Progress claims and payment schedules, agreed before you start

What is a progress claim?

A progress claim is an invoice for a stage of the work, raised part-way through the job instead of billing the lot at the end. You take a deposit, claim a chunk when the frame’s up, another at lock-up, and the balance when you’re done. The payment schedule is the plan for those claims, agreed with your client up front.

Agreeing it before you start means you’re paid soon after your big costs land, like when the materials arrive, instead of carrying them for weeks. Your client knows what’s coming and when, and there’s a written record of what you both agreed.

How it works

1. Add a payment schedule to the quote. On the quote’s Proposal tab, tap Payment schedule. Start from deposit, progress and final, or deposit and balance, or build your own. Each stage is a percentage or a fixed dollar amount, and Sammy tells you when it adds up to the quote total.
2. Or let Sammy write it. Tap Sammy written and he reads the quote’s lines, your project plan and your instructions, then places the claims so you’re paid soon after your big costs land. Each trigger is something you and your client can both see on site, and under each stage he says why it’s there.
3. Your client agrees to it when they accept. The proposal shows a payment schedule table after the totals: each stage, when it’s claimed, the share, the amount and a running total, adding up to the quote to the cent. The schedule they saw is saved with their acceptance.
4. Claim each stage from the job. When you reach a stage, open the job. The next stage is already picked under Claims: tap Claim, check the due date and create the invoice. It has one line naming the stage and your quote number.
5. See where you’re up to. The job shows which stages are claimed and paid, and what’s left to invoice, with the next stage ready to claim.

Deposits and your state’s limit

Most states cap the deposit you can ask for on home building work, so both of Sammy’s starting points ask for 5%, under every state’s limit. When Sammy writes the schedule, he works out the state from the site address and keeps the deposit under its limit, or at 5% if he can’t tell. If the limits don’t apply to your job, like commercial work, you can raise it yourself. The limits on home building work, as at September 2026:

NSW

10%

VIC

10% under $20,000, 5% at $20,000 or more

QLD

20% up to $3,300, 10% up to $19,999, 5% at $20,000 or more

WA

6.5% on contracts from $7,500 to $500,000

In SA, Tasmania, the ACT and the NT, check with your building regulator. These are the limits as at September 2026, and your regulator has the current rules.

What else you get

• Your plan as the default. If most of your jobs are paid the same way, set the schedule once under Settings, Terms, and every new quote starts with it.
• Quotes that change. Fixed amounts come off the top and percentages split what’s left. Change the quote later and the percentages follow the new total, while fixed amounts stay as they are.
• A plan you can change on the job. Rename stages, move them or split the work that’s left. Stages you’ve already claimed stay as they were invoiced, and if the plan no longer matches what your client agreed to, the job says so.
• Every claim is its own invoice. It gets its own number and can be sent, chased with payment reminders, marked paid and receipted like any other invoice.
• Room for the extras. For anything the schedule doesn’t cover, create an ad hoc invoice from the job. Extra work the client asks for goes through a variation, which they accept in writing and you claim on its own. See job costing for how variations land on the job.

No schedule? Claim as you go

Not every job needs a plan up front. From any estimate you can raise a deposit, a progress claim or a final claim whenever you’re ready. Sammy shows what you’ve invoiced to date and what’s been paid, and the final claim works out exactly what’s left, to the cent, GST included. He warns you before a second deposit or a claim that would go past the quote total.

The quote itself comes from Sammy too. See AI quoting software for how he writes and prices it.

Questions tradies ask

How much deposit can I take?

On home building work it depends on your state, and in some states it’s 5% once the job is $20,000 or more. Sammy starts at 5% so your quote never asks for more than you’re allowed to take. Check your state’s rules before you raise it.

Can a stage be a fixed amount instead of a percentage?

Yes. Each stage can be a percentage or a fixed dollar amount. Fixed amounts come off the top, and the percentages split whatever is left.

Do the amounts include GST?

Yes. The schedule in the proposal shows amounts including GST, or says GST exempt if the quote is.

What if the job changes after my client accepts?

Edit the schedule on the job. Stages you’ve already claimed stay as invoiced, and Sammy keeps a record of what your client agreed to. Extra work goes on a variation, which your client accepts and you invoice on its own.

What if I cancel a claim?

Cancel the claim invoice and the stage goes back to unclaimed, ready to claim again.

Step-by-step guides

• Payment schedules and progress claims
• Deposits, progress claims and final claims
• Raising a variation when the job changes
• Running a job: contract, plan and status