What is the difference between a job and a milestone in Protiv?

Purpose

This article explains how jobs and milestones work together in Protiv. You’ll learn what each one represents and why both matter for tracking work and bonuses.

When To Use This

Use this when you’re:

• Setting up jobs for the first time
• Confused about where bonuses actually come from
• Trying to understand ProPay references on bonus statements
• Training managers or admins on how work is structured in Protiv

Before You Start

Before reading this, it helps if you know:

• What a ProPay is
• That Protiv tracks work by job and milestone
• That bonuses are tied to completed work

Step-by-Step Instructions

Step 1 — Understand what a job represents

A job is the top-level container for work in Protiv.  A job represents the full project or work order.
Examples include a full renovation, install, or contract.

A job:

• Has one client
• Has one branch
• Has one manager
• Can include many milestones
• Moves from pending to in progress to completed

Jobs are required for payroll setup because the branch controls pay periods and the manager controls bonus allocation.

Step 2 — Understand what a milestone represents

A milestone is a specific phase or task inside a job. Milestones break the job into real, trackable chunks of work.
Examples include demolition, installation, inspections, or cleanup.

A milestone:

• Belongs to one job
• Tracks progress and completion
• Holds labor, material, and equipment costs
• Can support time and materials billing
• Triggers a ProPay when completed

Milestone status flows from pending to scheduled to in progress to completed.

Step 3 — Understand the job and milestone hierarchy

Protiv uses a simple parent-child structure.

• Job = the full project
• Milestones = the phases inside that project

Example structure:

Job: Sample Kitchen Renovation

• Milestone: Demolition & Prep
• Milestone: Electrical Work
• Milestone: Plumbing Installation
• Milestone: Final Finish & Cleanup

All work happens at the milestone level, but everything rolls up to the job.

Step 4 — Know how bonuses are generated

Milestones are what actually trigger bonuses.

When a milestone is completed:

• A ProPay can be generated
• Workers earn bonuses tied to that milestone
• Multiple milestones can create multiple ProPays
• ProPays can be grouped if needed

Jobs do not directly create ProPays.
They provide the structure that connects milestones, managers, and branches.

Step 5 — Understand how this shows up in bonus statements

In the bonuses area, you’ll see both views working together.

Statements view:

• Shows total bonuses per worker per pay period
• Combines bonuses from multiple jobs and milestones

Line items view:

• Shows individual bonus entries
• Links each bonus back to the milestone
• Displays the related job for context

This makes it easy to trace a bonus back to the exact work that earned it.

Examples

Example 1:
If a job has five milestones and three are completed, bonuses can be paid for those three milestones even if the job is not finished.

Example 2:
Two workers may earn bonuses from different milestones on the same job, but their statements still roll up cleanly by pay period.

Common Mistakes & How To Fix Them

• Treating a job like a task
  Fix: Use jobs only for full projects. Put real work in milestones.
• Expecting a job to trigger a bonus
  Bonuses come from milestone completion, not job completion.
• Creating too few milestones
  Fix: Break work into clear phases so progress and bonuses stay accurate.
• Confusing ProPay references
  Fix: Look at the milestone name tied to the ProPay, then trace it back to the job.