Managing Projects
Learn how to organize your freelance work into projects with milestones, track progress, and automatically generate invoices when you complete work.
Getting Started
Projects help you organize larger pieces of work that span multiple deliverables or payment milestones. Instead of creating individual invoices, you can track the entire project lifecycle and get paid as you complete each milestone.
💡 Why Use Projects?
Projects are perfect for website builds, multi-phase campaigns, ongoing retainers, or any work with multiple deliverables. Break down work into milestones and get paid incrementally as you complete each phase.
Key Benefits:
- ✓Better organization – Group related work under one project
- ✓Milestone tracking – Break work into manageable phases
- ✓Progress visibility – See completion percentage at a glance
- ✓Quick invoicing – Generate invoices directly from completed milestones
Creating a Project
Start by creating a new project from the Projects page. You can either start from scratch or use one of our pre-built templates.
How to Create a Project:
- 1Navigate to Projects from the sidebar
- 2Click "New Project"
- 3Choose a template or start from scratch
- 4Fill in project details and add milestones
- 5Click "Create Project"
Project Details:
Project Name
A clear, descriptive name like "Website Redesign" or "Brand Identity Package"
Client
Select an existing client from your client list
Status
Planning, Active, On Hold, or Completed
Total Budget
The total project value (optional, for tracking)
Timeline
Start and end dates to track project duration
Project Templates
Templates help you get started quickly with pre-defined milestones for common project types. Choose a template that matches your work and customize it as needed.
Website Development
Perfect for web projects with phases like discovery, design, development, and launch
Includes: Discovery & Planning, Design Mockups, Development, Testing, Launch
Brand Identity
For branding and design projects with research, concepts, and deliverables
Includes: Brand Discovery, Concept Development, Design Refinement, Final Deliverables
Mobile App
For app development with wireframes, UI design, and development phases
Includes: Requirements, Wireframes, UI Design, Development, Testing, App Store Submission
Start from Scratch
Create a blank project and add your own custom milestones
Tip: Template milestones are just starting points. You can add, remove, or rename milestones after selecting a template.
Setting Up Milestones
Milestones are the building blocks of your project. Each milestone represents a distinct phase of work with its own deliverables and payment amount.
Milestone Fields:
Name
Short, descriptive name like "Phase 1: Discovery" or "Design Mockups"
Description
Details about what this milestone includes
Amount
Payment amount for this milestone. This becomes the invoice amount when you bill for it.
Due Date
Target completion date for this milestone
💡 Pro Tip: Payment Milestones
Always set amounts for milestones you want to invoice. When you mark a milestone as complete, we'll prompt you to create an invoice with the milestone amount pre-filled.
Tracking Progress
As you work on your project, update milestone statuses to reflect your progress. Your project page shows an overall completion percentage and budget tracking.
Pending
Work hasn't started on this milestone yet
In Progress
You're actively working on this milestone
Completed
Milestone is done! You'll be prompted to create an invoice.
Project Stats:
- Progress % – Percentage of milestones completed
- Total Budget – Sum of all milestone amounts
- Earned – Sum of completed milestone amounts
- Milestones – Completed / Total count
Creating Invoices from Milestones
The best part of using projects – when you complete a milestone, we help you create an invoice automatically with all the details pre-filled.
✨ How It Works
When you mark a milestone as "Completed", a prompt appears asking if you'd like to create an invoice. Click "Create Invoice" and we'll:
- • Pre-select the correct client
- • Add the milestone name as an invoice item
- • Set the amount from your milestone
- • Include the milestone description
Step-by-Step:
- 1Open your project and find the completed milestone
- 2Change the status to "Completed"
- 3A notification appears asking "Ready to get paid?"
- 4Click "Create Invoice"
- 5Review the pre-filled invoice and send to your client
Note: If you dismiss the invoice prompt, you can always create an invoice manually later from the Invoices page.
Project Lifecycle
Projects move through different statuses as work progresses. Understanding these helps you manage your workflow better.
Planning
Initial phase. You can edit everything, but milestones cannot be marked complete yet.
Active
Work is underway. You can update milestone statuses and create invoices for completed work.
On Hold
Project is paused. Use this when waiting for client feedback or resources.
Completed
All work is done. The project is archived but still visible in your history.
💡 Best Practice
Keep your project status accurate. Move to "Active" when you start work, "On Hold" if there are delays, and "Completed" when all milestones are done and invoices are sent.