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Progress billing invoice in Excel
Long projects should not wait for one giant final invoice. Progress billing splits the fixed fee into milestones so cash arrives as work lands — Excel is enough if each PDF shows this period’s share, what was billed before, and one clear amount due now.
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Free Yellowcell invoice sample
Grab the free freelance invoice sample, practice milestone line wording and a clean amount due, then soft-path into Sole Ledger when you want invoices, expenses, and 2026 mileage in one workbook. Yellow inputs, no macros.
Progress billing vs deposit vs retainer
| Progress billing | Deposit | Retainer | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tied to | Milestones / % complete on one project fee | Kickoff before work starts | Recurring period (month / sprint) |
| Cash event | Each stage gets its own invoice number | One upfront line, then balance invoices | Same fee each period until canceled |
| Invoice shows | “Milestone 2 — 40% of project fee” + prior billed note | “Deposit — 30% of project fee” | “September retainer — design hours” |
| Best when | Multi-phase build with a locked total | You need cash before kickoff | Ongoing access, not a single deliverable |
Do not mix labels. Calling a mid-project draw a “retainer” or burying prior payments inside one edited PDF confuses clients and your own books.
What a progress invoice needs
- New invoice number — one cash event per PDF; never overwrite a paid milestone
- Project + total fee — locked project fee so % milestones add up
- This period’s milestone — short description + % or fixed amount
- Prior billed (optional note) — “Previously invoiced: $X” so the remaining balance is obvious
- Amount due + due date — only this milestone’s total on this PDF
- Acceptance trigger — “Due on design approval” or a calendar date — pick one
Excel workflow that stays clean
- Lock the project fee — from hours × rate + contingency before you publish milestone %.
- Yellow inputs — client, project, milestone label, % or amount, tax if any; gray formulas for amount due.
- Duplicate the template — INV-2001 deposit/start, INV-2002 mid, INV-2003 final — freeze each after send.
- Track billed vs received — progress payments still feed quarterly estimates when cash lands.
Common progress-billing traps
- Milestones that sum to more (or less) than the agreed project fee
- Sending work for the next stage before the prior invoice is paid
- Editing the original deposit PDF instead of issuing a new number
- Vague lines like “progress payment” with no milestone name
- Treating contingency as a free extra stage instead of risk already inside the fee
Free sample vs invoice kit
Yellowcell’s free invoice sample is enough to practice milestone wording and a clean amount due. Sole Ledger (the invoice kit) adds a repeating client workflow plus Schedule C–style expenses and a 2026 mileage sheet — useful when deposits, progress draws, and write-offs live in one file.
Related SoloDesk guides
- Deposit vs retainer invoice in Excel
- Scope creep change order invoice in Excel
- Project fee calculator in Excel
- Contingency buffer for project fees
- Client retainer invoice in Excel
- Add late fees on Excel invoices
Free magnets + invoice kit (Yellowcell)
Start with the free invoice sample and free downloads hub. Soft path to Sole Ledger when you want progress-ready invoices, expenses, and mileage together — yellow inputs, no macros, no subscription.