Moment 3 of 7
Stages
What done means, agreed before the work starts.
Traditional stage payments are often described only by a date or a broad label:
First fix complete: £18,000
The builder may understand exactly what first fix means. The customer may see unfinished rooms, loose cables and bare walls. Both can be looking at the same work and using the word complete differently.
The milestone exists to define the answer before payment pressure arises.
Guides for this moment
- Both sidesGuideWho decides when a stage of building work is complete?The builder says first fix is complete.Read the guide
- For buildersGuideHow to create payment milestones customers can understandA payment schedule can look perfectly clear to the contractor who wrote it and still be almost meaningless to the customer.Read the guide
- Both sidesScenarioFirst fix looks unfinished. Has the milestone been reached?Priya and Daniel are renovating their ground floor. Their contractor, Lee, submits the electrical first-fix milestone for £4,250.Read the scenario
What the words mean
- Milestone
- A milestone is an agreed stage of a project that connects defined work and completion criteria with relevant evidence, review and a corresponding payment amount or consequence.
What each side does
For homeowners
Having the work done
- Review the stage description and criteria before accepting the project plan.
- Ask what unfamiliar technical terms mean.
- Make required decisions on time.
- Raise known concerns when they arise, not only when payment is requested.
- Link a query to the item concerned.
- Distinguish incomplete work from a preference or later change.
- Respond within the agreed review period.
For builders
Doing the work
- Build milestones around meaningful project stages, not arbitrary invoice dates.
- Avoid very large milestones whose value cannot be separated if one item is questioned.
- State what is included and what is not.
- Set proportionate evidence requirements.
- Record changes that alter the criteria, scope, value or timing.
- Submit the milestone with relevant evidence and a clear summary.
- Respond to queries against the specific criterion or item.
Assurr’s part in this
What Assurr does
- connects work, criteria, evidence, decisions and payment state;
- preserves the agreed version;
- shows both parties the same underlying record;
- supports structured review and query states;
- records the resulting chronology.
What Assurr doesn’t do
- choose the correct technical criteria for every project without review;
- inspect the physical work;
- certify quality or Building Regulations compliance;
- replace an architect, engineer, quantity surveyor or contract administrator;
- guarantee payment or completion.