Censiq for independent developers
A new integration, user role, migration, or edge case should not enter the sprint as a casual message. Censiq helps you price and approve the change first, then carry deposits, milestones, support retainers, and follow-up through to payment.
Free setup. No credit card required.
Example engagement
Agreement signedNorthstar Labs
Authentication, billing, admin workspace, production launch, and a 30-day handoff period.
Next commercial action
Review and send the $3,600 project deposit invoice.
Project deposit
Due on signature
$3,600
Ready now · M1
Core product build
Due at staging approval
$4,800
Planned · M2
Launch and handoff
Due at production release
$3,600
Planned · M3
Engagement total
$12,000
New features require an approved change order.
Where signed work loses value
Development projects lose margin when commercial decisions live in messages while the original agreement and invoice schedule stay unchanged.
01
A new integration, role, migration, or edge case enters the backlog without a written price or delivery extension.
With Censiq
Turn the request into a signed change order with the added scope, fee, and timeline impact before implementation starts.
02
The technical trigger happened, but billing still depends on recreating amounts and terms from an old document.
With Censiq
Carry every agreed milestone into a connected invoice draft, ready for your review when the event becomes billable.
03
Fixes, monitoring, calls, and new requests blend together after handoff while recurring billing relies on memory.
With Censiq
Define maintenance coverage, limits, response windows, and recurring invoice drafts as a separate retainer.
Signed scope to paid invoice
Each step carries forward the client, deliverable, amount, currency, and approval that made the work billable.
01
Record deliverables, exclusions, milestones, and the boundary between a defect and new scope.
02
The client signs through a private link and the agreed deposit is ready to invoice.
03
Review and send the connected draft when staging, launch, or handoff becomes billable.
04
Price additional work and record its delivery impact before another ticket enters the sprint.
05
Send reminders, verify the direct transfer, confirm payment, and issue the receipt.
Built for independent developers
Give deposits, build approvals, launch, and ongoing support their own clear commercial rules instead of forcing every engagement into one final invoice.
01
What you gain
Make the start condition explicit and give the client one professional payment request tied to the signed scope.
In practice: Example: 30% on signature before repository setup and sprint planning.
02
What you gain
Connect invoices to observable delivery points instead of vague percentages of completion.
In practice: Example: staging approval, production release, and final handoff.
03
What you gain
Keep post-launch support terms separate from the build and make the recurring amount and response window clear.
In practice: Example: $1,500 monthly for monitoring, fixes, and a defined support allowance.
Solve a specific problem
FIELD NOTE
A practical guide to start conditions, deposit percentages, build milestones, and final handover risk.
Fits the way you already work
Your delivery tools
Keep GitHub, Linear, Jira, or your preferred delivery tools for issues, code, and releases. Your client does not need another engineering workspace to understand what they signed and what they owe.
Censiq
Use Censiq for the agreement, payment milestones, invoices, direct bank-transfer details, reminders, confirmation, receipts, and revenue record connected to the engagement.
Your client
Clients use secure private links to review agreements, sign, view current invoices, report a bank transfer, and receive a receipt. They do not need a Censiq account.
Before you start
Clear answers about client access, payments, existing tools, and what happens after signature.
No. Keep code, issues, releases, and technical delivery in the tools your team already uses. Censiq manages the client-facing commercial record: signed scope, milestone billing, approved changes, retainers, payment follow-up, and receipts.
When the client signs a milestone-backed agreement, Censiq creates one connected invoice draft for each milestone. You review the amount, due date, payment details, and billing trigger before sending it when that stage becomes billable.
No. Your client receives secure private links to review and sign the agreement, view an invoice, report a transfer, and receive a receipt. They do not need to create a workspace or remember a password.
No. The invoice displays your bank-transfer instructions and the client pays your account directly. Censiq helps track the invoice and confirmation workflow; your bank or an intermediary bank may still charge transfer or conversion fees.
Censiq for independent developers
Start with a signed scope, price additional features before they enter the sprint, and move each approved milestone toward payment.
No credit card required
