✔️  Available on all subscriptions

What
A milestone is a target date representing a point of progress, or goal within a project, that you can use task lists to track progress towards.
Why
  • Clear goals for your team
  • Displayed in areas of time line, allowing you to ensure you are not overloaded at critical times
  • Easily identifiable icons and colors to make them stand out against your ongoing work
Who
  • Site admins and project admins
  • Standard users and client users with the project permission:
    • Add milestones (allows users to create and manage a project's milestones)
When
You have a task list for all work related to a client’s Q1 campaigns and you create a milestone for “Submit work to client for review”. The milestone helps keep your end goal top of mind and the team is able to see how work is going because the task list and milestone are tied together.
What
A milestone is a target date representing a point of progress, or goal within a project, that you can use task lists to track progress towards.
Why
  • Clear goals for your team
  • Displayed in areas of time line, allowing you to ensure you are not overloaded at critical times
  • Easily identifiable icons and colors to make them stand out against your ongoing work
Who
  • Site admins and project admins
  • Standard users and client users with the project permission:
    • Add milestones (allows users to create and manage a project's milestones)
When
You have a task list for all work related to a client’s Q1 campaigns and you create a milestone for “Submit work to client for review”. The milestone helps keep your end goal top of mind and the team is able to see how work is going because the task list and milestone are tied together.

Before you start

To access milestones in a project, make sure the Milestones feature is turned on in a project’s settings.

Create a milestone


  1. Click Jump to in Teamwork.com's left navigation menu. 
  2. Search for and select a project. 

    Image Placeholder
     
  3. Select the Milestones tab in the project navigation menu. The Milestones tab might be hidden under the More... section. 
  4. Click Add Milestone in the top right. 
  5. Type the name of your milestone. 
  6. Select a due date. This is the date the milestone must be completed by, or the day the milestone event occurs. 
     
     
  7. Choose who is responsible for completing the milestone. 
  8. Next: 
    a. Stop there: Click Add Milestone. You've done everything you need to do. 
    b. Level up: Add helpful additional information and attributes (see table below), then Add Milestone. 

    Property
    		Purpose
    Notify by email
    Notify the person or people responsible for the milestone about the creation of the milestone.
    Send reminders
    Send a reminder to the person responsible for the milestone 24 hours before it is due.
    Description
    Outline the milestone’s purpose and requirements.
    Privacy & Followers
    Privacy: Choose who can see the milestone. Reminder: Owner company admins can see all items regardless of privacy settings.

    Followers: Choose people you wish to follow the milestone. These people will get updates relating to the milestone.
    Task lists
    Choose one, or multiple, task lists to attach to the milestone.

    Task lists are used to calculate the % progress of the milestone.

    The progress completion of the milestone increases each time a task (or subtask) from the attached list(s) is completed.
    Tags
    Add an existing tag or create a new tag to categorize your milestone for reporting.
    Property
    		Purpose
    Notify by email
    Notify the person or people responsible for the milestone about the creation of the milestone.
    Send reminders
    Send a reminder to the person responsible for the milestone 24 hours before it is due.
    Description 
    Outline the milestone’s purpose and requirements.
    Privacy & Followers
    Privacy: Choose who can see the milestone. Reminder: Owner company admins can see all items regardless of privacy settings.

    Followers: Choose people you wish to follow the milestone. These people will get updates relating to the milestone.
    Task lists
    Choose one, or multiple, task lists to attach to the milestone.

    Task lists are used to calculate the % progress of the milestone.

    The progress completion of the milestone increases each time a task (or subtask) from the attached list(s) is completed.
    Tags
    Add an existing tag or create a new tag to categorize your milestone for reporting.

Another option...

You can also create milestones from: 
  • The + Quick Add menu
  • The task list editor in list view - you can also attach and existing milestone to a task list here. 

Bulk create milestones

You can create up to 10 milestones at once!
  1. Click the three dots at the top of the project's Milestones area. 
  2. Select Add multiple milestones to open the milestones creation window. 
  3. Enter the required details for the first milestone: due date, milestone name, and who is responsible.
     

     
  4. Enter additional details if applicable: followers, privacy (private to the owner company), send email (notify who is responsible by email). 
  5. Click Add for each additional milestone you want to create, and fill out the relevant details. Changed your mind? Click Delete besides a milestone to remove the row. 
  6. Click Create 'X' Milestones to create the milestones on the project. 

Another option...

