The story behind PhaseContract
I built PhaseContract so contractors could collect
before carrying the work.
I went into the trades to do real work. Instead, I kept paying for materials and labor before client money arrived. PhaseContract is the payment management I needed on my own jobs.
How it started
I went into the trades to escape bureaucracy. Then I became the bank.
I started in computer science, moved into mechatronics engineering, and took an engineering job because I wanted to build useful things. Too much of the work became meetings and process. I left for small general contracting and handyman work, mostly by myself, where I could use my hands and my head on something real.
The work was good. The deal underneath it was not. Materials, payroll, and subs were paid before client money arrived. Some invoices then dragged for months through texts, calls, and another promise about next Friday. I got stiffed outright a couple of times, and a mechanics lien could cost more than the small job was worth.
Late payment hurt, but it was not the whole problem. If the contract said I carried the phase and billed afterward, an on-time client still left me financing the job. I stopped hunting for a better invoice app and started building a way for the client to approve the full payment schedule before the job begins.
August 2023. This is the job where the idea finally stopped feeling theoretical. The client moved the next day and never paid. I had finished the work and still had to fight for the money. I did not want to sell the next job that way.
The loop I kept living
I could do everything right on the work and still lose on the deal.
I'd buy the materials, cover the work, and finish clean before the client money arrived.
Even when the client followed the terms, my business had already carried the phase.
Send the invoice. Follow up. Wait. Then start the next job while the last one was still sitting on my balance sheet.
It was not just my business
Houzz reports nearly 35% of builders and remodelers have bills due before client money arrives on half or more of their projects.
That told me the problem was not one difficult client. A contract can require the contractor to spend first and collect later on job after job.
Read the Houzz reportThe conclusion
Fix the payment order before you fix the invoice.
Traditional trade invoicing asks the contractor to carry the work and start the payment conversation afterward. PhaseContract puts the payment schedule in the approved job. Credit Card payment collects when the work phase starts. Bank Transfer work starts after the transfer clears. The invoice records the payment that already happened.
The strongest fit is project work already sold with a deposit and visible stages. It should be a job the crew returns to, not a one-visit service call.
The work creates the record. You don't recreate it later.
So that’s what I built: Smart Milestone Contracts, with individual pre-funded work phases and collection built into the job. Describe the job, split the price into deposits and work phases, and send one link. The client approves the full schedule and payment method. You collect before each phase starts, then close the phase after the work is reviewed.
What I won't compromise on
These aren't slogans. They're the rules I build by.
Agree on the work and payment schedule first
The client should see the scope, full price, deposits, and work phases before the crew starts. Questions are cheaper to answer before materials are ordered.
Make it work on the phone at the job site
A contractor should be able to set up the job, collect payment, and update the client without spending the night rebuilding the day at a desk.
Show both sides what happens next
The contractor sees what is paid before starting the phase. The client sees what the payment covers and can review the finished work in the same job.
Why I keep building it
People who do real work should not have to bankroll it too.
The client should approve the job, payment schedule, and payment method before work starts. You should collect each agreed payment in one click, without creating or sending another invoice first. And your client should be able to see what that payment covers in the shared job workspace.
"I built the thing I needed on a job site: agree on the money before the work gets messy, then keep the whole job in one place."
Read Michael’s practical guides to payment schedules and collection.
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