Milestone statuses and what triggers invoicing

Each milestone moves through a set of statuses as work progresses — but reaching "complete" doesn't send an invoice by itself. Invoicing a milestone is always a deliberate step.

Not started — the milestone has been created but work hasn't begun.
In progress — work has started, either marked manually or updated automatically if the project is connected to a task-tracking tool.
Complete — the work is finished. Mark a milestone complete yourself, or approve an AI-suggested completion if the project's connected task tool shows all its tasks are done.
Invoiced — an invoice has been created from the milestone.
Paid — the invoice for the milestone has been paid.

To invoice a completed milestone, either:

Open the milestone and select Invoice to create an invoice for it directly, or
Go to your Invoices page and open Invoice Completed Milestones, which lists every completed, not-yet-invoiced milestone across your projects so you can batch them onto invoices.

Good to know

Marking a milestone complete never generates an invoice on its own — you always choose when to invoice it.
If a project is connected to a task-tracking tool and most of a milestone's tasks are done, Handl can propose marking it complete — but this still needs your approval, it doesn't happen silently.
Once a milestone is invoiced, it locks — you can't edit its name, amount, or dates from that point on.

FAQs

What if I mark a milestone complete by mistake?
You can move it back to "in progress" before it's been invoiced.

Can I invoice a milestone that isn't marked complete yet?
The milestone's own "Invoice" action is intended for completed milestones — mark it complete first so your billing records stay accurate.

Do I have to invoice milestones one at a time?
No — use "Invoice Completed Milestones" from the Invoices page to see and bill multiple completed milestones across projects together.