Progress Invoicing Updated January 12, 2026 18:28

Overview

Progress invoicing in Jobber allows you to break a job into multiple invoices, helping you get paid incrementally as work is completed. By setting up a payment schedule during either the quoting or job stage, you can outline clear payment expectations for your clients—whether that’s a simple deposit or a detailed schedule of payments tied to project milestones. As the job progresses, Jobber makes it easy to generate invoices at each stage, ensuring your billing stays on track and your cash flow remains healthy.

Create a payment schedule on a quote

To set clear expectations with your client, you can include a payment schedule directly on the quote. A payment schedule breaks the total cost into multiple invoices using either percentages or fixed amounts, helping your client understand how much they'll pay at each stage of the project.

Payment schedules must be added during the quoting stage. This ensures the schedule carries forward as the work moves from quote to job to invoice, keeping billing aligned throughout the entire project.

To create a payment schedule on a quote:

1. Start by creating a quote. 
2. From the total section, select Add Deposit or Payment Schedule.
3. Select if you'd like to set up a deposit only or payment schedule. 

To collect a deposit on the quote only:

1. Select the Deposit only option to collect a one-time, upfront payment upon quote approval. 
2.  Chose how to calculate the deposit. The options are:
   • Percentage (%): Enter the percentage of the quote total you'd like to collect as a deposit (for example, 25%).
   • Fixed Amount ($): Switch to the Fixed Amount tab and enter a specific dollar amount to collect as a deposit (for example, $300).
3. Click Save to confirm.

To set up a payment schedule on the quote:

1. Select the Payment schedule option to split the total into multiple payments collected over time.
2. Choose how to divide payments: Select either Percentage % or Fixed Amount $. 
3. Enter each payment:
   • In the Amount field, enter the payment amount. 
     • Check Required quote deposit on the first payment if you want to collect part of the payment up front when the quote is approved.
   • Add a Description for each payment (For example, Payment 1, Final Payment).
4. To add more payment installments, select + Add Invoice.
5. Ensure the total of all installments equals 100% or matches the full quote amount. 
6. Select Save to apply the payment schedule to your quote. 

Once saved, the payment schedule or deposit you set up will be visible on the quote.

Once your quote is finished, you can either send it your client so they can review and approve the quoted work, or if you already know this work will be moving forward, convert it to a job. 

Create a payment schedule on a job

If you don't create quotes as part of your workflow, you can create a payment schedule directly from a one-off job, without requiring a quote first. 

To set up a payment schedule on a one-off job:

1. Navigate to the job you'd like to create a payment schedule for. Make sure this job is a one-off job and not recurring.
2. Scroll down to the Invoicing section.
3. Select the checkbox for Split into multiple invoices with a payment schedule.
4. Choose how to divide payments: Select either Percentage % or Fixed Amount $. 
5. Enter each payment:
   • In the Amount field, enter the payment amount.
   • Add a Description for each payment (For example, Payment 1, Final Payment).
6. (Optional)To add more payment installments, select + Add Invoice to Payment Schedule. 
7. Ensure the total of all installments equals 100% or matches the full job amount, then select Save to apply the payment schedule to your job.

This will give you full flexibility to invoice for the job as the work progresses, even without a quote.

Track the payment schedule on the job 

When a job has a payment schedule—whether it was set up directly on the job or carried over from a quote with a deposit or payment schedule—you’ll see the schedule and details for each progress invoice in the Invoices section of the job. Learn more about the sections of a job.

There is a progress bar that shows which invoices from this job are:

• Paid (displayed in green)
• Awaiting Payment (displayed in yellow)
• Draft (displayed in dark grey)
• Remaining (displayed in light grey)

Below the progress bar is a breakdown of the upcoming progress invoices for this job, including:

• the invoice due date
• Invoice status
• Percentage of the job total
  Note: The percentage only shows when you've split payments as a percentage and not a fixed dollar amount.  
• Description
• Total
• Balance

For each payment towards the work, select Create to create an invoice. The due date and status columns will be filled in once an invoice is issued.

Edit a payment schedule or progress invoice

Progress invoices are tied directly to your job’s payment schedule so that what your billing always matches the work and totals on the job. For this reason, line item amounts on progress invoices can’t be edited directly. Instead, you'll need to update the job's pricing and then make the necessary adjustments to the payment schedule.

To edit a progress invoice, follow these steps:

1. Open the job connected to the progress invoice.
2. Go to the products and services section of the job and edit the line items to reflect the new pricing or scope of work. For example, if the cost of a service increases, edit that line item on the job.
3. Once your line items are updated, go to the Invoices section on the job and open the Billing tab.
4. In the Payment Schedule, upcoming payments will need be updated to reflect the new job total. Edit the % or $ column to change the amount of the upcoming payments. Use the "remainder of job total" line for reference when entering the % or dollar amount for the new invoice. If you need to add a new installment to your payment schedule, click Add Invoice to Payment Schedule. 

5. Generate and send the updated progress invoice to your client.

Generate invoices from your payment schedule

To create an invoice from a payment schedule: 

1. Navigate to the job that has a payment schedule set up.
2. Scroll down to the "Invoices" section on the job. 
3. From the "Payment Schedule" tab, locate the next payment and select Generate.
4. Review the draft invoice and make any changes necessary. 
5. Select Save Invoice. 

Invoices created from a payment schedule will automatically have the scheduled amount filled in so you don't have to do any guesswork or calculations. If you need to make changes to the payment schedule, edit the line items on the job.

Note: To keep your invoices aligned with the payment schedule, line item amount cannot be edited on progress invoices.

Each invoice will have the progress invoice number automatically added to the subject line. This can be edited while editing the invoice.

What do your clients see?

Once it's been sent, or marked as awaiting response, your client will see their quote in client hub. Once your client has been issued an invoice, they will see the invoice in client hub as well. 

Each progress invoice shows just the portion of the job being billed at that stage. For every line item, clients will see columns for:

• Item Total: which is the full cost for that product or service
• Due This Invoice: which is the installment amount they owe now.

This helps them clearly understand both the overall value of the work and the amount they’re responsible for at this point in the schedule.

Towards the bottom of the invoice, you clients will see the payment schedule for this work including:

• the payment status
• the % of the job the invoice represents
• the description for each payment
• the payment total for each payment

If you have Jobber Payments set up, your clients will be able to make payments in client hub, including the initial deposit payment and future invoice payments. 

Learn more about 
what your clients see in client hub

Can I adjust the payment schedule during a job?

Yes! If a job was created from a quote with a payment schedule, that schedule will appear in the job’s "Invoices" section.

You can update the payment schedule to reflect changes—such as modifications to the scope of work or adjustments to how the total job amount is split—ensuring the payment plan stays accurate and aligned with the work being done.

Learn how to edit a payment schedule

Do I need to use a payment schedule for every job?

You only need to use a payment schedule on your jobs if you are planning on invoicing progressively. If you are invoicing in full at the end of a job, you can still use a single invoice without a payment schedule.

Where can my clients see their payment schedule

The full payment schedule is shown on the quote where it was originally set up. When you send progress invoices, each one will reflect only the current payment due—it won’t list future scheduled payments. If your client wants to review the full schedule, they can return to the original quote in client hub at any time to see all upcoming payments.