As a freelancer on UpWork, you have the opportunity to work with some of the world’s top businesses. But what exactly is a milestone?
A milestone is a specific, measurable, achievable, relevant, and time-bound goal that you and your client agree upon. Once you complete a milestone, your client can then release payment for that milestone to you.
There are three types of milestones:
1. Recurring Milestones
2. One-Time Milestones
3. Flexible Milestones
Recurring Milestones are typically used for long-term projects with consistent deliverables (e.g. blog posts, social media posts, etc.).
They’re usually set up at the beginning of the project and occur at regular intervals (e. weekly, bi-weekly, monthly).
One-Time Milestones are used for projects with a finite scope or deliverables (e. designing a logo, building a website, etc. They’re typically set up at the beginning of the project and occur once the deliverable has been completed.
Flexible Milestones are used for projects where the scope or deliverables may change during the course of the project (e. software development projects). They’re typically set up after the project has started and can be adjusted as needed throughout the project.
Once you and your client have agreed upon milestones for your project, be sure to add them to your contract so that both parties are clear on what is expected to be delivered and when payments will be released.