How to bill clients as a UX designer

UX work moves in phases — discovery, research, wireframes, prototype, handoff — and your billing should move with it. The trick is to estimate the whole arc up front so the client sees the full scope, then collect a deposit and invoice each milestone as you ship it. Here’s how to set that rhythm up in Fee-Lion.

Build the phased estimate

Start in Estimates in the left sidebar and create a new estimate for your client. Think of each design phase as its own line item so the client can see exactly what they’re paying for at each step.

1. Add a task line item for each phase — Discovery sprint, User research, Wireframes, Prototype — priced as hours × rate.
2. For fixed-scope deliverables like a usability test or a design-system audit, use a fee/unit line item (qty × rate) instead of hours.
3. Group optional work — extra research rounds, an accessibility pass — as their own lines so the client can opt in without reworking the whole quote.
4. Set your tax and a deposit % on the estimate. The deposit is what kicks off the work, so make it real — 30–50% is common for a multi-phase engagement.

Pick a layout that reads cleanly with several phases, and give yourself a validity window so an old quote doesn’t haunt you three months later.

Tip: Set your standard deposit % and tax once under Settings → Preferences (Estimates) so every new UX quote starts pre-filled and you’re not retyping the same numbers on every project.

Get it approved and turn it into a project

Send the estimate and your client reviews it in the portal — no login, no account, just a magic link. When they approve, you can convert the estimate straight into a project so the phases you priced become the work you actually track.

• From the approved estimate, hit Convert and choose to create a project.
• In the project, add custom sub-statuses that mirror your phases — Research, Wireframing, Prototype, Handoff — so anyone glancing at the board knows where things stand.
• Use checklists to track the deliverables inside each phase, like recruiting participants or finalizing the click-through prototype.
• Keep feedback in client discussions so revision requests live next to the work instead of scattered across email.

Bill milestone by milestone

Now you invoice as you ship. The deposit comes first; each subsequent phase becomes its own invoice when the work lands.

1. Collect the deposit invoice right after approval — the converted estimate already knows the amount.
2. As each phase wraps, create an invoice for that milestone (or convert the relevant portion of the estimate).
3. If you tracked hours with time tracking during research or prototyping, bill that time straight to the invoice so your rate stays honest.
4. Send it — the invoice carries a Pay button, the client pays by card, and money lands in your own Stripe.

For long discovery-and-design retainers, you can also set up recurring invoices so a monthly fee bills itself while you focus on the work.

Tip: Pop open the command palette with ⌘K and type something like create invoice for Acme to spin up the next milestone bill without leaving your current screen.

What’s next

• Estimating for designers and photographers
• Estimate to deposit to project to final invoice
• Bill tracked time to an invoice
• Organize a project with sub-statuses and checklists