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Review campaign cash flow

A campaign can look profitable on paper while costs arrive before payment. Timing matters for production, collaborators, and taxes.

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Campaign revenue has stages

A project may require paying a collaborator before the final client installment arrives. A milestone calendar exposes that gap while there is still time to negotiate a deposit or adjust timing.

Link invoices to milestones

List milestones, deposits, expenses, and final payment dates. Align commitments with money already received where possible.

Track the net result

Take one active or recent project and make a one-page record. Include the agreed deliverables, usage terms, expected hours, outside costs, invoice dates, and payment status. Mark what is confirmed and what still depends on approval. After the project closes, compare the plan with what happened. That record makes future scope and pricing conversations more concrete without pretending every project is identical.

Original illustration for Review campaign cash flow
Original editorial illustration

Costs may arrive first

Approval can slow payment

Cash flow inside a campaign can be very different from the final profit. Deposits, production costs, collaborator payments, and client milestones may happen in an awkward order. A dated schedule exposes the gap before it becomes a problem. It can support a conversation about deposits or payment terms and help the creator avoid financing a project without realizing it.

Close out the project

Late payments and changes in scope can alter the picture quickly. Document approvals and revisions.

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