Everything freelancers and clients ask about Handfast
Straight, specific answers, written the way you would actually ask the question.
A small slice of the standard card processing fee on each milestone payment goes to Handfast. There is no subscription and no monthly cost for freelancers or clients. Handfast only earns when a freelancer actually gets paid.
Deposits pay out right away, like any normal card payment. Later milestones are charged automatically when their trigger fires, either a scheduled date or the freelancer marking work delivered. Each charge then sits in a short client confirmation window, typically a few days, before releasing to the freelancer's bank account through Stripe.
No, and Handfast is always straightforward about this. Escrow has a precise legal definition, and Handfast does not act as a licensed escrow agent. Instead it provides escrow-style protection built on Stripe's payments infrastructure: committed payment methods, short confirmation holds, and transparent, published release rules.
Traditional escrow services such as Escrow.com are built for one-time asset sales like domain names or vehicles, with fee structures and workflows that do not fit ongoing creative service work. Handfast was built specifically for freelance and creative project milestones instead.
Money for later milestones is only charged as work is actually delivered, not paid entirely up front. Every charge includes a confirmation window before it releases to the freelancer, and the client sees the complete payment schedule before ever signing the project agreement.
Raising an issue pauses the automatic release clock immediately. Both the freelancer and the client see the same shared record: the contract terms, the milestone definitions, and the delivery timestamps. That shared, timestamped record resolves the large majority of disagreements without any outside intervention.
The common failure pattern is that a photographer delivers the gallery and then has to invoice for the final balance separately, hoping the couple pays. With Handfast, the couple's payment method is committed to every milestone at the time they sign, so the final balance charges automatically once the wedding is marked complete.
HoneyBook and Dubsado are full client relationship management platforms, with subscriptions that now range from about $36 to $129 per month. Handfast takes a different path: it leads with the problem that hurts most, milestone payment protection, and it is free. It works alongside whatever tools you already run, and additional functionality is built based on what customers need, so Handfast is a starting point that grows with your business rather than a fixed feature list.
A client can raise a dispute on a specific milestone, which pauses that milestone's release, but they cannot silently ignore a scheduled charge, since the payment method was already committed and consented to at signing. This is the core difference between Handfast and a standard invoice: the payment is structured in advance rather than requested after the fact.
Yes. Handfast is built for any independent creative or service professional who bills in stages, including graphic and brand designers, muralists, custom furniture makers, and similar project-based freelancers. Photography and videography are the current primary focus, but the milestone structure applies broadly.
Yes, at any time. Projects, client records, and complete payment history export to CSV with one click. Handfast intentionally avoids data lock-in.
No. Handfast guides freelancers through connecting a Stripe account (Stripe Express) as part of getting started. It typically takes a few minutes and does not require a pre-existing Stripe account.
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