Progress billing
Invoicing in stages as work is completed rather than once at the end.
Progress billing is the practice of invoicing for a long project in installments tied to work completed, milestones reached or time elapsed, rather than in a single invoice at the end. In construction it takes the form of monthly pay applications against a schedule of values. On government contracts it may appear as progress payments based on costs incurred or as performance-based payments tied to defined events.
Progress billing shortens the float by turning a single long wait into a series of shorter ones. Its terms, including the billing frequency, what counts as progress, what documentation is required and how much is held back as retainage, are set in the contract and are worth negotiating before signing.
General information, not legal or financial advice.