Deposit & Milestone Schedule — Notion or Excel payment triggers
By Nydaymuse · Updated
What belongs in a deposit & milestone schedule?
Projects with deposit %, milestone invoice points tied to events, deposit clear dates, and acceptance rules so invoices fire on triggers — not vibes.
Freelancers lose weeks when deposits are vague and milestone invoices wait on “vibes.” A calm schedule desk beats another full CRM SaaS.
Pier is Nydaymuse’s $12 dual-format deposit & milestone schedule: Projects, Milestones, Deposits, and Payment_Triggers as Notion CSVs and as an Excel / Sheets workbook (README, Dashboard, Projects, Milestones, Deposits, Triggers, Week_Review). Pick one.
Why schedule money before the calendar
Quill tracks proposal won/lost. Harbor is retainer hours-bank. Pier is the dual-format payment schedule: deposit % and milestone triggers with acceptance rules.
Pair with Lane, Quill, Harbor, free Slip, and Kickoff.
Write triggers in plain language
Good triggers name an event (“Concept sign-off”, “Launch live”) plus an acceptance rule (written email, silence days). Keep them independent from mood.
Do not start unpaid work
If Deposits stay Draft on Active projects, pause the start date. Week_Review asks you to catch Sent milestones that went quiet.
Pier — dual Notion + Excel pack ($12)
Pier is buy-once, English, no support. Notion CSVs (Projects, Milestones, Deposits, Payment_Triggers) plus an Excel / Sheets workbook. Fictional SAMPLE rows — delete and replace. Not Cue, Bound, or Pitch. Not legal advice.
Frequently asked questions
Should I use Notion and Excel at the same time?
No. Pick one home base. Pier includes both formats so you can choose.
Is Pier a live Notion duplicate link?
No. You import CSVs (or rebuild from the outline).
How is Pier different from Harbor or Quill?
Harbor is retainer hours-bank. Quill tracks proposal won/lost. Pier is the dual-format deposit + milestone invoice schedule.