Ask for the payment schedule alongside the work sequence: what is due at engagement, what at filing, and what if the matter pauses. Tying payments to identifiable milestones makes it easier to see whether the file is progressing.
Match payment milestones to case milestones
If the start date shifts or the employer changes the role, some preparation may need redoing, and agreeing in advance what a change costs is easier than negotiating mid-file. Ask also what remains payable if the applicant decides not to proceed or if a step is refused. None of this predicts an outcome; it makes the commercial terms visible while everyone is still comfortable discussing them.
Ask the employer for the proposed schedule as early as possible, then have it reviewed as a whole. The application should be made once the start date, the duties and the duration are settled, because status obtained against an unsettled plan either fails or authorizes work the applicant will not be doing. A Canadian may generally seek TN admission at a port of entry or rely on an employer-filed Form I-129; neither route makes work lawful before the required approval or admission.