How To Create Milestones on Upwork

Milestones on Upwork mark key moments in a project that can be set by the client. We’ve integrated a milestone option into fixed-price projects to help you break your next initiative—as well as the project schedule, deliverables, and budget—into smaller and more manageable chunks.

How can you incorporate milestones into your next project timeline? Let’s look at what milestones are and how they can help you get the results you’re looking for.

What are milestones?

Milestones are stages of a project. Many people set milestones for large or complex projects, or when working with new independent professionals, so they can review work as the project progresses. For example, if you’re contracting a freelancer to build a new website, potential milestones are:

• Starting the project
• Approving the wireframe
• Finalizing page design
• Developing content
• Testing and QA
  

And so on.

Think of project milestones as a way to help keep things on track and to review where in the process your project is at certain times. Milestones can help with project management by setting expectations, avoiding misunderstandings, and incorporating feedback as things progress.

Setting milestones on your Upwork project may also reduce your risk and help manage budgets. Instead of paying for an entire project at once, you pay for the work as it’s completed to your satisfaction.

Here are a few things to keep in mind as you get started:

• Milestones on Upwork are only available for fixed-price projects.
• Each milestone needs to have a purpose, completion date, and set payment installment amount. These should be discussed and agreed upon by all project stakeholders.
• Milestones are pre-funded, one at a time, with the funds held in Escrow. Once the work for a particular milestone has been approved (or after 14 days if you don’t respond), the funds will be released to the independent professional or agency.
• Future milestones can be changed if needed. Even after a project has started, milestones that aren’t active and haven’t been funded already can be adjusted if needed.
• Milestones are sequential. Each milestone needs to be completed before work toward the next one begins.

How to add milestones to your project

Setting milestones is quick and straightforward on Upwork. But if you need to make changes after the work’s begun, no problem. We built in flexibility so that you can add, edit, or remove milestones as a project progresses. Here’s how to get started:‍

1. Post a new job and select “fixed price”

Once you select a fixed price project, enter your estimated budget. You’ll be able to set specific milestones once you begin interviewing freelancers or agencies.

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2. Negotiate project terms and adjust the post

After choosing who you want to contract, negotiate the project details with them. Include the scope of work, milestones and corresponding payment amounts, initial amount to be deposited into Escrow, deliverables, and timelines.

Once everyone agrees to the new terms, update the terms of your job post to match. From this information, Upwork automatically creates a contract between your business and the freelancer or agency.

Select “Deposit a lesser amount to cover the first milestone.” Then you’ll see the option to add milestones.

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3. Set your milestones

You can set milestones during the interview phase or add them once work has started. We suggest being as specific as possible in the milestone description and include details about the expected deliverables including due dates.

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4. Deposit funds and get started!

Deposit the first payment into Escrow and invite the freelancer or agency to accept the project. Once they accept, work can begin.

How to edit milestones once the project has started

You can revise milestones after project kickoff, as long as they aren’t active and haven’t been funded already. One important note: An active milestone can’t be edited. You’ll need to discuss and agree to any changes with each stakeholder.

Before making any changes, we suggest discussing them with the freelancer or agency that’s doing the work to ensure you’re in agreement. You also have the option to include a message with the update notification.

Here’s how to edit milestones after a project’s begun:

1. Click “My Jobs” from your Upwork dashboard. Select the appropriate contract and click on (...) to view your options.

2. Select “Milestones & Payments" to see the main contract details.

3. Click “Add or Edit Milestones"

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4. Update milestones. The active milestone will be locked, but any future milestones will have the option to edit or delete.

The freelancer or agency you’re working with will have a similar option to view “Milestones and Payments," as well as the option to “Add or Edit Milestones."

However, they can’t change the milestone directly. They will only be able to submit a change request. You can then review the potential changes and choose to accept or decline.

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Best practices for setting milestones

How you set milestones will vary by project, but a few universal tips can help you create effective breaks for your project:

• Consider the pace and cadence of milestones. Don’t rush your milestones, but don’t let them drag your project on too much, either. Allow the freelancer enough time to complete the work, too.
• Create enough milestones, but not too many. Most projects can be naturally broken up into to-do’s, but be careful not to break it down too much. Don’t make milestones so frequent or granular that progress is slowed. The average project has around three to five milestones.
• Use milestones as incentives. Consider breaking the total project cost across milestones to pay your freelancer incrementally as things progress. For example, you might use a 25/50/25 structure for a four-milestone project with a short outline, a first draft, then a final round of revisions.

You can learn more about the ins and outs of creating, reviewing, approving, and releasing milestones with the guides in Upwork’s Help Center. These resources will give you step-by-step information to help you set milestones for your next project.

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