Bill one estimate in parts: partial invoices and a final invoice

You send a quote for 10,000 and the client accepts. You want 30% before you start, another part along the way and the rest at the end. But the quote turns into exactly one invoice.

So you write the second and third invoices by hand, keep a note somewhere of what you have already billed, and work out the last amount yourself. One slip and the client gets a balance that doesn't match the quote.

QuickBilling can now do this from the estimate itself.

How progress invoicing works in three steps

Take the same 10,000 quote.

1. Bill the first part. On the accepted estimate, open "More actions" and choose "Bill in parts". Enter 30%, or switch to a fixed amount. As you type, you see the estimate total, what is already invoiced and what this invoice comes to. You get a draft partial invoice for 3,000 in the usual editor, linked back to the estimate.

2. Bill more as the project moves. At the next stage, bill 20% for a second partial invoice of 2,000. You can't bill more than what remains. The estimate now shows 5,000 invoiced, 5,000 remaining and what has been paid so far.

3. Finish with the final invoice. Choose "Create final invoice" on the estimate. It shows the estimate's full items, then lists and deducts both partial invoices with number, date, net, tax and gross, and comes to 5,000.

Your client sees the same layout in the PDF, the share link, the client portal and the invoice emails.

Payment schedule: agree the split on the estimate

If you agree the split while quoting, put it on the estimate. Choose "Add payment schedule" and pick 50 / 50, 30 / 70, 30 / 40 / 30 or Custom: two to six parts, in percentages that add up to 100%. Each part can carry a short note, such as "On acceptance", "Interim payment" or "On completion".

The schedule is printed on the estimate, so your client sees each part with its percentage, note and amount before they accept. Once the estimate is accepted, the next open part has one button, "Create invoice", and the last part creates the final invoice. It is a plan, not a lock: "Bill in parts" with any other amount still works, and you can change the schedule later without touching invoices that already exist.

What stays the same

Billing in parts is optional. "Convert to Invoice" still makes one invoice in one click, in the same place, and if you never choose "Bill in parts" nothing in your estimates or invoice lists changes. On an estimate that already has partial invoices, the same button creates the final invoice. Partial and final invoices are ordinary invoices: same numbering, same sending, same payment records, same reports.

Once the first partial invoice exists, the estimate's items, tax and currency are locked, so the total can't move under invoices you have already sent.

Deposit, progress, interim: one idea

A first slice paid before work starts is usually called a deposit. Later slices are progress invoices, or in the UK interim invoices or stage payments. QuickBilling titles them "Partial invoice" by default, and you can rename each one, for example to "Deposit invoice". If you are still deciding how much to ask for upfront, read Should Freelancers Charge a Deposit? When 25 to 50% Upfront Makes Sense.

Limits

It starts from an estimate, it does not create invoices automatically or take card payments, and it does not produce e-invoices. The payment schedule holds percentages, not dates or reminders. It makes no claim about any country's tax or invoicing rules; ask your accountant how to treat a deposit.

The full steps and the questions people ask are on the feature page: Progress invoicing: partial and final invoices from one estimate