Most website projects are invoiced in stages: an initial deposit, one or more progress payments and a final invoice tied to delivery. The exact amounts and dates should be written into your proposal or agreement before work begins. If the only payment detail is a total price, ask for a schedule.
For a Perth business, the useful question is not simply how much you will pay. It is what has to happen before each invoice becomes due, and what you can review at that point. A clear schedule gives both sides a reason to keep the project moving.
What a staged invoice schedule looks like
The deposit usually reserves production time and covers the work that happens before a design is visible: discovery, planning, content review and initial design direction. Its size varies by provider and project. There is no universal deposit percentage you should expect, so ask what work the deposit pays for and when work will start.
A progress invoice may follow approval of the design, completion of a working site on a staging link or another agreed milestone. A milestone should describe something you can inspect. ‘Halfway through’ sounds precise until you have to decide what halfway means.
The final invoice is commonly linked to launch, handover or completion of an agreed acceptance process. Clarify which one. A site can be ready for launch while you are still waiting on photographs or final copy; the payment trigger should not depend on a vague feeling that the job is nearly done.
Match the invoice to a real deliverable
Before paying a progress invoice, compare it with the signed scope. If the milestone is ‘design approved’, you should know which pages and devices were included in that approval. If the milestone is ‘build complete’, ask whether forms, mobile layouts and agreed integrations are ready for review or merely in development.
Write down who signs off each stage and how many days you have to review it. This protects the designer too. If a project is waiting for your feedback, the agreement can say when the next stage begins instead of leaving everyone guessing.
An invoice should identify the business issuing it, the project, the stage billed and any tax treatment applicable to that business. If a payment request arrives from a different account or by an unexpected channel, verify it using a known contact number before sending money. Invoice fraud is a poor way to start a website project.
Separate the build price from other charges
The project invoice might not cover every item needed to run a website. Domain renewal, hosting, third party software, stock images and future content changes can sit outside the build scope. Ask for a line by line schedule of what is included in the quoted project price and what will be billed separately.
Pay attention to who receives each bill. You may pay a designer for the build but pay a hosting company directly for hosting. You may also pay the designer for a managed service that bundles hosting with care. Neither arrangement is inherently wrong. The surprise comes when the first renewal arrives and nobody knows who owns the account.
If your scope changes during the build, ask for a written change request before the extra work starts. It should state the additional work, price and any effect on the timeline. A progress invoice for an agreed milestone should not quietly become a bill for an unapproved feature.
Questions to settle before paying a deposit
Ask for the payment schedule alongside the scope, not after signing. Check the deposit amount, each milestone, the final payment trigger, payment terms and whether prices include GST. Confirm what happens to paid work if the project pauses and whether any third party purchases are refundable. Those points should be in the written agreement, rather than a memory of a sales call.
Keep a copy of the proposal, approved changes and invoices in one place. If a payment is disputed later, the sequence matters: what was promised, what was delivered, what was approved and what was invoiced. A tidy paper trail is cheaper than reconstructing six months of emails.
The best schedule is one you can explain back to the designer without checking your notes. If you cannot, ask them to rewrite it in plain language. You are commissioning a website, not sitting an accounting exam.
Frequently asked questions about project invoices
Do I pay the whole website bill upfront?
Some small jobs may be paid upfront, but staged payments are common for larger builds. If full payment is requested before any work begins, ask what the payment covers, what you can review and what happens if the project stops.
Can an invoice be due before I approve a design?
It can if the written schedule says that payment is due at a different point, such as delivery of the first design. Check the exact milestone before signing, and ask for approval and invoicing triggers to be stated separately.
Should I expect a tax invoice?
Ask the supplier how they will invoice you and whether GST applies to their quoted price. Your bookkeeper or accountant can tell you which records your business should retain.
What if the final invoice arrives before handover?
Compare the invoice with the agreed final payment trigger and request a handover checklist if it is missing. If your agreement ties payment to acceptance, document any outstanding items promptly rather than leaving the invoice unanswered.
Get the schedule clear before the build
A good payment plan lets you see what you are paying for at each stage. If you are planning a new site, review the scope and delivery steps on our website design and development page, then bring your invoicing questions to the first conversation.
