Project Milestones and Progress Tracking in Pulse
How milestones control project progress, assignees and checklists, what the status options mean, how clients get notified, and how due dates appear on the calendar.
Pulse · 16 Jun 2026
Milestones are the building blocks of project progress in Pulse. Each milestone has its own status and a percentage completion, and Pulse calculates the overall project progress from them automatically.
What a milestone includes
Each milestone has a title (required), a description (optional), a status, a progress percentage (0 to 100), an optional due date, and an optional assignee.
Milestone statuses
- Not Started — work on this milestone has not begun.
- In Progress — the team is actively working on it.
- Awaiting Feedback — the work is ready for client review.
- Completed — the milestone is done. Marking it complete sends a notification to the client.
How progress is calculated
Pulse averages the progress percentage across all milestones in the project. A project with four milestones at 100%, 50%, 25%, and 0% would show 44% overall progress. The project header updates in real time as milestone progress changes.
Who can manage milestones
Only admins and team members with project management access can create, edit, or delete milestones. Clients can view milestones and follow the progress, but they cannot make changes.
Assigning a milestone
Each milestone can be assigned to one person — an internal team member or an accepted collaborator on the project. The assignee's name shows on the milestone card so it is clear who owns it. Assigning a milestone does not change who can view or update it; it is a visibility aid, not a permission gate.
Checklists
For milestones with multiple small steps, add a checklist. Open the milestone card and expand Checklist to add items, check them off as they are done, reorder them, or remove ones you no longer need. The checklist count (for example "3/5") gives an at-a-glance view of how close the milestone is to done, alongside its progress percentage.
Client notifications
Clients receive a notification when a milestone is created and again when any milestone on their project is updated. When a milestone reaches Completed status, Pulse sends a completion notification.
Calendar integration
Every milestone with a due date automatically appears on the Pulse calendar. There is no extra step to link them — Pulse creates the calendar event when the milestone is saved and updates it if the due date changes. Completed milestones show a completion indicator on the calendar day.
Tips for using milestones effectively
- Break large projects into milestones that match real delivery checkpoints (e.g. "First draft", "Client review", "Final delivery").
- Use the Awaiting Feedback status to signal to the client that their input is needed.
- Assign an owner to each milestone so it is clear who is accountable.
- Use a checklist when a milestone has several small steps rather than one big deliverable.
- Set a due date on each milestone so the calendar reflects the project timeline.
- Keep the progress percentage honest — even 50% on a milestone tells the client more than leaving it at 0%.
Frequently asked questions
Does completing all milestones automatically complete the project?
No. Project status is a separate field. After all milestones are completed, an admin needs to update the project status to Completed.
Can I reorder milestones?
Milestones are listed by creation order. Reordering the milestone list itself is not currently available from the interface, so create milestones in the sequence you want to display them. Checklist items within a milestone can be reordered.
Can I assign a milestone to a client?
No. Milestones can be assigned to team members or accepted collaborators, not to the project client.