Payment schedules and progress claims

On a bigger job you don't invoice in one go. You take a deposit, claim a chunk when the frame's up, another at lock-up, and the balance when you're done. Sammy lets you set that plan on the quote, so the client agrees to it when they accept, and then claim each stage from the job as you reach it.

Add a payment schedule to a quote#

1. Open the estimate and go to the Proposal tab.
2. In the settings row at the top, tap Payment schedule.
3. Sammy starts you on Deposit, progress, final. You can switch to Deposit and balance or Custom.
4. Change the stage names, when each one is claimed, and the share. A stage can be a percentage or a fixed dollar amount.
5. Check the line at the bottom. It reads Adds up to your quote total when the plan is right, or tells you what's short.
6. Tap Add to quote.

You'll find the same option under Proposal Options in the estimate editor, and under Proposal on your phone.

Both starting points ask for a 5% deposit. Most states limit the deposit on home building work, and in some the limit is 5% once the job is $20,000 or more. Sammy starts under every state's limit so your quote never asks for more than you're allowed to take. If the limits don't apply to your job, you can raise the deposit. Check the rules for your state first.

Fixed amounts come off the top. Percentages split whatever is left, and they need to add up to 100%. If you change the quote later, the percentages follow the new total and fixed amounts stay as they are.

Let Sammy write it#

Not sure where the claims should fall? Let Sammy draft the schedule for this job.

1. In the payment schedule, tap Sammy written.
2. Sammy opens next to the schedule (on your phone, he takes the screen) and asks if there's anything he should know. Tap one of his suggestions, like Write it from the quote or The client's paying from a construction loan, or type it yourself, like "the timber has to be ordered two weeks before we start".
3. Sammy writes the stages straight into the schedule. He tells you in a line or two what he did, then steps out of the way so you can see them.

Sammy reads the lines on the quote, your project plan if you have one, your AI instructions and what you've taught him in Train Sammy. He places the claims so you're paid soon after your big costs land, like when materials arrive or a stage of work is done, and each trigger is something you and the client can both see on site. Under each stage he tells you why it's there.

Sammy never asks for more up front than the law allows where the job is. He works that out from the site address, and if he can't tell the state he keeps the deposit to 5%. If your instructions ask for a bigger deposit than the limit, he holds it at the limit and says so in his note. If the limit doesn't apply to your job (for example, commercial work), you can raise it yourself.

Everything Sammy writes can be changed like any other schedule. To have him change it for you, tap Ask Sammy for changes under the table and tell him what you want (for example "fewer stages" or "add one when the tiles arrive"). He picks up the same conversation and rewrites the stages you've got, including anything you changed by hand. When you're happy, tap Add to quote. Nothing goes on the quote until then.

In the full-screen quote editor, the same option asks you in the schedule itself: type anything he should know, tap Write the schedule, and to change it type under Ask Sammy for changes and tap Rewrite.

What the client sees#

The proposal shows a Payment schedule table after the totals: each stage, when it's claimed, the share, the amount and a running total. It adds up to the quote total to the cent, and the amounts include GST (or say GST exempt).

When the client accepts, the schedule they saw is saved with their acceptance. You can change the plan on the job afterwards, but Sammy keeps a record of what was agreed.

Set it up once for every new quote#

If most of your jobs use the same plan, set it as your default.

1. Go to Settings, then Terms.
2. Under Templates, open 05 Payment schedule.
3. Turn on Add a payment schedule to new quotes and set up your stages.
4. Tap Save default.

New quotes start with this schedule. Quotes you've already created aren't changed, and you can still edit or remove the schedule on any single quote.

Claim a stage#

Once the client accepts, the schedule sits on the job.

1. Open the job from Projects.
2. In Claims, the next stage is already picked. Tap Claim. To claim a different stage, tap it first.
3. Check the due date, then tap Create invoice.

Sammy raises a progress claim invoice for exactly that stage, with one line that names the stage and your quote number. The job shows which stages are claimed and paid, and the next stage is ready to claim.

If you cancel a claim invoice, the stage goes back to unclaimed.

Change the plan on the job#

Tap Edit schedule on the job to rename stages, move them, or split the work that's left. Stages you've already claimed stay as they were invoiced. If your plan no longer matches what the client agreed to, the job says so.

A job with no schedule#

If the quote didn't have a schedule, the job gives you two ways to invoice, under Invoicing in the Money in card:

• Set up a claim schedule. Start from a template (or let Sammy write one), and claim each stage from there.
• Create an ad hoc invoice. Invoice any part of the job whenever you're ready, without a schedule: a deposit, a progress claim, the final balance or the whole quote.

Once the job has a schedule, Create an ad hoc invoice sits under the stages for anything the schedule doesn't cover.