually completed and materials delivered to site. If we're halfway through foundation work when a delay happens, you pay for the work done to that point, not the full milestone amount.

Do you offer any flexibility on milestone percentages?

The percentages can shift slightly based on project specifics, but we keep the overall structure intact. Heavy structural projects might weight earlier milestones higher; complex services installations might weight later ones higher.

How do you handle cost overruns within the milestone system?

We discuss any potential overruns before they affect milestones. Our contracts include change order processes, and additional costs are itemised separately from the original milestone schedule. You approve changes before we execute them.

What protections do we have if work quality isn't acceptable at a milestone?

Payment waits until work meets our agreed standards and relevant building codes. Our QP won't sign off on structural work that isn't compliant, and we won't invoice until sign-off is complete.

Can we inspect work ourselves before milestone payments?

Absolutely. We encourage client inspections at every milestone. We walk through the completed work, explain what was done, and address any questions before invoicing. Your satisfaction at each stage is part of our milestone criteria.

Progressive milestone billing has worked well for our landed projects because it keeps everyone's interests aligned throughout the build. If you're considering a rebuild or major A&A work and want to discuss how this applies to your specific project, message us here.