How Payments Work for Milestone Contracts

If you're working on a milestone contract, you'll submit each milestone for client review as you complete the agreed-upon work.

Once a milestone is submitted, the client can approve it or return it for updates. When a milestone is approved, payment begins processing.

Tracking your payment

You can track the status of milestone payments from your Transactions page.

During the security period:

• Payments appear as Approved

• The expected availability date is displayed for each payment

• You can view a detailed breakdown of earnings for each contract

When you’ll be paid

The following example shows a typical payment timeline for a milestone contract.

Example

• A milestone is submitted on Monday.

• The client reviews and approves the submission on Wednesday.

• The payment enters the 5-day security period after approval.

• Funds become available after the security period ends.

If the client declines or returns the milestone, the timeline is extended until the milestone is approved. 

Manual payments and bonuses

Manual payments from clients, including bonuses, become available 5 calendar days after the payment has been successfully processed.