If you’ve ever tried to wrangle a client implementation with spreadsheets, endless email threads, and half-baked status meetings, you know the pain. Things slip through the cracks. Clients get frustrated. Your team scrambles. Nobody wants that.
This guide is for anyone who owns client onboarding or implementation projects and wants less chaos, more clarity, and—let’s be blunt—happier clients. We’ll walk through how to use Baton to actually track milestones, keep projects moving, and make the whole process less painful. No fluff, just what works.
Why Tracking Implementation Milestones Actually Matters
Let’s get this out of the way: “milestones” isn’t just a fancy word for tasks. They’re the big rocks—the points in a project where you (and your client) know real progress has happened. If you don’t track them well, projects get fuzzy, deadlines slip, and nobody can say what’s really done.
Typical problems: - Clients don’t know what’s next, so they don’t act. - Your team spends more time chasing updates than doing real work. - Executives ask, “Are we on track?” and you can’t give a straight answer.
Tracking milestones in a tool that’s made for this (and not, say, a color-coded spreadsheet) is a game-changer. That’s where Baton comes in.
Step 1: Get Baton Set Up for Your Team and Clients
Let’s keep this brief. If you’re not already using Baton, sign up and get your workspace created. Invite your implementation team and (this is key) your client stakeholders. The whole point is to keep everyone on the same page, so don’t treat Baton as an internal tool only.
What matters: - Everyone who has to do something—on your side or the client’s—needs access. - Don’t overthink permissions. Start simple; you can always dial things in later.
What to skip: - Don’t spend hours customizing colors or adding your logo. Focus on getting your first real project in.
Step 2: Map Out Your Real Milestones (Not Just Tasks)
Here’s where most teams mess up: they dump every single to-do into the project and call them “milestones.” That’s overwhelming and useless.
A milestone should be: - A clear, meaningful event (e.g., “Data Migration Complete,” “Client Training Delivered”) - Something both you and the client care about - Easy to tell if it’s done or not
How to do this in Baton: - In your project template, define 5–10 milestones that mark real progress. - Avoid getting lost in subtasks. Those can live in checklists under each milestone, but don’t clutter the main view.
Pro tip: Ask your last three clients what points in the project felt like “big wins” or “bottlenecks.” Base your milestones on that, not on what you wish the project looked like.
Step 3: Assign Owners (And Make Them Real People)
Nothing stalls a project faster than milestones without owners. It’s easy to assume “the client will handle it” or “someone on our team will pick it up.” That’s how things get dropped.
What works: - Assign a single owner for each milestone—either someone on your team or a named client contact. - If both sides need to do work, break it into two milestones or make the checklist crystal clear.
In Baton: - For each milestone, tag the responsible person. If you don’t know who on the client side, ask. Don’t settle for “Client Team.”
What to ignore: - Don’t use generic labels like “Support” or “Implementation.” Actual names mean actual accountability.
Step 4: Set Realistic Dates—And Communicate Them
Dates drive action. But fake deadlines (“ASAP,” “next week-ish”) are worse than none at all. Use Baton to set actual target dates for each milestone.
Tips: - Use what you know. If a milestone depends on client resources, ask them when they can realistically deliver. - Buffer in some slack for known delays (like waiting on IT). - Update dates as you go. Projects rarely go exactly as planned, so adjust in Baton and keep everyone looped in.
What to avoid: - Don’t set all milestone dates at the project start and never revisit them. - Don’t make your team (or the client) guess when things are due.
Step 5: Use Baton’s Status Features—But Don’t Overcomplicate
Baton lets you set status (Not Started, In Progress, Blocked, Complete) for each milestone. This is useful—if you actually keep it up to date.
How to make it work: - Make updating status part of your weekly rhythm. Don’t rely on memory; do it during or right after your project check-in. - Encourage clients to update their milestones. If they don’t, nudge them (“Hey, did you get a chance to sign off on training?”). - Use comments to flag blockers or ask questions. Keep the conversation in Baton, not lost in email threads.
What’s not worth it: - Don’t try to make status updates daily unless you’re running a five-alarm-fire project. - Avoid “status theater.” If something’s stuck, mark it Blocked and say why. Hiding problems just makes them worse.
Step 6: Keep Everyone in the Loop—Automatically
Clients—and your own executives—hate surprises. Baton can send automated reminders, status updates, and even weekly digests.
How to use this without annoying everyone: - Set up automated reminders for milestone owners a few days before due dates. Don’t spam everyone for every checklist item. - Use the summary or dashboard view before meetings to get a real sense of what’s on track (or not). - Share the project timeline with clients. Transparency keeps everyone honest and focused.
What to skip: - Don’t CC the world on every update. Less is more. - Don’t rely only on automation; some human check-ins are still necessary.
Step 7: Learn and Iterate After Every Project
Even the best plan won’t survive first contact with a real client. After a project wraps up, use Baton’s reporting features (or just a quick export) to review what worked and what didn’t.
Why bother? - You’ll spot recurring blockers—maybe “waiting for client IT” is always a problem. - You can tighten your milestones for next time (maybe that “Kickoff Call” milestone really needs a “Client Team Introduced” step first). - Real feedback makes your templates better and your life easier.
Keep it simple: - Do a 15-minute debrief. Don’t let “process improvement” become a month-long project. - Tweak your milestones, owners, or dates before your next implementation. Iterate, don’t overhaul.
Honest Pros and Cons of Using Baton for Milestone Tracking
What works well: - Centralizes communication and visibility for both sides. - Makes ownership and next steps clear (if you set it up right). - Cuts down on the “where are we?” meetings.
Where it can fall short: - Baton is only as good as what people put into it. If you or the client don’t update things, it’s just another tool. - Clients new to project management tools may need a little hand-holding. - Over-customizing templates can slow you down. Stick to what actually helps.
Ignore the hype: - No tool will magically fix bad process or lack of follow-through. Baton helps, but you still need humans to drive things forward.
Keep It Simple—And Iterate
Don’t let “tracking milestones” become another thing that bogs you down. Start with the basics: - Real milestones, not a million tasks. - Named owners, not “the team.” - Honest dates and statuses.
Use Baton to make things visible and keep everyone focused. If something isn’t working, tweak it next time. The goal isn’t a perfect process—it’s one that actually gets clients across the finish line, with less chaos for everyone.
That’s it. Keep it simple, keep it honest, and keep moving forward.