prebilling
Charging before delivery
Prebilling is the practice of billing for goods or services before they are delivered or completed.
Common in subscription services, professional retainers, and project work where payment is required upfront: The contractor requires prebilling of 50% before starting work.
The practice ensures providers have working capital but can create disputes if deliverables fall short.
Move or progress forward
- depositPlace for safekeeping
- retainerUpfront professional fee
- downpaymentInitial payment toward purchase
- prepaymentPayment made beforehand
escrow · guarantee · earnest · reservation · pledge · upfront · commitment · provision
Done for form's sake
- estimateInformed guess at quantity
- quotationCited passage or price
- chargeCost or accusation
- feePayment for service
tariff · costing · pricing · quoting · ledger · bookkeeping · accounting · receivables
Estimating future conditions
- allocationDistribution of shares
- costsAmounts required to pay
- estimatesRough calculations of value
- planningArranging for future events
resources · funding · expenditures · overhead · capital · outlay · cashflow · spending
Formal plan for consideration
- contractEnforceable written agreement
- agreementShared position between parties
- consultationMeeting seeking expert guidance
- engagementCommitment to wed or attend
scope · terms · deliverables · specification · requirements · negotiation · scheduling · timeline
advance
Move or progress forward
- depositPlace for safekeeping
- retainerUpfront professional fee
- downpaymentInitial payment toward purchase
prepayment · escrow · guarantee · earnest · reservation · pledge · upfront · commitment · provision · stake
proforma
Done for form's sake
fee · tariff · costing · pricing · quoting · ledger · bookkeeping · accounting · receivables · itemization
forecasting
Estimating future conditions
- allocationDistribution of shares
- costsAmounts required to pay
- estimatesRough calculations of value
planning · resources · funding · expenditures · overhead · capital · outlay · cashflow · spending · projections
proposal
Formal plan for consideration
- contractEnforceable written agreement
- agreementShared position between parties
- consultationMeeting seeking expert guidance
engagement · scope · terms · deliverables · specification · requirements · negotiation · scheduling · timeline · milestones
prebillingcollect on delivery
Payment required at handoff
COD · postpaid · pay-as-you-go · pay-per-use
bill, bills, billed, billing, unbilled, rebilled, rebilling, rebills, prebilled