The app that makes clients pay before the work starts
Connect Stripe, and the project can't move forward until the client has paid. No "I'll send the wire Monday" emails for work you've already done.
You already know how this ends without it
You quoted the job. They said yes. You blocked the week, turned down other work, and started. Then the deposit didn't land. Now you're three days in, emailing "just confirming the wire went out?" while doing the work anyway — because stopping feels worse than waiting.
That's the trap an app like this closes. Instead of payment being a polite request that lives in your inbox, it becomes a gate the project has to pass through. The client pays, then the work begins. Not the other way around.
How the payment gate actually works
Connect your Stripe account inside Drift Catch. Once it's connected, the paid step — a deposit, a milestone, or a change order — can't move forward until the client has paid through it.
The client gets a clean link, pays by card, and the project advances on its own. You don't chase, you don't send a fourth reminder, and you don't start unpaid work hoping the money shows up later. The gate does the holding for you, so you don't have to be the one nagging about money.
This is a real mechanism, not a setting that sends a stern email. The next step is locked behind payment because that's how the workflow is built.
What's honestly required: connect Stripe, on Pro
We'd rather be straight with you than oversell it.
The in-app payment gate — where the work can't proceed until the client pays through Drift Catch — runs on Stripe and is part of our Pro plan. You connect your own Stripe account, so payouts land in your bank, on your Stripe terms.
Our Solo plan gives you invoicing and change orders, but you collect through your own Stripe, PayPal, or bank link — there's no in-app gate holding the project until payment clears. If "they literally can't proceed until they've paid" is the thing you came here for, that's Pro. We're telling you that up front so there are no surprises after you sign up.
It's not just the deposit — scope locks too
Getting paid up front is half of it. The other half is what happens after the work starts.
When the project is signed, the agreed scope locks. Every extra "can you just also…" becomes a change order the client e-signs — and on Pro, that change order runs through the same payment gate. So the revision that would've quietly eaten your weekend turns into a paid, signed line item with an audit trail of who approved what and when.
Upfront payment stops the project that never should've started. Locked scope plus paid change orders stops the project that started fine and then crept. Together, that's the difference between getting paid for the job you quoted and absorbing everything that gets added after.
Who this is for
This fits if you've been burned by starting before the money landed — designers, developers, writers, consultants, agencies, anyone who quotes a scope and then watches it drift.
It's especially worth it if your projects have a deposit, milestones, or mid-project changes, because those are exactly the moments where "pay first" protects you. If you mostly do tiny one-off tasks paid in full up front already, you may not need the gate — and we'd rather you know that than pay for something you won't use.
Frequently asked questions
- Can this app really stop me from starting work until the client pays?
- Yes — when you connect Stripe on our Pro plan, the paid step (deposit, milestone, or change order) can't move forward until the client has paid through Drift Catch. The work advances after payment, not before.
- Where does the money go?
- Into your own bank account, on your own Stripe terms. You connect your Stripe account to Drift Catch, so payouts and payment settings stay yours. We don't hold your funds.
- Do I need Stripe for the payment gate to work?
- Yes. The in-app gate is built on Stripe, so it activates once you connect your Stripe account on Pro. Without Stripe connected, you can still send invoices and change orders, but there's no in-app gate holding the project until payment clears.
- Is the payment gate available on the cheaper Solo plan?
- No. Solo includes invoicing and change orders, but you collect through your own Stripe, PayPal, or bank link — there's no in-app gate. The gate where work can't proceed until the client pays is part of Pro. We say this up front so there are no surprises.
- What happens to extra work the client asks for after we start?
- When the project is signed, the agreed scope locks. Each extra request becomes a change order the client e-signs, and on Pro it runs through the same payment gate — so added work is paid and signed, with an audit trail, instead of becoming unpaid scope creep.