> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.msportal.ai/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Create and manage project milestones

> Add milestones, maintain planned and actual dates, set client visibility, and reorder the timeline.

**Audience:** MSP staff with permission to edit project collaboration content. Company users [read shared milestones](/user-guides/projects/read-project-timeline); their MSP manages permissions.

Use **Projects > select a project > Timeline**. Timeline milestones are maintained in MSPortal. Changing one does not by itself change a linked PSA ticket, phase schedule, or project status.

## Add a milestone

<Steps>
  <Step title="Show Total, then Add Milestone">
    Clear any status filter with **Total**, then select the **+** control labeled **Add Milestone** or the empty-state button. A **New Milestone** is saved immediately as **Pending**, with **Client Visible** off, and its editor opens.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Name and describe the milestone">
    Replace **Title** with a clear outcome and optionally add **Description**. Keep a nonblank title. Text saves shortly after you stop typing; there is no separate Save button. Clearing the title is not a way to delete the milestone.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Set dates and status">
    Choose **Planned Date** and the appropriate **Status**.

    <img src="https://mintcdn.com/msportal/qpdBpWGevPXfju6k/images/product/project-milestone-status-options.png?fit=max&auto=format&n=qpdBpWGevPXfju6k&q=85&s=74550bc10e0e128def9365b845158ea9" alt="MSP milestone Status menu: Pending, In Progress, Complete, and Skipped" width="728" height="268" data-path="images/product/project-milestone-status-options.png" />

    This menu is shown to MSP editors.

    When the milestone is finished, set **Complete** and record **Actual Completion Date**. These are separate controls: selecting Complete does not automatically fill the actual date, and entering an actual date does not automatically mark the milestone complete.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Review client visibility">
    Check all content, then enable **Client Visible** when the milestone is ready for Company users who can access the project. Visibility saves immediately. Later edits to a visible milestone are shared as they save.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Verify persistence">
    Collapse and reopen the row, then revisit the project to check the saved title, status, dates, and visibility. If a save fails, check the saved state before repeating changes.
  </Step>
</Steps>

<Warning>
  Do not put confidential information in **Notes (internal)** on a client-visible milestone. The current field does not have a verified separate privacy boundary: the client-facing data filter retains milestone notes. Keep private content off shared milestones until this is corrected.
</Warning>

For the separate **Mark as Milestone** phase/ticket shortcut, its different defaults, and the currently recorded failure, see [phase and ticket action menus](/user-guides/projects/use-phase-ticket-actions).

## Filter, reorder, and remove

The **Timeline** tab badge counts client-visible milestones. It can show fewer items than your MSP **Total**, which includes internal milestones.

* Select **Completed**, **In Progress**, or **Pending** to filter rows. A change of status can move a row out of the current filter. **Total** includes **Skipped**.
* To change the list order, select **Total** and drag a milestone by its grip handle. Reordering is disabled while a status filter is active. The order saves; dragging does not reschedule dates.
* Use **Skipped** when a milestone is no longer part of the plan but should remain in the record. It does not count as Complete.
* To delete, select the row's delete control and confirm. Revisit the list to verify removal; collapsing the editor does not cancel a new milestone.

See [Read the project timeline](/user-guides/projects/read-project-timeline) for date-delay indicators and [Write project updates](/user-guides/projects/write-project-updates) for progress narratives.

## FAQs

<AccordionGroup>
  <Accordion title="Why did Add Milestone create a record before I finished?">
    Adding immediately saves the default Pending milestone. Finish its fields or explicitly delete it; closing the editor does not discard it.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Why did a new or edited milestone disappear?">
    A status filter may hide it. New milestones are Pending. Select Total before assuming a save failed or adding another copy.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Does Complete fill the completion date?">
    No. Set Status and Actual Completion Date separately. Reopening a completed milestone also does not automatically clear its actual date.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Why can I not drag milestones?">
    You need editing permission and the unfiltered Total list. Reordering is disabled with a status filter active.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Does Client Visible notify clients or grant project access?">
    No. It makes the milestone available within a project they can already access. These controls do not send notifications or grant permissions.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Can I rely on Notes (internal) to hide text on a shared milestone?">
    No. Keep confidential text out of that field on shared milestones until its privacy behavior is verified and corrected. The label alone is not a reliable isolation guarantee.
  </Accordion>
</AccordionGroup>