What makes a good service-contract milestone?

The test

“Design 60% complete” fails. The consultant believes it is 60% complete. Your project manager believes it is 40% complete. Both are sincere, neither can be proved wrong, and the invoice is already in the system.

“Stage 2 design package issued for review, comprising drawings X through Y at revision C” passes. Something either was issued or it was not. There is a transmittal. If there is a disagreement about quality, that is a different conversation — and a defined milestone at least lets you have it separately from the payment, which is the entire benefit.

It cannot be fixed later

A vague milestone written into a contract in March will be argued about in September. And the argument will be settled by whoever has more leverage at that moment — which, midway through a professional services engagement whose drawings you still need, is very rarely you.

Which is why the discipline is entirely front-loaded. The five minutes spent making a milestone verifiable at drafting is worth more than any amount of commercial skill applied afterwards.

Language that should stop you

“Substantially complete.” “To the satisfaction of.” “X% complete.” “Progressing well.” Each of these is a disagreement with a payment schedule attached to it.

If a milestone cannot be evidenced by a document, a delivery, a test result or an issued package, ask what exactly is going to be presented when the invoice arrives — and if the answer is a conversation, rewrite the milestone.

Terms

• Certification
• Milestone Billing