Setting up projects
Break a project into tasks
Add the work breakdown or cost codes of a project, up to three levels, so costs and revenue can be charged and reported task by task.
3 min readLast updated
In this article
Tasks split a project into the parts you want to follow separately: phases such as excavation, structure and finishes, trades such as civil and MEP, or your own cost codes. When a cost is charged to a task, the project page shows revenue, cost and margin for that task, so you see which part of the job is making or losing money.
Tasks are optional. A project without tasks still collects every cost charged to it.
Before you start
Agree the breakdown with your project and finance teams before costs start arriving. Moving costs between tasks later means correcting the entries.
You need permission to manage projects.
Add tasks
Open Projects › Projects and open the project.
Open the Tasks tab and select Add task.
Enter the Code and the Name. Codes are unique inside the project, for example
1,1.1,1.2,2.Select Save.
To add a level below a task, select Add sub-task (the plus button) on its row. A project can have up to three levels.
Change or remove a task
Select Edit task (the pencil button) on its row to change the code, the name, or whether it is active.
An inactive task stays in the reports but is no longer offered on new documents. Use it for finished phases.
Delete task (the bin button) removes a task only when it has no sub-tasks and nothing has been charged to it. Otherwise make it inactive.
How tasks are used
When someone charges a document to the project, they can also choose a Task: on journal entry lines, expense and receipt vouchers, purchase invoices and orders, and expense claims. Only the active tasks of the chosen project are offered. See Charge costs and revenue to a project.
On the project's Overview, Revenue and cost by task lists each task with its revenue, cost and margin. Amounts charged to the project without a task show as No task.
Common questions
Should I copy the whole bill of quantities into tasks? Usually not. Use tasks for the level at which you control cost, typically a few dozen lines, not every item of the bill.
Can a task belong to two projects? No. Each project has its own tasks. Changing the project on a document clears the task.