How payments and refunds work
The same transparency we build into our pricing carries through to how projects get paid for. Here's exactly when payments are due, what they cover, and what happens if a project doesn't go as planned.
Payment schedule
Two payments, sometimes three
Every project starts with a deposit that reserves time on the schedule. What happens after that depends on the size of the project.
Starter tier ($750)
- Deposit
- $375, due upfront to secure your slot and begin work
- Delivery
- $375, due when the project is delivered
No milestone payment—starter projects are scoped to wrap within 30 days, so there isn't a natural halfway point to bill against.
Projects above $750
- Deposit
- $375, due upfront to secure your slot and begin work
- Halfway milestone
- 50% of the remaining balance
- Delivery
- The remaining 50%
Example: a $1,200 project is $375 at the deposit, $412.50 at the halfway milestone, and $412.50 at delivery.
The halfway payment is tied to delivered work, not a date on the calendar—a first draft, an approved prototype, a functional core build. If a project runs long, that payment simply waits until there's something to show for it.
Deposits
The deposit secures your slot
The $375 deposit is due before work begins. It reserves a slot on the schedule and covers the planning that happens before the first deliverable, so it's non-refundable once it's submitted—the same way it would be with any consultant who blocks off real time for your project.
Milestone payments
Milestone payments are for work already done
For projects above $750, the halfway payment isn't paid in advance—it's billed once there's something delivered to show for it. Because it reflects work already completed, it's non-refundable once it's due, the same as the deposit.
If a project doesn't finish
What happens if we don't deliver
On the rare occasion RCG doesn't deliver the agreed scope of a project, the final payment due at delivery is waived rather than invoiced. It isn't refunded, because in most cases it hasn't been collected yet—it simply never comes due.
This is a binary outcome: either the agreed scope is delivered and the final payment is due, or it isn't and that payment is waived. There's no partial or prorated version of it.
That's by design. Milestone check-ins exist specifically so scope problems get caught and resolved while there's still time to fix them—not discovered for the first time at delivery.
Questions about how a project is billed?
Every engagement starts with a free discovery call, where we'll walk through the payment schedule for your specific project before anything is signed.