How to fund a milestone (or an hourly week) on Belancer.

Each milestone must be funded before your freelancer starts it. When it's time, Your next step on the contract page says "Fund milestone … so [freelancer] can start". Choose Fund, confirm, and pay at checkout. The money is held safely as Payment Secured until you approve the submitted work.

Before you start

• The previous milestone is approved, or this is the first one.
• You agree with the next milestone's deliverables and amount. Want changes? Propose them before funding.
• Your payment method is ready, or you have company approval if needed.

Steps

1Open the contract

Go to Orders and open the contract. The top card shows the milestone to fund, its amount and "The freelancer doesn't start until it's funded."

2Choose Fund

Choose Fund with the amount. A dialog shows the milestone, its deliverable and due date.

3Pay at checkout

Choose Paying as (personal or company) and your payment method, then pay. See pay with bKash, Nagad, Rocket or card or pay with card or PayPal.

4Confirm it's funded

Back on the contract, you see "Payment received" and the milestone shows as funded. The freelancer is notified and can start.

5hourly contracts: Fund the week

For hourly work, choose Fund week each week, or turn on automatic funding each Monday. The amount is the rate times the weekly limit; unused money comes back after the timesheet is settled. See hourly contracts and timesheets.

What happens next

The freelancer works on the milestone and submits it. You then Approve & release or Request changes. See approve work or request changes.

Troubleshooting

• "Payment wasn't completed." Nothing was charged. Try again or use another method.
• Funding needs approval. Above your company spend limit, a request goes to your approver; nothing is charged until they approve. See company spend limits.
• I funded the wrong amount. Funding follows the agreed milestone. To change amounts for future milestones, propose a change; for this one, talk to the freelancer and use Report a problem only if you can't agree.
• The freelancer hasn't started. Message them. If they stop responding, see report a problem.

Good to know

• Refunds: if a funded milestone is never started and the contract ends, that money is refunded to you.
• Only the funded milestone is at stake. A problem with one milestone doesn't freeze others.
• Invoices: every payment gets an invoice under Statements & invoices.

Tip: Fund promptly after approving a milestone. Fast funding keeps good freelancers motivated and your project on schedule.

Note: Never send money to a freelancer directly. Only funded milestones are protected by Belancer.