Fixed fee projects with deposits, milestones and extras
Sumhour bills a fixed fee as a deposit and milestones. Extra hours on a fixed fee project are billed at an hourly rate or as a change order the client approves online. While the project runs, you see how the hours compare with the fee.
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Payment schedule
| Payment | Due | Amount |
|---|---|---|
| Deposit 30% | Paid 6 Oct | 7,200.00 |
| Design sign-off 40% | Due now | 9,600.00 |
| Launch 30% | When marked done | 7,200.00 |
| CO-0002 Blog section change order, accepted | With launch | 3,200.00 |
Linden & Co: a 24,000 fee in three payments, plus a change order
The brand site rebuild has a 30 / 40 / 30 payment schedule. The client accepted change order CO-0002 for a blog section online on 3 November, and it is billed with the launch payment.
Client calls are billed hourly on top of the fee at 120.00, so they never eat into it.
| Deposit, 30%paid 6 Oct, INV-1040 | 7,200.00 |
|---|---|
| Design sign-off, 40%due now | 9,600.00 |
| Launch, 30%when marked done | 7,200.00 |
| CO-0002, blog sectionwith the launch payment | 3,200.00 |
| Total for the project | 27,200.00 |
Demo workspace: Birch & Row Studio, USD
Fixed fee projects in Sumhour, step by step
- 01
Set the fee
Create the project as Fixed fee and enter the price you sold it for. Track time against it as usual.
- 02
Split the payments
Pick 50 / 50, 50 / 25 / 25, 30 / 40 / 30 or your own split. Each payment is due at the start, on a date or when you mark a milestone done.
- 03
Invoice what is due
“Mark done and invoice” drafts the milestone invoice in one step. Extras and change orders go on the same invoice or their own.
- 04
Watch the variance
The project compares the fee with the same hours at your rates, so you see an overrun while there is still time to talk to the client.
Bill extra hours on a fixed fee project
Some work sits outside a fixed price: weekly calls the client added, support after launch. Mark that task "Hourly, on top of the fee" and give it a rate. Its hours go on the next invoice as rate times hours, even after the fee itself is fully billed.
- Everything else stays covered by the fee
- Untick the task to bring it back under the fee
Tasks
| Task | Billing | Hours |
|---|---|---|
| Discovery | In the fee | 24:00 |
| Design | In the fee | 86:30 |
| Build | In the fee | 112:00 |
| Client calls | 120.00/hOn top of the fee | 6:30 |
Change orders for out-of-scope work, accepted online
When the client asks for more than was agreed, price the extra work as a change order. It opens in the estimate editor, gets its own number and goes to the client as a link with Accept and Decline. If they agreed on a call, press "Mark approved".
Once accepted, the fee and the amount budget grow by the change order’s total, one time only. On a project with a payment schedule, you pick whether it is billed now, with the next payment or with the last.
How change orders work| Item | Amount |
|---|---|
| Blog templates, two layouts | 2,000.00 |
| Migration of 40 posts | 1,200.00 |
| Change order total | 3,200.00 |
Billed with the launch payment
Give each stage its own budget and fee
Split the project into Discovery, Design and Build. Each phase gets an hours budget, an amount budget or both, and the fee it was sold for, so you see the margin per stage. Each task belongs to a phase, so nobody changes how they track time.
- A phase turns amber at 80 percent of its budget (or the share you set) and red past 100 percent
- The same budget alerts as a project, once per crossing
Phases · hours against budget
See the overrun before the last invoice
A fixed fee hides how long the work took. Sumhour values every hour logged at your billable rates and sets it against the fee. Under the fee means room is left. Over it means the same hours billed hourly would have earned more than the fee. The cost line uses each person’s cost rate, so you also see what the time cost you.
Here, Linden & Co’s work at your rates has already passed the fee, with Build less than half done. That is the moment to talk about scope, or to price the rest as a change order.
More on profitabilityBrand site rebuild · so far
Fixed fee projects: limits to know about
- Percent complete at month end is a number you type. Sumhour does not work it out from hours.
- Without a payment schedule, the draft bills the fee times % complete, less what earlier invoices billed of the fee. With no % complete set it bills the rest of the full fee.
- A payment that is already on an invoice cannot be changed. Delete the draft or void the invoice, and the payment is due again.
Missing something you need? Write to [email protected]. The person who builds Sumhour reads every message.
Fixed fee projects: Sumhour and other tools
Checked against each tool’s own pricing and help pages on November 5, 2026; the sources are under the table. Plans change, so check before you rely on a line.
| Feature | Sumhour | Harvest | Toggl Track | Productive | FreshBooks |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Deposit and milestones that each become an invoice | Every plan | Uncertain: milestone payments exist; its help page could not be read | No | Workaround: scheduled drafts made by hand | No: one deposit per invoice |
| Hourly extras inside a fixed fee project | Every plan | No on one project; Harvest’s help suggests two projects on one invoice, or the fee as an expense | Workaround: a custom charge | Yes | No: one billing type per project |
| Change orders the client approves online that raise the fee | Every plan | Not documented (a template page only) | Not documented | Not documented | Not documented (copy the estimate and send it again) |
Sources: Harvest pricing; Harvest fixed fee and hourly; Harvest milestone payments; Harvest change order template; Toggl Track pricing; Productive milestone billing; Productive billing types; FreshBooks deposits; FreshBooks billing methods; FreshBooks estimates.
Full comparison: Sumhour vs Harvest.
Fixed fee projects: common questions
How do I bill a fixed fee project in instalments?
Add a payment schedule on the project: a deposit and one or more milestones, as percentages of the fee or fixed amounts that add up to the fee. When a payment falls due, it shows “Due now” with a “Create invoice” button. For a milestone, “Mark done and invoice” does both in one step.
Payment schedules in the guideCan I charge hourly for extra work on a fixed fee project?
Yes. Mark a task “Hourly, on top of the fee” with its own rate. Time on that task is billed by the hour on the next invoice, even after the fee is fully invoiced. Everything else stays covered by the fee.
How do I bill a client for work outside the agreed scope?
Write a change order. It prices the extra work like an estimate, numbered CO-0001 onward, and the client gets a link to accept or decline it. When it is accepted, the project’s fee and budget grow by its amount once, and you choose whether it is billed now, with the next payment or with the last.
How do I know if a fixed fee project is losing money?
The project page sets the fee against the work logged so far at your billable rates. If that work is worth more than the fee, the variance turns negative. It also shows what the time cost at each person’s cost rate. Budget alerts warn at 80 percent by default, and each phase can have its own budget and fee.
Is fixed fee billing included in every Sumhour plan?
Yes. Payment schedules, change orders, hourly extras and phases come with every plan, including Solo, at no extra cost.
See pricing
