Mainframe Creative
← Studio
← Freelancer support

Playbook

Contracts & getting paid

Protect your work and your cash flow.

Field guide

Minimum viable agreement

Scope reference, payment schedule, IP transfer on final payment, kill fee, and revision limits. Plain English beats legalese for most freelance builds.

Invoice follow-up ladder

Day 0: invoice sent · Day 3: friendly reminder · Day 7: work pause notice · Day 14: formal overdue + timeline impact.

Contract clause

Payment terms: Net 7. Work may pause if invoices are 7+ days overdue. Late payments may shift project timeline.

Drop-in assets

Copy, download, ship

Every asset exports as plain text, a Word document, or a PDF — no markdown files required.

Drop-in asset

Milestone Payment Schedule Framework

50/25/25 vs 33/33/34 breakdown with pause clauses.

Downloads as TXT, Word, or PDF — ready to edit and send.

Milestone Payment Schedule Framework

Pick a pattern that matches risk — never start without a deposit.

Pattern A — 50 / 25 / 25 (high trust, medium complexity)
Milestone · Trigger · %

Deposit · Contract signed · 50%
Midpoint · Design approved + dev 50% · 25%
Launch · Staging approved → production · 25%

Pattern B — 33 / 33 / 34 (lower deposit, more checkpoints)
Milestone · Trigger · %

Kickoff · Contract signed · 33%
Build complete · Staging ready for review · 33%
Launch · Production live + handoff · 34%

Pattern C — Discovery + build (vague requirements)
Phase · Deliverable · Fee

Discovery Sprint · Scope doc + fixed proposal · Fixed (often 15–25% of est. build)
Build · Per signed scope · Milestones above

Pause clause: Work pauses if any milestone is 7+ days overdue. Staging access may be revoked until current invoice clears.