Milestones
Use milestones to track phased delivery and payment against a purchase order: define amounts and dates, optionally apply templates, move work through a clear lifecycle, and handle approvals and retention.
Overview
Milestones give you milestone-based delivery tracking per PO:
- Break a PO into phases with amounts and due dates
- Optionally tie retention to each milestone
- Apply templates to standardize milestone structures
- Progress milestones through Pending → Started → Completed → Approved/Rejected
- Attach documents stored securely (for example S3) per milestone
Feature availability
Milestone workflows require the milestones feature. Navigation and actions may be hidden if your plan does not include this module.
Creating milestones
Add a milestone to a PO
Typical fields when creating or editing a milestone:
| Field | Purpose |
|---|---|
| Description | What this phase covers (delivery, service period, etc.) |
| Amount | Value attributed to this milestone |
| Due date | Target date for completion or billing |
| Retention % | Portion held until release rules are met |
Save the milestone; repeat until the PO’s phased plan matches your contract or delivery schedule.
Applying templates
If your organization uses milestone templates:
- Open the PO’s milestones section
- Choose Apply template (or equivalent)
- Select the template
Template behavior
Applying a template typically replaces all existing milestones on the PO with the template’s structure. Confirm before applying if you already entered data.
Lifecycle
Milestones follow a controlled progression:
| State | Meaning |
|---|---|
| Pending | Defined but not yet in progress |
| Started | Work or delivery phase has begun |
| Completed | Milestone work is finished pending approval |
| Approved | Accepted per your approval rules |
| Rejected | Not accepted; follow your process for correction |
Exact labels in the UI may match your localization; the flow above is the logical sequence.
Approval
Approving milestones is a separate permission from general PO approval:
- Users need
approve_milestones(or equivalent) to approve or reject milestone completion - Without it, users may still create or update milestones depending on other roles, but cannot finalize approvals
Check with your administrator if approval actions are unavailable.
Retention release
Retention is often tracked at PO level as well as on milestones:
- Retention may accrue per milestone according to the percentage you set
- Releasing retention is typically a PO-level action executed when contract terms allow (for example after final acceptance)
Follow your finance team’s policy when releasing retention.
Document uploads
Each milestone can store supporting files (certificates, photos, sign-offs):
- Files are stored using cloud object storage (for example Amazon S3) per your tenant configuration
- Use uploads for audit evidence and vendor documentation
Keep evidence with the milestone
Upload inspection reports, handover documents, or sign-offs on the same milestone they belong to so approvers see the full picture in one place.