Remodel payment schedule: deposit, milestones, and the last check

You need money to order the kitchen, and your client needs a reason to trust the payment schedule. A useful remodel payment schedule names what the deposit buys, ties later payments to work both sides can see, and leaves a clear last check for the punch list.

This guide gives you a sample schedule and wording you can adapt for your next quote this week. The percentages are illustrative, not an industry standard or a legal recommendation. This is not legal advice; check the rules that apply to your job before using deposit, cancellation, or payment terms.

What people actually describe

The Seattle proposal behind this guide was for a six-figure kitchen: 45% at signing, 45% after demolition, and 10% at the end. PikeBuild's editorial research records homeowners asking whether that was normal and contractors calling it too front-loaded. The original thread could not be independently located for this article, so treat that account as the reported starting point, not a verified measure of Seattle practice.

The concern is easy to understand. Under that proposal, the homeowner has paid 90% while the kitchen is still torn apart. Material orders might explain some of the money, but “after demo” alone does not explain why nearly the whole contract is due.

Other accessible discussions show a wide spread. In an October 2025 r/Remodel thread covering bathrooms, flooring, a fireplace, and some kitchen work, the homeowner described a proposed 50/20/20/10 schedule. One reply described a third upfront followed by weekly payments. Another described 10% at signing, 30–40% at the start, then milestone draws and a final payment. Those are individual arrangements and opinions, not rules. Read the remodel discussion.

In r/Contractor, people described 50/50 payments, monthly billing for completed work, and several smaller milestone draws. One bathroom example used 35% down, three 20% draws at the start of later phases, and 5% after the punch list. Other commenters challenged schedules that collected heavily before completion. Even contractors disagree about how far ahead a client should pay. Read the contractor discussion.

Washington L&I gives a clearer consumer-facing principle: after a reasonable down payment, pay when specific phases are completed, rather than simply because a calendar date arrives. It also advises leaving a portion until completion. That is agency guidance, not a Washington deposit cap. L&I's Hire Smart guide.

Build your remodel payment schedule from costs

Before choosing percentages, list the bills that arrive before your first progress payment. Include supplier deposits, delivery charges, permits, and the labor needed to reach that milestone. Separate money due now from money due later.

Then identify who buys each major item. A client buying appliances directly changes your cash needs. A cabinet order you place changes them again. Do not ask for a material deposit that includes purchases outside your scope.

Here is hypothetical arithmetic, not a market price. Suppose a id="root"20,000 kitchen requires a $20,000 cabinet order payment and $4,000 for other initial commitments. A $24,000 deposit covers those purchases. That is 20% of the contract.

If those actual commitments are $38,000, the same 20% leaves a id="root"4,000 gap before labor starts. You need to address that gap through a lawful payment arrangement, different supplier terms, or working capital. Changing the label from “deposit” to “retainer” does not resolve it.

Run the same check between later draws. If the demo payment arrives only after demolition is complete, you must fund demolition until then. Include the agreed invoice payment window in your calculation. Money invoiced is money you are still waiting for.

Keep a second column for the homeowner's position: what work or documented purchases support the amount paid so far? That catches a schedule that solves your cash problem by putting too much unfinished work on the client.

A sample kitchen milestone list

The following example assumes a fictional id="root"20,000 contract total, including applicable tax. It excludes separately approved changes. Use the amounts only to understand the shape; rebuild them around your scope, supplier terms, and local requirements.

This leaves $24,000 unpaid when the cabinets are set and $6,000 unpaid after substantial completion. Those balances are consequences of this example, not recommended holdbacks for every kitchen.

Some projects need a separate countertop milestone or a documented procurement payment. Include it if it reflects a real commitment. Rebalance the other draws so the total still equals the contract price.

Write conditions a homeowner can recognize

“Rough-in: $30,000” leaves too much room for disagreement. Name the work, the inspection condition, and any exclusions. A room with open walls can look unfinished even when a major phase is complete. Explain what the client will see.

Likewise, cabinets delivered and cabinets set are different events. If payment is tied to delivery, say where delivery happens and what documentation confirms it. If it is tied to installation, a warehouse receipt does not satisfy the milestone.

Here is wording to adapt for the sample rough-in draw:

Rough-in payment: $30,000. This payment is invoiced when the plumbing, electrical, and framing rough work listed in the scope is complete and the required rough inspections for that work have passed. The invoice will identify the completed work and include available inspection confirmation. Payment is due within five business days of receipt. Drywall, cabinets, countertops, and finish fixtures belong to later milestones.

