Global term

Milestone payment

A staged payment released when a defined deliverable is approved, used to share risk between client and freelancer.

Milestone payments split a project into chunks tied to specific outputs. They protect both sides: the client only releases money against approved work, and the freelancer is not exposed to a single end of project payment. On platforms like Upwork, milestones are held in escrow and released by the client. On direct contracts, name the milestone, the acceptance criteria and the payment terms in writing before you start.

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