> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.clarely.co/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Payment schedules

> Split what a client owes into multiple payments, each sent automatically or generated by you when it's due.

Want to collect a deposit before you start, or bill a large project in stages instead of one lump sum? Set up a payment schedule on the quote, and Clarely handles the rest.

## How payment schedules work

Every quote has a payment schedule — even a simple one-invoice quote is a schedule with a single payment on it. When you build a quote, choose one of three setups:

* **Single invoice** — the whole amount, billed once.
* **Deposit + balance** — a percentage or fixed amount due when the client signs, the rest due later.
* **Custom** — any number of payments, each with its own amount and its own timing.

## Setting up a payment schedule

<Steps>
  <Step title="Open the payment schedule section">
    While building a quote, open **Payment schedule**.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Choose a setup">
    Pick Single invoice, Deposit + balance, or Custom.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Set each payment">
    For each payment, set the amount — a percentage of the total or a fixed dollar amount — and choose when it's due:

    * **When the client signs** — Clarely creates and sends this invoice automatically the moment your client accepts the quote.
    * **When you're ready** — you generate and send this invoice yourself, whenever the work reaches that point.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Save and send">
    Save the quote and send it. Your client sees the full payment schedule before they sign, so there are no surprises about when money is due.
  </Step>
</Steps>

## What happens when the client signs

The moment your client signs, Clarely locks in the exact dollar amount for every payment on the schedule — even the ones set as a percentage. Those amounts never change afterward, no matter what happens to the quote later.

Any payment set to **when the client signs** is invoiced and sent right away. Anything set to **when you're ready** waits for you.

## Generating the rest of the payments

When you're ready to bill the next payment — after a deposit is paid, or when a project phase wraps up — open the quote and tap **Generate invoice** next to that payment. Clarely creates the invoice with the right amount already filled in. Review it and send it like any other invoice.

## A simple example

Say you quote a \$2,000 project with a 30% deposit and the rest due on completion:

* **Deposit — 30% (\$600), due when the client signs.** Sent automatically the moment they sign.
* **Balance — 70% (\$1,400), due when you're ready.** You generate and send this once the work is done.

For a bigger project, break it into three or four payments tied to project phases instead of a deposit and a balance — the setup works the same way, just with more rows.

## What to do next

Head to [Create a quote](/quotes/create-quote) to build your first quote with a payment schedule, or read [Generate an invoice](/invoices/generate-invoice) to see what happens once a payment is ready to bill.