Bill clients incrementally as work progresses. Tie invoices directly to estimates, track how much has been billed, and always know exactly what remains on any project.
Try It FreeSending a single invoice at the end of a long project is a cash flow problem waiting to happen. Sending invoices with no link to the original estimate creates confusion for your client and for your books. Progress Invoicing solves both problems: you bill in stages tied to an estimate, and Kantivo tracks exactly where you stand at every point in the project.
Each progress invoice references the original estimate. Kantivo calculates the cumulative amount billed, shows the remaining balance, and gives both you and your client a clear picture of what has been invoiced and what is still to come. Whether you bill by milestone, by percentage of completion, or on a fixed monthly draw, the system handles it cleanly.
Build a detailed estimate for the project with line items, quantities, and pricing. This becomes the baseline all progress invoices are measured against.
Create a progress invoice from the estimate. Enter the percentage or dollar amount to bill for this stage. Kantivo calculates the invoice total automatically.
The estimate view shows a real-time progress bar: total estimate amount, cumulative invoiced, and remaining balance. No manual math required.
When the project wraps up, send the final progress invoice for the remaining balance. Kantivo confirms the total equals the estimate so nothing is left unbilled.
Bill any percentage of the estimate total on each invoice. You are not locked into equal installments -- bill whatever percentage reflects actual work completed.
Always know where a project stands without opening a spreadsheet. Kantivo tracks the numbers cumulatively across all progress invoices tied to an estimate.
Construction contracts and large project agreements often require a holdback percentage that is released at project completion. Kantivo handles retainage natively.
Every progress invoice tied to an estimate is listed in a complete billing history. You have a full audit trail without searching through your invoice list.
Progress Invoicing is most commonly used in construction, general contracting, home improvement, software development, consulting engagements, and any service business where work is delivered over a period of weeks or months. If you send an estimate before starting work and the client expects to be billed as you go, Progress Invoicing is the right tool for that workflow.
For construction specifically, retainage is standard practice -- typically 5% to 10% of each draw is held back until final completion. Kantivo handles this automatically so you never have to calculate retainage manually or track it in a separate spreadsheet. The retainage balance accumulates as invoices are sent and is released on the final invoice when the project is closed out.
Every progress invoice posts to your income accounts and updates your accounts receivable balance just like a standard invoice. The connection to the estimate does not complicate your bookkeeping -- it simply adds the tracking layer on top of it. Your income is recognized correctly as each invoice is created, and your receivable balance accurately reflects what has been billed but not yet collected at any point during the project.
Estimates can be in any status when you create a progress invoice from them. However, best practice is to have the client accept the estimate before you begin invoicing against it. This ensures you have a clear agreement on the project scope and total amount before billing begins.
Kantivo prevents progress invoices from being created that would cause the cumulative billed amount to exceed the original estimate total. If the scope of work has changed and the estimate needs to increase, update the estimate first and then create the additional progress invoice against the revised total.
Retainage is a holdback clause common in construction and large project contracts where the client withholds a percentage of each payment (typically 5% to 10%) until the work is substantially complete and accepted. If your contracts include a retainage clause, enable retainage on the estimate and Kantivo will automatically withhold the configured percentage from each progress invoice and track the accumulated holdback balance separately.
If the project scope expands, update the estimate total to reflect the change order amount. Kantivo recalculates the remaining balance across all existing progress invoices, so you can see exactly how much is still available to bill on the revised estimate. You can then create additional progress invoices for the change order work alongside the original scope.
Progress Invoicing is built around estimates as the baseline document. If you do not use estimates, the standard invoice workflow is available for one-time billing. For recurring draws where you want percentage-based tracking and a clear billing history, creating an estimate first is the recommended approach and gives you access to all the tracking features.
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