The five-day window is an example term to agree on, not a legal default. Specify invoice delivery, accepted payment methods, and how the client raises a disputed item. Have any late-payment or work-suspension language reviewed for your jurisdiction.

PikeBuild can put the schedule on the agreement and send an invoice to the client portal. It does not charge the client's card or collect the homeowner payment. Sending an invoice and receiving money remain separate events.

Explain what happens after the deposit

A paid deposit does not tell a homeowner when to empty the cabinets. Your remodel lead time needs its own explanation: what is being ordered, what must arrive before demolition, and when you will confirm the start.

In a March 2024 r/Remodel discussion, a homeowner had paid 35% and asked when work would begin. A contractor replied that they give an estimated start date when signing and taking the deposit. The useful lesson is to communicate the date and its conditions together. Read the deposit and start-date discussion.

Use a message like this:

Your deposit funds the cabinet order and the initial purchases listed in the agreement. Our proposed site start is October 26, subject to the stated permit and delivery conditions. I will confirm the delivery status and site start with you on October 12. Please keep the kitchen in use until we agree on the clear-out date.

Those dates are examples. Replace them with dates you can stand behind. If a delivery changes, explain the effect on the start date and the next payment. Do not let an estimated date quietly become an invoice trigger.

When the client refuses a deposit

Find out what they are refusing. They may object to paying months ahead, an unexplained percentage, or materials they cannot see. Answer the specific concern with the purchase list and timing.

In an August 2024 r/Contractor thread, a builder requested a 30% material deposit. The homeowner wanted materials on site before paying. Replies argued that the contractor should hold their terms rather than finance the purchase. Read the material-deposit discussion.

In another thread about a homeowner refusing a deposit, commenters explicitly advised walking away, including when the deposit was needed for materials. That was advice about a particular disputed job, not proof that every client who questions a deposit will fail to pay. Read the refusal discussion.

If you are buying materials and cannot agree on acceptable funding terms, decline before ordering. You can be firm without accusing the client:

I understand that you want to see the materials before paying. This scope requires me to place the listed orders before delivery, and I require the agreed material payment before purchasing them. If those terms do not work for you, I will decline the project.

Keep extra work out of the next draw

Decide how to charge for extra work before demolition exposes anything unexpected. An existing milestone payment should not become a surprise bill for a scope change.

Write down the added work, price, schedule effect, and payment timing. Get the required approval before proceeding with the added scope. Washington L&I advises documenting changes in writing and avoiding verbal amendments. L&I's contract guidance.

For example, a hypothetical $2,400 approved change raises the sample contract from id="root"20,000 to id="root"22,400. State whether that change is paid separately or added to a named draw. Update the balance so the client can reconcile the original price, approved changes, payments received, and amount remaining.

Make the last check specific

Define substantial completion in the agreement. For a kitchen, spell out the functions and work that must be ready, along with required inspection conditions. Do not use “mostly done” as the payment trigger.

Keep the punch list finite and visible. “Finish trim” is vague. “Fit the missing filler beside the refrigerator” gives both sides something to inspect. Record the item, who will fix it, and the agreed return date.

Separate unfinished original work from a new request. A missing agreed handle belongs on the punch list. A request to replace the selected handles with a different style needs a change discussion.

Before the final invoice, reconcile the balance and deliver the agreed closeout documents. For Washington projects, L&I advises requesting lien releases from major subcontractors and suppliers before final payment; use appropriate local guidance for your job. L&I's closeout guidance.

Sources

The dollar amounts and sample percentages in the worked kitchen schedule are invented solely for the example. They are not price estimates, survey findings, or legal limits. The Seattle 45/45/10 account comes from PikeBuild's supplied editorial research; its original thread was not independently verified.

• Washington L&I: Hire Smart Step-by-Step - payment milestones, written changes, and closeout guidance.
• r/Remodel: Payment Schedule - the 50/20/20/10 proposal and alternative arrangements.
• r/Contractor: What is your payment schedule for renovations? - individual contractor schedules and disagreements.
• r/Remodel: Deposit paid, when does work start? - the homeowner's reported 35% deposit and start-date discussion.
• r/Contractor: Customer payment - the reported 30% material deposit and objection to paying before delivery.
• r/Contractor: Homeowner won't pay deposit, should I walk? - commenters' advice to decline.

Try putting your next job's payment schedule into an agreement in the PikeBuild trial.