Describing an Upfront Cost in an Invoice Description?

My client and I have agreed to 2 payments. One is due right after signing the contract (due 7 days after) and another when the product is completed.

I'm currently drafting the invoice for the first payment. My question is, how should I describe the service / charge for that first payment? Would "Upfront Cost" sound correct? Or are there better terms? Thank you!

Finance Payments Invoice

asked May 9 '13 at 11:12

Cloudy Days
18 points

Get up to $750K in working capital to finance your business: Clarify Capital Business Loans

Actually now that I think about it, how would "Upfront Development Charge" sound, if I'm doing development work? – Cloudy Days 11 years ago

2 Answers

I would go with Project Commencement

answered May 9 '13 at 13:59

Joel Friedlaender
5,007 points

That or "deposit" are fine. – David Benson 11 years ago
Personally, I'd avoid the term "deposit", as deposits are often refundable, which is probably not what's required here. – Steve Jones 11 years ago
Thanks Joel that seems to make sense. I also agree with David, the term "deposit" does feel a bit off, but thanks anyways Steve. – Cloudy Days 11 years ago

I typically write a bit of a description on our invoices, here is something short to consider:

Payment 1 of 2 - Due within 7 days of the contract execution for X, Y, Z. Payment 2 of 2 to be sent upon project completion and client acceptance.

When I do a project that is just 2 payments it is usually pretty small so I typically have the 2nd payment due upon client acceptance but prior to launching it live to the world.

answered May 10 '13 at 11:18

Ryan Doom
5,472 points

Thanks for the help Ryan. Yeah I usually have a "sub-description" if that makes any sense, where I explain more details. This was more of an OCD "find the right term" type of thing, which was bugging me. Appreciate the help though! – Cloudy Days 11 years ago