Acceptance Clause
What Is an Acceptance Clause?
An Acceptance Clause defines when work is officially complete — and when payment is officially earned. It's often used at each milestone or at the end of a project or delivery.
It acts as a cut-off point: confirming completion, triggering payment, and closing the door on future revisions, client requests, or disputes — regardless of how a client responds (or doesn’t) after delivery.
Without an acceptance clause, you may find yourself stuck in ongoing tweaks, chasing communication, facing unpaid delays, or working without a clear project end.
In business contracts, this clause protects your time, revenue, and energy by stating exactly what triggers acceptance — and making payment due the moment that acceptance is triggered. No more delays, ghosting, or revision requests.
How Acceptance Clauses Work
An acceptance clause usually includes:
-
What counts as “acceptance”
(e.g., verbal confirmation, written sign-off, no feedback within X days, client ghosting) -
When acceptance is triggered
(e.g., immediately upon delivery, after a review window, or automatically after a specified period) -
What happens after acceptance
(e.g., final payment is due, project is closed, no further edits allowed)
This clause removes ambiguity — especially in service-based businesses, where "done" is often up for interpretation.
Acceptance Clause Playbook
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Real-World Example
A designer client of mine offered a full brand and website package and had a contract that represented deliverables, deadlines, milestones and payment terms. Her client said they loved the work after each milestone — but then completely ghosted after final delivery, leaving payment in limbo.
Because her contract didn’t include an acceptance clause, there was no legal trigger to declare the project complete.
The client could have stayed silent for months or even come back later demanding more revisions — because there was no contractual cutoff that said, “This work is done.”
After we added an acceptance clause to her agreement, everything changed. Her next client had 5 days to review, approve, or raise concerns. No feedback? It was automatically accepted — and payment was due.
She got paid on time, every time after that.
Get custom acceptance clauses for your business in my Aligned Clients, Paid with Purpose program.
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Last updated: June 2025.

Protect Your Energy, Your Revenue, and Your Success.
Aligned Clients Paid with Purpose™ is a self-paced program for entrepreneurs ready to protect their time, energy, and revenue — without heavy legal jargon. You'll get custom Acceptance clauses, Scope-creep clauses, termination clauses and more. You'll create agreements that call in clients who honor your work, pay on time, and fuel your business growth.