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Draft Labs

Custom software for founders

You approve the work. Then we get paid.

Lock an acceptance checklist that defines done before pricing; then every payment after the 20% deposit releases only when you approve that milestone's delivered work.

Take control of your buildSee shipped work
Build ledgerDay 7 of 7

Booking platform for a two-chair physio studio

The build ledger of one anonymized client project, day by day: what was approved and what share of payment settled to the studio.
DayEntrySettled
00Brief and acceptance checklist locked (posted)12 items define done0%
0020% deposit held (posted)refundable until sample approval0%
00Style sample approved (posted)deposit locks · clock starts20%
03First working version approved (posted)40% released60%
05Revision round approved (posted)20% released80%
07Launch and handoff approved (posted)20% released · shipped100%
Settled to studio100%
One build from the ledger, anonymized with client approval

  • The sample gateYour deposit stays refundable in full until you approve a style sample of the direction.

  • The checklistAn acceptance checklist you lock before pricing defines done. Changes are new scope, never silent edits.

  • The release ruleAfter the deposit, each payment releases only when you approve that milestone's delivered work.

How payment moves

The money waits for your yes.

A 20% deposit opens the build and stays refundable in full until you approve the style sample. The remaining 80% releases only as you approve delivered work, milestone by milestone.

  • 20%Style samplethe deposit · refundable in full until you approve the sample
  • 40%First working versionreleases when you approve it against the checklist
  • 20%Revision roundreleases on your approval
  • 20%Launch and handoffreleases on your approval · approved work is settled and final

Approvals are checked against the acceptance checklist you locked before pricing. Anything left unreviewed for 14 days auto-approves with a visible countdown, so neither side is ever held hostage.

The engagement, in three movements

How a build moves

A printed acceptance checklist on graph-paper ledger stock, held by a brass clip beside a spruce pen
No. 01

Lock what done means

An AI intake asks one question at a time, reference sites included, then drafts an acceptance checklist of 8 to 15 verifiable items plus explicit out-of-scope notes. You edit it, lock it, and a named team member commits your price and delivery date against it.

Layered style-sample swatches presented on a brass display stand
No. 02

Approve the direction first

Every build opens with a style sample of your product's visual direction, with up to two revision rounds. Until you approve it, the 20% deposit is refundable in full. Your approval locks the deposit and starts the 7-day clock.

An antique brass approval seal resting on a spruce ink pad over ledger stock, beside one stamped ring
No. 03

Release payment on approval

The remaining 80% releases 40/20/20 across first working version, revision round, and launch and handoff, each only when you approve that milestone's work against the checklist. Approved work is settled and final; anything left unreviewed for 14 days auto-approves with a visible countdown.

See shipped client work in the gallery

The record

Checkable, not claimed.

client projects shipped
25
shipped on their committed date
24 of 25
on-time
96%
typical
7 days

Open a ledger of your own

Stop approving and we stop getting paid: control at every milestone.

Stop wiring half the budget up front to vendors you can't steer. Describe your build tonight, and a named team member commits your price and delivery date.

Take control of your build

Done is defined by a checklist you lock before we price; approvals gate every payment after the deposit