Did you know, you can duplicate an existing milestone to the same project.
  1. Open the milestone you want to duplicate 
  2. Click the ... (ellipsis) in the top right 
  3. Select Duplicate from the dropdown menu
  4. You can:
    1. Create a new name for the copied milestone. By default the original milestone name will be used and appended with (copy). 
    2. Copy milestone description
    3. Copy milestone tags
  5. Click Duplicate Milestone. 

Edit a milestone

  1. Locate the milestone you want to update from any of the following areas:
    1. Project > Milestones
    2. Everything > Milestones
    3. User profile > Milestones
  2. Hover over the milestone to reveal additional options.
     
    Image Placeholder
     
  3. Click Edit below the milestone's name. 
  4. Edit the milestone's properties: name, person responsible, due date, attached task lists, privacy & followers, tags.
  5. Next:
    1. Stop there: Click Update Milestone.
    2. Keep going: Move the milestone to another project.
      1. Click Move to Another Project. Select a destination project, then click Move Milestone.
      2. Click OK to confirm.

Edit a milestone's due date

When editing a milestone, you can also change the milestone's due date. This also allows you to automatically update other milestone dates and the due dates of the tasks on task lists attached to the milestone.

  1. Click the When is it due date field.
  2. Select another date from the date picker.
  3. Click Update Milestone. 
    1. If the milestone has attached task lists, an additional option to adjust task dates appears when you select a new milestone date. Select Adjust Tasks and choose how to manage task dates (options listed below) before clicking Update Milestone.
      📝 This is a useful way to manage date conflicts, especially in situations where attached tasks have due dates later than the milestone date.
      Option
      		Outcome
      Do not modify the dates of the tasks associated with this milestone. 
      Task due dates will not change regardless of the new milestone date. 
      Shift all associated tasks by the same number of days as the milestone. 
      Move the task due dates by the same number of days as the change in the milestone date (this option does not take weekends into account).
      Shift all associated tasks but don't include Saturdays and Sundays. 
      Calculates the number of days to move the task due dates excluding any weekends.
      Shift all associated tasks but keep them from landing on a weekend. 
      Move the task due dates based on the number of days difference between the new milestone date and the old one, but make sure they don't land on weekends.
      Option
      		Outcome
      Do not modify the dates of the tasks associated with this milestone. 
      Task due dates will not change regardless of the new milestone date. 
      Shift all associated tasks by the same number of days as the milestone. 
      Move the task due dates by the same number of days as the change in the milestone date (this option does not take weekends into account).
      Shift all associated tasks but don't include Saturdays and Sundays. 
      Calculates the number of days to move the task due dates excluding any weekends.
      Shift all associated tasks but keep them from landing on a weekend. 
      Move the task due dates based on the number of days difference between the new milestone date and the old one, but make sure they don't land on weekends.
    2. If the project has other milestones, you'll be prompted to manage their dates. You can either reschedule them by the same number of days (including or excluding weekends) or click No, just close the window to leave them as is.

💡 To see edits and updates made to milestones, you can view the change history.

Attach task lists to a milestone

Attach task lists to milestones to track progress towards your milestone's completion. A milestone can have multiple task lists attached, but each task list can only be associated with one milestone at a time.

You can attach a task lists when creating (see above) or editing a milestone. 

  1. Click Jump to in Teamwork.com's left navigation menu.
  2. Search for and select a project.
  3. Select the Milestones tab in the project navigation menu. The Milestones tab might be hidden under the More... section.
  4. Locate the milestone you want to attach task lists to. 
  5. Hover over the milestone to reveal additional options.
  6. Click Attach task list. 
  7. Search and select a task list from the project. 
    1. To add multiple, simply click Attach task list again to repeat the process.
    2. Select - Add Task List - to create a new task list to attach. 

Once attached, a progress bar is displayed alongside the milestone. When tasks and subtasks in the attached task lists are completed, the milestone progress increases. 

📝 Any tasks in the task list without due dates automatically inherit the attached milestone's due date.

Another option...

Attach a milestone to a task list when creating or editing a task list.
  1. Select the Milestone tab in the task list window.
  2. Choose an existing milestone or create a new one.
  3. Click Create (if creating a task list) or Save Changes (if editing a task list).

    Image Placeholder

The milestone is attached to the task list and is visible below the task list name when viewing the project's List section.


Complete a milestone

Completed milestones display in the Completed subsection of the project's Milestones area. You'll also see completed milestones in the Everything and Profile areas. 

