Paying a tradie upfront is one of the most common ways homeowners lose money on renovation projects. Milestone payments — where you release funds in stages as work is completed — protect you without being unfair to the tradie.
What Are Milestone Payments?
A milestone payment is a portion of the total job cost that's released to the tradie when a defined stage of work is completed and approved by you. Instead of paying $20,000 upfront for a bathroom reno, you might pay $3,000 when demolition is done, $8,000 when plumbing is roughed in, and $9,000 on final completion.
How Escrow Works on Taskova
- You agree on milestones with the tradie before work starts.
- You fund a milestone into Taskova's secure escrow — the tradie can see the funds are ready but can't access them yet.
- The tradie completes the milestone and marks it done.
- You inspect the work and approve the milestone.
- Funds are released to the tradie within 2 business days.
- Repeat for each remaining milestone.
QBCC guidelines recommend deposits should not exceed 10% of the contract price. Be wary of tradies demanding large upfront payments.
Why This Protects You
- You never pay for work that hasn't been done.
- If the tradie abandons the job, unspent milestones are returned to you.
- You have a clear paper trail of what was agreed and what was paid.
- Disputes can be resolved milestone by milestone rather than fighting over the full amount.
- The tradie is incentivised to complete each stage properly before moving on.
Why Tradies Like Milestone Payments Too
Good tradies prefer milestone payments because they know they'll be paid promptly when work is approved. They don't have to chase invoices. The escrow system also proves to the tradie that the client has the funds before work begins — reducing the risk of non-payment.
What Happens in a Dispute?
If you're not satisfied with a milestone and can't resolve it directly with the tradie, Taskova's support team mediates. If that fails, the dispute escalates to the QBCC, which has the authority to direct the tradie to fix defective work. Milestone funds stay in escrow throughout the dispute process.
Never release a milestone payment until you're satisfied with the completed stage. Once funds are released, they can only be recovered through the dispute process.
Start Your Next Project Safely
Post your job on Taskova and use milestone payments for complete peace of mind. Every payment is protected by escrow, every tradie is QBCC-verified, and disputes are resolved with a clear process.