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Stagex tradies get paid within 7 days of completion — not 60. Escrow is held by a licensed Australian trustee and only released when youfinish the milestone. Bring your hipages leads. We'll protect the payment.
No credit card. No lock-in. We never charge per lead.
Quote the job in Stagex like you normally would. Break the work into milestones — deposit, rough-in, fit-off, completion.
The customer deposits each milestone into a licensed trustee account before you start. You can see the money sitting there.
Mark a milestone done, upload evidence. The customer signs off. Funds hit your account within 1–2 business days via NPP.
We're comparing two different products. hipages sells leads. Stagex secures the payment for the work itself. Most tradies need both — until they don't.
| Feature | Stagex | hipages |
|---|---|---|
| Cost model | $59/mo flat. No per-lead charge. | Pay-per-lead, typically $30–$150 per lead depending on category and location.[1] |
| Lock-in contract | Month-to-month. Cancel anytime. | Standard plans run on fixed-term contracts.[3] |
| Payment timing | Milestone released within 7 days of sign-off (typically 1–2 business days via NPP). | No payment system. You invoice the client and chase them yourself — tradies routinely report 30–60+ day waits.[2] |
| Escrow protection | Customer funds the milestone before you start work. Money is held by a licensed Australian trustee. | None. Customer pays you direct, after the work, if and when they feel like it. |
| Lead verification | Not a lead source — you bring your own. The escrow gate filters out non-serious clients. | Tradies report a high rate of duplicate, low-intent, or fake leads that still get charged.[2] |
| Refunds on bad leads | No leads, no lead refunds — the funded escrow is the qualification. | Refund policy on disputed leads exists but tradies report it is hard to claim.[2] |
| Client ghosts you mid-job | Funds for completed milestones are already in escrow. You file evidence, dispute resolution releases the funds. | No payment recourse. You chase the invoice, you eat the loss, or you pay a debt collector. |
| Dispute resolution | Built-in evidence upload + structured mediation. 48hr SLA on the Professional plan. | No dispute mechanism for the actual job — only for the lead-credit refund. |
| What you get for the monthly fee | Unlimited jobs, escrow milestones, Xero sync, Trust Badge, dispute SLA, AI Copilot (Business plan). | Access to the lead marketplace. Leads cost extra on top.[1] |
Cost model
$59/mo flat. No per-lead charge.
Pay-per-lead, typically $30–$150 per lead depending on category and location.[1]
Lock-in contract
Month-to-month. Cancel anytime.
Standard plans run on fixed-term contracts.[3]
Payment timing
Milestone released within 7 days of sign-off (typically 1–2 business days via NPP).
No payment system. You invoice the client and chase them yourself — tradies routinely report 30–60+ day waits.[2]
Escrow protection
Customer funds the milestone before you start work. Money is held by a licensed Australian trustee.
None. Customer pays you direct, after the work, if and when they feel like it.
Lead verification
Not a lead source — you bring your own. The escrow gate filters out non-serious clients.
Tradies report a high rate of duplicate, low-intent, or fake leads that still get charged.[2]
Refunds on bad leads
No leads, no lead refunds — the funded escrow is the qualification.
Refund policy on disputed leads exists but tradies report it is hard to claim.[2]
Client ghosts you mid-job
Funds for completed milestones are already in escrow. You file evidence, dispute resolution releases the funds.
No payment recourse. You chase the invoice, you eat the loss, or you pay a debt collector.
Dispute resolution
Built-in evidence upload + structured mediation. 48hr SLA on the Professional plan.
No dispute mechanism for the actual job — only for the lead-credit refund.
What you get for the monthly fee
Unlimited jobs, escrow milestones, Xero sync, Trust Badge, dispute SLA, AI Copilot (Business plan).
Access to the lead marketplace. Leads cost extra on top.[1]
Sources
Cost-per-lead and payment-timing claims reflect tradie-reported experience on ProductReview as at 2026. Specifics vary by trade, location, and plan. Stagex is not affiliated with or endorsed by hipages.
7-day payouts
After milestone sign-off
Trustee-held escrow
Licensed Australian provider
No lock-in
Month-to-month, cancel anytime
No per-lead fees
Flat $59/mo, all leads
“Customer-quote placeholder — replace with real testimonial once the first design-partner sparkie or chippy is onboarded and willing to be named.”
“Customer-quote placeholder — ideally a quote about a hipages lead that funded escrow and paid out within a week. Real AUD figure if the partner consents.”
“Customer-quote placeholder — ideally a quote about a dispute that resolved in days, not weeks, because the funds were already in the trustee account.”
No — Stagex isn't a lead marketplace. It turns the leads you already get (referrals, hipages, social, Google) into protected, fast-paid jobs by holding the customer's milestone payments in escrow before you start.
Most homeowners actually prefer it — they're protecting themselves too. We give you a one-page handout you can send showing how the funds are held by a licensed Australian trustee until the milestone is signed off. If they still refuse, that's usually a signal worth listening to.
$59/mo for Stagex Professional. The first $30,000 funded into escrow on each job is fee-free. Above $30,000, a flat 1.6% escrow fee applies to the amount over $30,000. There are no per-lead charges and no lock-in contract.
Funds are released within 7 days of the client signing off on the milestone — and typically inside 1–2 business days via NPP once they tap approve. The escrow is already funded, so there is no invoice to chase.
No. Stagex sits on top of any lead source. Take a hipages lead, push the quote through Stagex, and the customer funds escrow before you start. You still get the lead — you just protect the payment.
Jobs under $30,000 carry no escrow fee — just the flat monthly subscription. Most small fit-offs, services, and call-outs sit comfortably under that line.
Cancel anytime. We never charge per lead. Bring one hipages job through Stagex this week and see how it pays.
Stage by stage. Always paid.