Payment Schedule Builder
A payment schedule breaks a construction contract's total price into installments tied to project milestones — deposit, rough-in, drywall, substantial completion — instead of one lump sum collected up front. This tool builds one for any remodel, checks the deposit against your state's statutory deposit cap where one exists, flags a too-small final payment or a front-loaded phase, and exports the result as a printable schedule, a CSV, or ready-to-paste contract language.
How it works
- Enter the contract total and select the project's state.
- Pick a project-type preset (kitchen, bath, whole-home, addition, roof) to seed a sensible milestone list — or start from Custom and build your own.
- Edit any row's label, switch it between % and $, add or remove milestones, and reorder them to match your actual scope of work.
- Watch the live checks: the first payment is checked against your state's statutory deposit cap, percentages must land on 100%, and the tool flags a too-small final payment or any single phase over 40% of the contract.
- Export the finished schedule — print a clean one-page copy, download a CSV, or copy ready-to-paste contract clause language.
| Phase | Milestone | % | Amount | Running total |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Deposit (due at signing) | 10% | $5,000 | $5,000 |
| 2 | Demolition complete | 15% | $7,500 | $12,500 |
| 3 | Rough-in inspections passed (plumbing / electrical / HVAC) | 20% | $10,000 | $22,500 |
| 4 | Drywall complete | 15% | $7,500 | $30,000 |
| 5 | Cabinets & countertops installed | 20% | $10,000 | $40,000 |
| 6 | Finishes & fixtures installed | 15% | $7,500 | $47,500 |
| 7 | Final walkthrough / substantial completion | 5% | $2,500 | $50,000 |
Build your schedule
Numbers stay in your browser — nothing is uploaded or saved.
Switching presets replaces the milestone list below.
Payment Schedule
| # | Milestone / trigger | Payment | Amount | Running total |
|---|
The first row is treated as the deposit — the payment collected at or before signing — for state deposit-cap checking.
FAQ
What's a typical deposit percentage for a home improvement contract?
Most contractors collect 10–33% at signing, depending on state law and project size. The ceiling depends on your state — several states cap it by statute (10% or $1,000, or one-third of the contract, are the common rules); most states set no numeric cap at all, but a large deposit still raises cancellation and licensing-board complaint risk.
Which states actually cap contractor deposits by law?
This tool encodes verified statutory caps for California, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Nevada, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Tennessee (see Sources below). Most other states set no specific numeric cap on general home-improvement deposits, though broader consumer-protection law can still apply. Always confirm the current rule with your state contractor licensing board.
Should a payment schedule be tied to milestones or calendar dates?
Milestones — deposit, rough-in passed, drywall, substantial completion — protect both sides better than fixed calendar dates. A milestone schedule ties payment to verifiable progress, survives delays without a change order, and is what most home-improvement statutes and construction attorneys recommend.
What happens if the final payment is too small?
A final payment under roughly 5% of the contract gives the contractor little leverage to get the customer back for punch-list items. Most experienced contractors hold 5–10% of the contract until substantial completion and a final walkthrough sign-off.
Can I use this schedule as my actual contract language?
Yes — the "Copy as contract clause" button generates plain-text schedule-of-payments language you can paste into your contract template. Always have your attorney review the finished contract, and use payment phases tied to a signed agreement so every invoice is enforceable job to job.
Sources
Every statutory deposit cap encoded in this tool was verified against the cited primary source below before publication. States not listed set no specific statutory cap on general home-improvement deposits, based on the research available at the time of writing.
- California — Cal. Bus. & Prof. Code § 7159.5(a)(3): downpayment may not exceed $1,000 or 10% of the contract amount, whichever is less. leginfo.legislature.ca.gov
- Maryland — Md. Code, Business Regulation § 8-617(b): a deposit may not exceed one-third of the home improvement contract price before or at execution. mgaleg.maryland.gov
- Massachusetts — M.G.L. c. 142A, § 2(a)(6): a deposit may not exceed the greater of one-third of the contract price or the actual cost of special-order materials. malegislature.gov
- Maine — 10 M.R.S. § 1487(5): the initial down payment is limited to no more than one-third of the total contract price. legislature.maine.gov
- Ohio — Ohio Rev. Code § 4722.04: a home construction service supplier may take a down payment of not more than 10% of the contract price before work begins. codes.ohio.gov
- Pennsylvania — 73 P.S. § 517.7(a) (Home Improvement Consumer Protection Act): for contracts over $5,000, a deposit may not exceed one-third of the contract price. PA Office of Attorney General (PDF)
- Tennessee — Tenn. Code Ann. § 62-6-510: a deposit of more than one-third of the contract price is prohibited unless the contractor furnishes a qualifying performance and payment bond. Tenn. Code Ann. § 62-6-510 (Justia)
- Nevada — Nev. Rev. Stat. § 624.970(2)(g) (added by 2023 A.B. 39): initial deposit on work concerning a completed single-family residence may not exceed $1,000 or 10% of the aggregate contract price, whichever is less (waived with a $100,000 consumer-protection bond). A parallel cap for residential pool/spa contracts sits in NRS 624.940(2)(g). leg.state.nv.us, NRS Chapter 624
iBuildPro does this on every job
Payment phases live inside the signed contract, each phase invoices automatically on completion, and the system blocks collecting more than the contract allows — no spreadsheet, no manual cap-checking.
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