ההסכם כולל תשלום לפי התקדמות.

Because the base noun is הסכם meaning agreement, and Hebrew adds the definite article ה־ to make the agreement.

So:

• הסכם = agreement
• ההסכם = the agreement

The word already begins with ה, so when you add the article, you get two ה letters in writing. It is pronounced roughly ha-heskem.

כולל means includes.

It is the present-tense masculine singular form of the verb לכלול = to include.

So:

• ההסכם כולל... = The agreement includes...

In Modern Hebrew, the present tense often works like the English present simple in this kind of sentence.

Because it matches the subject ההסכם, which is masculine singular.

Hebrew present-tense verbs agree with the subject in gender and number.

Examples:

• ההסכם כולל = the agreement includes
• החוזה כולל = the contract includes
• ההסכמים כוללים = the agreements include

So כולל is used because ההסכם is one masculine thing.

תשלום means payment.

It is a noun, not a verb.

So in this sentence:

• כולל תשלום = includes payment

Related forms:

• לשלם = to pay
• תשלום = payment

לפי usually means according to, based on, or in accordance with.

In this sentence:

• לפי התקדמות = according to progress / based on progress

So the idea is that the payment depends on how much progress has been made.

התקדמות means progress or advancement.

It is a noun, often used for progress in work, a project, construction, negotiations, and so on.

Here it most naturally means the progress of the work or project.

So:

• תשלום לפי התקדמות = payment according to the progress of the work

No. In התקדמות, the first ה is part of the word itself, not the definite article.

So:

• התקדמות = progress
• ההתקדמות = the progress

This is a very common thing for learners to notice. Not every word beginning with ה has the built into it.

Very naturally, it means something like:

• payment based on progress
• payment as the work progresses
• stage payments tied to progress

So this is not just a word-for-word phrase. It refers to a payment arrangement where money is paid depending on how much of the work has been completed.

The word order is very straightforward:

• ההסכם = the agreement
• כולל = includes
• תשלום לפי התקדמות = payment according to progress

So it follows a normal subject + verb + object/complement pattern:

• The agreement
  • includes
    • payment based on progress

This makes the sentence easy to understand for English speakers.

A simple pronunciation guide is:

ha-heskem kolel tashlum lefi hitkadmút

Approximate stress:

• ha-heském
• kolél
• tashlúm
• lefí
• hitkadmút

The last word is stressed at the end: hitkadmút.

Yes, it could, but the meaning shifts slightly.

• לפי התקדמות = according to progress, in a general sense
• לפי ההתקדמות = according to the progress, referring to a specific known progress

In many practical or contractual contexts, the version without the article sounds more general and idiomatic, like English based on progress.

So the sentence as written is perfectly natural.