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Milestone Policy

Last Updated: February 2026

1. How Milestones Work

GigsGenius uses a milestone-based workflow to structure every project. Each agreement is broken into clear milestones with defined deliverables, due dates, and payment amounts that both parties agree on before work begins.

2. Payment Flow

Step 1: Client and freelancer agree on milestones — deliverables, due dates, and payment amounts.

Step 2: Client funds each milestone through Razorpay. A Payment Processing Fee is added at checkout (exclusive of the milestone amount) — 4% for Indian clients paying in INR, 6% for international clients paying in any other currency. Both the milestone amount and the fee are shown clearly before payment and itemised on the tax invoice.

Step 3: Funds are held by GigsGenius under our Milestone Payment Protection.

Step 4: Freelancer completes the agreed work and submits it for client review.

Step 5: Client approves the submitted work and authorises release of payment.

Step 6: 90% of the milestone amount is released by GigsGenius to the freelancer's bank account. The remaining 10% is the platform commission. The processing fee from Step 2 is retained by GigsGenius and does not affect the freelancer's earnings.

3. Milestone Rules

The final milestone's due date must match the project's due date. The total of all milestone amounts must fall within the budget range posted by the client when creating the job. These constraints are enforced automatically when creating or editing agreements.

4. Modifications

Milestone amounts and due dates can be modified by mutual agreement of both parties before the milestone is funded. After funding, modifications require explicit consent from both client and freelancer through the platform.

5. Payments, Refunds & Disputes

All financial matters — platform fees, refunds, cancellations, and dispute resolution — are governed by our Payments, Refunds & Disputes Policy.

Foreign Exchange (FX) Pass-Through. When a Client pays in a non-INR currency, the payment gateway (Razorpay) converts the amount to INR at its own settlement rate before crediting GigsGenius. The Freelancer is paid in INR using the exact same rate the payment gateway used — GigsGenius does not add any FX markup, spread, or hidden conversion fee. The applicable rate and INR figure are recorded on every relevant payment receipt for transparency. Where the gateway's actual settlement rate is not available at the time of payout (rare — e.g., pre-settlement funding hold-ups), GigsGenius may temporarily use a live mid-market reference rate; the receipt clearly indicates which of the two was applied.

6. Project Scope

Clients and Freelancers are jointly responsible for defining and mutually agreeing upon the project scope before work commences. A well-defined scope should specify, where applicable: deliverables, timelines, revision rounds, technology stack, deployment requirements, ongoing maintenance, support obligations, third-party services relied upon, and any exclusions.

GigsGenius strongly recommends that all such scope agreements — including any subsequent amendments — be documented in writing through the platform's in-built messaging system, so a verifiable record exists in the event of a dispute.

7. Additional Project Costs & Third-Party Expenses

All third-party costs and project-related expenses required to complete the agreed scope of work shall be borne by the Client. Such expenses include, but are not limited to:

  • Domain registration and web hosting
  • Cloud infrastructure (AWS, Google Cloud, Azure, DigitalOcean, etc.)
  • Software licenses, premium plugins and themes
  • APIs, third-party SaaS subscriptions, and payment gateway fees
  • SSL certificates, security tooling, and monitoring services
  • Stock photography, illustrations, music, video, or other licensed assets
  • Font licenses, translation services, and any other external services required to deliver the work

8. Marketplace Role & Limitation of Responsibility

GigsGenius acts solely as a marketplace connecting Clients and Freelancers. GigsGenius is not a party to the underlying service agreement between them and shall not be responsible for any disputes arising from:

  • Project scope, deliverables, or their quality
  • Third-party services, subscriptions, or costs incurred to deliver the work
  • Intellectual property ownership, licensing, or transfer between the parties
  • Unapproved, undisclosed, or contested project-related expenses
  • Any obligation, warranty, or representation not expressly documented on the platform

Our role and liability are strictly limited to the Milestone Payment Protection system described in the Payments, Refunds & Disputes Policy. For matters outside that scope, the parties agree to resolve disputes between themselves, using platform records (messages, uploaded files, milestone history) as the primary source of evidence.