  • Click the checkmark (tick icon) to the left of an open milestone to complete it.
    Open milestones are indicated in red (late) or yellow (upcoming).
  • Click the green (completed) checkmark besides a completed milestone to reopen it. 
⚠️  Completing all tasks within a milestone’s attached task lists does not auto-complete the milestone. You need to complete the milestone manually.

Another option...

You can also modify details of a completed milestone.
  1. Click the name of the completed milestone you want to modify.
  2. Hover over Date Completed in the milestone details panel to the left of the view.
     
    Image Placeholder
  3. Click Modify.
  4. Update the relevant milestone property:
    1. Person who completed the milestone.
    2. Completion date - click the current date to open the date picker. 
  5. Click Apply changes. 
     

View milestones

View milestones from different areas of your site.

  • Everything > Milestones - displays milestones across all project you have access to. 
  • Project > Milestones - displays milestones within a single project. 
  • Profile > Milestones - displays milestones assigned to that user. 
  • Chart view - displays the milestone icon within the timeline view. 
  • Gantt chart - displays the milestone icon the time line view within a project (only when associated with a task list).
  • Calendar - displays the milestone name and icon. 

Psst! Did you know? You can see milestones in a list or calendar format from some views? Just click the dropdown in the top right.

💡 What’s most urgent?

The Everything and project areas allow you to view all, upcoming (yellow), late (red), and completed (green) milestones in separate subsections.

Image Placeholder
 

Filter milestones

Use the filter options in the Milestones section of the following areas to refine the milestones you wish to view.

Filter
Purpose
Keyword
Show milestones with names matching specific text.
Followers
Show milestones currently followed by specific users.
Date
Show milestones based on their due date.
Tags
Show milestones with the selected tags currently applied.
Created by
Show milestones created by specific users.
Status 1
Show milestones based on their current status (incomplete, upcoming, late, completed, or all).
Assigned to 2
Show milestones assigned to specific users.

Once you select a user, you can choose to also include milestones assigned to their associated company.
  - Teams 2
Show milestones assigned to specific teams.
  - Companies 2
Show milestones assigned to specific companies.
Project 2
Show milestones from specific projects.
Show private milestones
Include milestones with privacy settings applied.
Show attached task lists
Display milestones' attached task lists.
Show milestone % completed
Display milestones' current completion rate (based on their attached task lists).
Include milestones assigned to company 3
Include all milestones assigned to the user's associated company.
Include milestones assigned to teams 3
Include all milestones assigned to the user's associated teams.
Filter
Purpose
Keyword
Show milestones with names matching specific text.
Followers
Show milestones currently followed by specific users.
Date
Show milestones based on their due date.
Tags
Show milestones with the selected tags currently applied.
Created by
Show milestones created by specific users.
Status 1
Show milestones based on their current status (incomplete, upcoming, late, completed, or all).
Assigned to 2
Show milestones assigned to specific users.

Once you select a user, you can choose to also include milestones assigned to their associated company.
  - Teams 2
Show milestones assigned to specific teams.
  - Companies 2
Show milestones assigned to specific companies.
Project 2
Show milestones from specific projects.
Show private milestones
Include milestones with privacy settings applied.
Show attached task lists
Display milestones' attached task lists.
Show milestone % completed
Display milestones' current completion rate (based on their attached task lists).
Include milestones assigned to company 3
Include all milestones assigned to the user's associated company.
Include milestones assigned to teams 3
Include all milestones assigned to the user's associated teams.
1. This filter is not available in the Project > Milestones view.
2. This filter is not available in the Profile > Milestones view.
3. This filter is exclusive to the Profile > Milestones view.
 

Export milestones

Export multiple milestones via the Everything>Milestones and Project>Milestones tabs.

  1. Open a project and switch to the Milestones tab.
  2. Click the ... (ellipsis) next to + Add Milestone. 
  3. Click Export. 
  4. Choose from the following formats:
    1. PDF (calendar)
    2. PDF (agenda) - includes any attached task lists and progress percentage
    3. Excel.
    4. iCal - generates a one-way export only iCal feed. 
       

Best practices

  • Track critical phases of a project: create a milestone and tie task list(s) to it to automatically track progress towards your goals. (When we say automatically, you’ll still need to complete tasks, that’s always important).
  • Review progress with the team: keep everyone on the same page by sharing or reviewing milestone progress during team meetings or 1-1s (this is also a great way to make sure tasks are getting updated). 
  • Level up your calendar experience: use filters to include milestones on your calendar so you always have visibility of key deadlines.