Invoicing for Design Studios: Deposits, Stage Payments and Retainers

Design studio invoicing works best when it follows the project: a deposit before work, a payment at concepts, the balance at final artwork, plus extra rounds and licensing as their own lines. Tell Mythex how your studio charges and it builds an invoicing app with clients, stages, retainers and a paid and unpaid list, instead of a document you rebuild every week.

Who it's for

Studios billing identity, packaging and art direction projects in stages, studios with monthly retainers, and anyone tired of copying last month's invoice and editing the numbers by hand.

What you can build

Deposit, concept and final-artwork invoices as a share of the fee
Extra revision rounds billed at an agreed rate
Monthly retainer invoices with hours used and remaining
Licensing or usage fees on a separate line
Tax and currency per client
An unpaid list sorted by days overdue

Bill by stage, not at the end

Set each project's stages with a percentage of the fee, for example 40% deposit, 30% at concepts and 30% at final artwork. When you mark a stage approved, the app drafts that invoice. Cash comes in as the work happens, and the last payment is tied to handover of editable files.

Percentages per stage
Invoice drafted on approval
Final payment before handover

Retainers that show their hours

For retainer clients, invoice the monthly fee and show hours used and remaining on each invoice. Clients who see they used 22 of 20 hours accept an overage line far more easily than a surprise at year end.

Keep licensing separate

Usage rights and licensing fees are different from design fees and often renew. Put them on their own line with the territory and term, and add a renewal date so you invoice again when the licence comes up.

Mistakes to avoid

Do not release final files before the final invoice is paid. Do not lump extra rounds into 'additional work' with no detail; name the round and the date. And record which quote each invoice belongs to, so a client can match them without asking you.

A prompt to start from

Build an invoicing app for my design studio. Each client has projects with a fee and stages (deposit 40%, concepts 30%, final artwork 30%); marking a stage approved drafts that invoice. Add extra revision rounds at a set rate, monthly retainer invoices showing hours used and remaining, licensing fees as separate lines with a renewal date, and a list of unpaid invoices by days overdue.

Questions

Can I invoice by project stage?

Yes. Set stages on the project with a percentage each, and ask for an invoice to be drafted when a stage is approved.

Can clients pay invoices online?

Yes, through a payment provider you connect with your own account, such as Stripe. Each invoice gets a pay link and is marked paid when the payment arrives.

Can it handle different currencies and tax rates?

Yes. Store currency and tax rate per client and the invoice uses them. Check the invoicing and tax rules where you operate for what must appear on an invoice.

Can it send invoices by email?

It can produce the invoice and a link to it. Sending emails from the app needs an email service you connect with your own account.

What does it cost?

You can build and publish on the Free plan with no card. Pro is $25/month and adds a custom domain, code editing and export.

Templates to start from

Editorial Studio Site Template — Side-scroll gallery with estimator
Dark Design Portfolio Template — Masonry grid with admin dashboard
Fintech Payments Site Template — Tiered pricing, blog, animations
Plumbing Business Site Template — Quote calculator with lead dashboard
AI Trip Planner Template — Chat itineraries with billing-ready UI
Wellness Studio Website Template — Practitioner directory with live search
Yoga Studio Website Template — Editorial grids with coach profiles
Invoice Generator Template — Canvas invoicing with PDF export