Milestones & Payment Terms
How FlowEscrow Work uses evidence-based client approval to release payments at each work milestone.
Evidence-Based Milestone Payment
When a work milestone is reached, the worker claims it on the dashboard and the client reviews the deliverable before approving payment release on-chain.
5 Payment Templates
Create fully custom terms, or choose from proven payment structures for freelance and contract work.
Define your own milestone structure. Choose 1 to 5 milestones with custom labels, percentage splits, approval periods, and dispute timeouts.
Full payment when the deliverable is approved. Simple and fast for small or one-off jobs.
Pay 30% upfront as a kickoff deposit, 70% when the deliverable is approved. Standard two-stage payment.
Kickoff, midpoint, and final acceptance. Best for larger projects with multiple deliverables.
Full amount released a set period after the deliverable is approved. Useful for trial or warranty windows.
How Milestone Approval Works
Every milestone follows the same transparent process. The worker claims completion, and the client verifies before funds are released on-chain.
Claim → Review → Approve
| Step | Actor | Action |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | Worker | Claims the milestone on the dashboard when the agreed condition is met |
| 2 | Worker | Attaches supporting deliverables (files, links, notes, screenshots) |
| 3 | Client | Receives email notification and reviews the claim with the deliverable on the dashboard |
| 4 | Client | Approves (funds released on-chain) or rejects (dispute window opens) |
Approval Timeout
Each milestone has a configurable approval period. If the client does not approve or reject within this period, funds are automatically released to the worker. This prevents indefinite fund locking and protects the worker from unresponsive clients.
What Happens When a Client Rejects
If the client rejects a milestone, the dispute resolution process begins. Both parties have the opportunity to resolve the disagreement.
Resolution Process
Both parties can submit evidence (files, screenshots, notes) and negotiate directly through the dashboard.
Either party can propose a resolution split, and once both parties agree, the smart contract automatically distributes the funds. Up to 3 counter-offer rounds are allowed.
If no resolution is reached within the dispute timeout period, remaining funds are returned to the client as the default outcome.
Global Escrow Timeout
Every escrow has a maximum lifetime to prevent funds from being locked indefinitely.
How It Works
Each escrow has a global timeout period (default: 180 days). If the worker never claims any milestone within this period, either party can trigger the timeout resolution on-chain.
By default, remaining funds are returned to the client — the original depositor. This protects clients from permanently locked funds when a project falls through.
Custom escrows allow both parties to agree on an alternative: auto-release to the worker instead of client refund.
Worker Protection
The global timeout only applies when no milestones are claimed. Once the worker claims a milestone, the approval timeout (default: 14 days) takes priority — if the client does not respond, funds auto-release to the worker. Workers who perform their obligations are always protected.
Smart Contract Guarantees
Every escrow is a self-executing smart contract on the Alephium blockchain. Key properties:
Contract Properties
Funds are locked in the contract — neither party can withdraw unilaterally.
Milestone release percentages are immutable once the escrow is created.
Protocol fee (1.0%) is deducted at each milestone release, not upfront.
After all milestones complete, the contract self-destructs and returns the remaining deposit to the protocol's admin pool.
Client and Worker pay only a small amount of network gas (about $0.05 per action). The protocol's admin pool covers the on-chain contract deposit.
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