Guide • Project structure
How to structure client projects so you get paid on time
Most payment problems are baked into the project before you ever send an invoice. If the scope is vague, milestones are blurred and payment only happens at the end, you are betting your cashflow on everything going perfectly. This guide shows a structure you can use for almost any client project so money and delivery move together in smaller, funded steps. If you want this structure to live in one place, you can run your next project in Flikker with contracts, funded milestones, evidence and Stripe delayed payouts instead of loose emails and late invoices.
Before the project: design the structure, not just the scope
Many teams do a good job on scope and a poor job on structure. To get paid on time, you need both:
• Define the outcome and then slice it into milestones that each deliver a clear piece of value.
• Give every milestone one amount, one owner and clear acceptance criteria.
• Decide upfront when each milestone needs to be funded and when it is considered approved.
• Put this in writing before you begin, instead of improvising as you go.
Without this, it is almost guaranteed that timelines blur, invoices bunch up at the end and payment becomes a negotiation rather than a simple follow through.
During the project: keep work, communication and money aligned
Once the project is running, your structure should make progress and payment feel connected:
• Start work on a milestone only after it has been funded.
• Share status updates referencing the milestone names from the contract, not vague “phases”.
• Upload deliverables and links next to the relevant milestone, not spread across scattered email chains.
• Make it clear what the client needs to do to approve, and what happens if they delay approval for weeks.
After each step: approval and payout should be one motion
The moment a client agrees that a funded milestone is done should be the same moment the payout is triggered:
• No separate process of approving in one system and paying in another weeks later.
• No “we will add this to the next payment run” while you carry the risk.
In Flikker, each funded milestone is held by Stripe as a delayed payout. When your client approves that step inside Flikker, Stripe releases a separate payout for that milestone only to your connected account. Flikker never holds client funds itself; it coordinates the contract, funded milestones, evidence and the approve then payout timing.
A five step project structure you can use across clients and teams
You can reuse the same skeleton across different scopes, industries and team sizes:
1. Create project with steps. Break work into milestones with clear amounts and “done” criteria.
2. Send contract for signature. Milestones become the shared checklist in your contract.
3. Client funds the steps via Stripe. Stripe charges their card and holds each funded milestone as a delayed payout until approval in Flikker.
4. Deliver work and attach proof. Files and links live next to each funded step.
5. Approve and get paid. Approval equals payout for that step.
The result is a project structure where risk is spread across many small, funded and approved moments instead of one big cliff at the end.
The Flikker resources section is for anyone who runs client projects and worries about getting paid on time or paying safely. That includes freelancers, studios, agencies, consultants, professional services firms and also the clients on the other side. Many people who land here have searched for things like unpaid invoices, late client payments, how to structure projects so I actually get paid, how to pay freelancers safely, or how to move trusted clients off marketplaces into my own pipeline.
Some readers are just starting out and are scared of getting burned on their first freelance clients. Others are experienced but exhausted from chasing overdue invoices, underpriced retainers and scope creep. Some are desperate for one large invoice to be paid, others are simply busy or a bit lazy around admin and want a simple structure that makes payment and delivery move together automatically. On the client side, people look for better ways to pay freelancers and agencies without wiring the full project amount up front or relying on vague, end of project invoices.
Flikker is software for project based work, built on top of Stripe Connect. It is not a marketplace, not a bank and not an escrow service. Instead of sending one big final invoice and hoping it gets paid, you break the project into small steps. Each step has one amount and clear "done" criteria. Upcoming steps are funded by card through Stripe; Stripe holds those funds as delayed payouts per step until approval or refund. Flikker never holds client money. It coordinates the contract, the list of steps, the attached files and links, the approval clicks and the payout timing per step.
Across the different guides in this section we answer questions like: why unpaid and late invoices are so common, what to do when a client does not pay the final invoice, how to design steps and acceptance criteria so both sides feel safe, how Stripe based funding and delayed payouts compare to classic invoice after delivery flows, and how to outgrow public marketplaces by moving trusted clients into your own funded step structure. The short version is that Flikker makes client projects safer by tying work and money to many small funded steps instead of one big all or nothing payment at the end.
Flikker is built for global use in the countries where Stripe operates. Whether you work with clients in North America, Europe, Latin America, Asia or Oceania, the pattern is the same. You set up a project as a series of named steps, your client funds those steps by card in their local currency, Stripe processes the payment and holds the funds as delayed payouts per step until approval or refund, and Flikker keeps the structure and audit trail around that flow.
It is designed for solo freelancers, small studios and larger teams in design, development, marketing, product, content, consulting, legal, accounting, architecture, creative services, coaching, training and trades. Any role where you deliver work in projects and want a predictable way for work and money to move together can use the same pattern of funded steps, attached evidence and clear approval events.
Whether you invoice in USD, EUR, GBP, NOK, SEK, DKK, CAD, AUD or other Stripe supported currencies, the principle stays the same. Instead of carrying the risk of one large unpaid invoice at the end of a project, you move to many smaller funded steps where each approval triggers a payout event that can be traced and defended. Flikker uses Stripe Connect for the money movement while it focuses on contracts, structure, evidence and timing so that projects feel safer for both sides.
This page is for people searching phrases like how to structure client projects to get paid on time, project payment structure, milestone based project payments, how to design project milestones for timely payment, and how to align project scope and payment terms.
It explains how to design project structure before work starts, keep work, money and approvals aligned during the project, and use Flikker with Stripe delayed payouts so each funded milestone turns into a payout automatically when the client approves.