Milestone Agreements

Milestones let you break a payment into stages. Instead of holding the full amount until the entire job is done, each milestone has its own USDC amount and is approved independently.

When to use milestones

• Multi-phase projects — design, development, launch
• Ongoing work — monthly deliverables with separate payouts
• High-value deals — reduce risk by paying in increments
• Trust-building — a new working relationship where both sides want checkpoints

How it works

Creating a milestone agreement

1. Start creating a new Escrow agreement as usual
2. Toggle Use milestones in the creation form
3. Add milestones — each one needs a title and USDC amount
4. The total of all milestones equals the total escrow amount
5. Fund the agreement — the full amount is deposited upfront into escrow

Approving milestones

Each milestone is approved separately. When the approval threshold is met for a specific milestone:

• That milestone’s USDC is released to the recipient immediately
• Remaining milestones stay in escrow, untouched
• The agreement stays Active until all milestones are complete

Example

A $3,000 web design project split into three milestones:

The payer deposits the full $3,000 USDC upfront. As each deliverable is completed and approved, that milestone’s funds release automatically.

Cancellation with milestones

If a milestone agreement is cancelled:

• Approved milestones — already paid out, those funds stay with the recipient
• Remaining milestones — refunded to the payer

This protects both parties: the recipient keeps what they’ve earned, and the payer gets back what hasn’t been delivered.

Plan limits

Tips

• Name your milestones clearly — “Phase 1” is vague; “Homepage wireframe with responsive mockup” is specific
• Front-load smaller amounts — build trust with a smaller first milestone before larger payouts
• Match milestones to deliverables — each milestone should correspond to something concrete the recipient can deliver and the payer can verify