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Cases / Planning & controls
Planning & controls

Build a milestone payment schedule

Tie payment milestones to real programme events, value each one so the schedule sums back to the contract, agree it with the client and read the whole thing back as a cash flow.

4 steps10 minGeneral contractorCost consultant / QSDeveloper / client

How it works, step by step

4 steps across the platform - what you do at each one, and why it matters.

1

Mark the payment milestones

Schedule

Pick the programme events that clearly prove progress - foundations complete, watertight, services on, handover - and mark each as a payment milestone.

Why: Payment on a verifiable event removes the monthly haggle over percentage complete. Choosing unambiguous milestones is what keeps the cash flowing without a dispute each cycle.

InBaseline programmeContract termsOutPayment milestones
2

Value each milestone

Contracts

Attach a value to each milestone from the priced work it represents, and check the milestones sum exactly to the contract with nothing lost or double counted.

Why: Front-loaded milestones flatter the contractor and worry the client; back-loaded ones do the reverse. Valuing each one off the real work keeps the schedule fair and fundable.

InPayment milestonesContract sumOutValued schedule
3

Agree it with the client

Contracts

Agree the milestone schedule with the client as the contractual basis for drawdown, so both sides sign up to what triggers each payment before work starts.

Why: A schedule agreed up front is a schedule that pays on time. Settling the triggers before the money is due is what stops each milestone becoming a fresh negotiation.

InValued scheduleOutAgreed schedule
4

Read it as a cash flow

Finance

View the milestone payments across the programme as a cash flow forecast, so the client can plan funding and you can see when the money actually arrives.

Why: Milestones set the timing of cash, and cash timing is what keeps a job solvent. Seeing the curve early lets both sides fix a lumpy month before it becomes a funding crunch.

InAgreed scheduleOutCash flow forecast

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