Repeating Milestones

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Repeating Milestones

Estimated reading time: 3 min

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This article describes how to manage repeating milestones.

For an introduction to milestones and how they work, check out our milestones basics help article.

Add a repeating milestone

Note: this section describes adding new repeating milestones to a live contract – i.e., after accepting a contract. For milestones added prior to accepting a contract, you can skip ahead to the next section below.

To add an repeating milestone to a contract, click ‘ADD’.

Add a milestone name and optional milestone deadline, and select ‘Repeating Milestone’ in the ‘Type’ field.

The ‘Deadline’ field is optional and informs the freelancer when you intend to end the milestone. To actually end the deadline, you must do so manually (described later in this article).

Once you select a ‘Type’, the additional relevant field(s) for that milestone type will appear below.

For repeating milestones, complete the following additional fields:

Hourly Rate – the hourly rate you are offering

Hours per Cycle – the maximum hours the freelancer can submit for payment each cycle

Cycle Duration – whether cycles are weekly or monthly

For example, a weekly cycle with 5 hours per cycle means the freelancer can submit up to 5 hours per week.

Click ‘ADD’ to save the new milestone.

You will be automatically prompted to add another new milestone. If you are done adding milestones, click ‘Cancel’ to close the prompt.

Now your milestone is saved.

To open & view the milestone, click the drop-down arrow on the right side of the screen (or click on the milestone name).

Your university freelancer will be notified that you have updated the contract. Once they approve the new milestone, you can start work.

If you need to send a note or reminder to your freelancer, you can do so easily via ‘Messages’ on the contract page. Messages will also go directly to your freelancer’s email.

Start a repeating milestone

To start a repeating milestone, click ‘Start’.

Then click ‘Start’ again to confirm.

Now your milestone has started and your university freelancer can begin work.

Milestone cycles & payment

To view and manage weekly or monthly repeating milestone cycles, click ‘Show/Hide Previous Cycles’.

A. Cycle Deadlines

The first information you will see for each new repeating milestone cycle is the cycle ‘Deadline’.

Cycle ‘Deadlines’ determine when each cycle ends and the next cycle begins.

Weekly cycles always have a deadline of Monday at 12.00am (Sunday at midnight).

Monthly cycles always have a deadline of the last Monday of the month at 12.00am (prior Sunday at midnight)

Once a cycle has reached its deadline, a freelancer can no longer submit /edit hours for that cycle, and a new cycle starts automatically.

B. Cycle Hours

When a freelancer submits or edits hours for the current cycle, it will appear under ‘Submitted Hours’, along with an optional note.

Freelancer can submit / edit hours for the current cycle until the cycle deadline.

Freelancers are not able to submit more than the ‘hours per cycle’ you set for the milestone.

If you need to temporarily allow your freelancer to submit more than the defined ‘Hours per cycle’, you can (a) have them submit the overage in the next cycle, and/or (b) add / start another repeating milestone (which you can pause or end at any time)

If you need to permanently increase the ‘Hours per cycle’, it is best to end the current milestone and start a new one with the ‘Hours per cycle’ you need.

C. Cycle Payment

Freelancers must submit hours for each cycle by the cycle deadline (every Sunday at midnight for weekly cycles; last Sunday of the month at midnight for monthly cycles)

Payment for each cycle is charged automatically on the Friday following the deadline (i.e., deadline + 5 days), and an invoice is sent to you by email.

The charge is reflected in the ‘Total Cost’ field for the relevant cycle.

The cycle payment date (i.e., deadline + 5 days) is also the last day to dispute the freelancer’s submitted hours.

For more information regarding disputes, see the Dispute Resolution Policy.

Note that once a cycle has been paid on the Friday following the cycle deadline, the payment is not refundable.

Pause a repeating milestone

Pausing a repeating milestone lets you temporarily stop new cycles from starting automatically, without ending the milestone entirely.

For example, if you or your university freelancer are unavailable for one or more cycles, you can simply pause the milestone and start it again later.

To pause a milestone, click ‘Pause’.

Click ‘Pause’ again to confirm.

The milestone status will be ‘Paused. The freelancer can still submit hours for payment in the current cycle, but the next cycle will not start until you resume the milestone.

To resume the milestone, click ‘Resume’.

Click ‘Resume’ again to confirm.

The milestone will resume and a new cycle will be started automatically.

End a repeating milestone

Repeating milestones will repeat automatically until you choose to end them.

NOTE: ending a repeating milestone takes effect once the current, or active, cycle is complete. If you want to ensure a new cycle does not start, be sure to end the milestone before the current cycle deadline.

To end a repeating milestone, first open the milestone by clicking on the drop-down arrow on the right (or clicking on the milestone name), and then click ‘End’