MonkeeTools

Blog · Guide cluster

Client billing

Billing is not just paperwork after the work. It is how you structure the work itself: when money changes hands, in what chunks, and what happens if a project stalls. This cluster covers deposits, milestones, and retainers, the three structures that turn client relationships from anxious hope into working agreements. Bill with the private invoice generator: no signup, nothing uploaded.

Figuring out what to charge in the first place? Start with hourly vs fixed-price vs value billing, then read how to set billing expectations with a brand-new client. And when your work outgrows your rate, how to raise your rates without losing clients.

Start here: the cornerstone guide

All guides in this cluster

• Deposits, milestones, and retainers (cornerstone): when to ask for a deposit, how to structure milestones, retainer basics, and copy-paste request language.
• Should you ask for a deposit? How to invoice for one: the mechanics of deposit invoices, step by step, including how the final balance invoice works.
• Hourly vs fixed-price vs value billing: what each pricing model costs you, when each one wins, and how to pick for the project in front of you.
• How to set billing expectations with a new client: the money conversation to have before work starts, with copy-paste language.
• How to raise your rates without losing clients: when you are ready, how much to raise, the email to send, and what to do if they push back.

The other clusters

• Getting paid: payment terms, late fees, and follow-up routines.
• Invoice fundamentals: what an invoice is, what goes on one, numbering, and the tax basics.

← All guides