Setting up projects
Create and manage projects
Set up a project for each job you carry out, move it from draft to closed, and see at a glance what every job has earned and cost so far.
3 min readLast updated
In this article
A project is a job you cost and bill: a building, a fit-out, a maintenance contract. Every cost and revenue you charge to it is collected in one place, so you can see what the job has earned, what it has cost and what margin it is making while the work is still going on.
Before you start
Projects are part of the Projects & Contracting module. If you do not see the Projects menu, your plan does not include it, or you do not have permission to view projects.
If the job came from a tender you won in the CRM, create the project from the award instead. It copies the customer, value and dates for you. See Create a project from a won award.
Create a project
Open Projects › Projects and select New project.
Enter a Code and a Name. The code must be unique in your company; it is how people pick the project on invoices and vouchers. Add the Name (Arabic) so Arabic screens and documents show it.
Choose the Customer, if the job is for one.
Enter the Contract value, the Start date and the End date.
Enter the Retention % and the Advance % agreed in the contract. They are recorded as contract terms now.
Optional: enter the Location and a Description.
Select Save.
The project starts as a draft. Open it and select Change status › Start project when work begins.
Statuses
Status | What it means |
|---|---|
Draft | Being set up. Costs can already be charged to it. |
Active | Work is going on. |
On hold | Work has stopped for now. Costs can still be charged. |
Completed | The work is finished. Late invoices can still be charged. |
Closed | Nothing more can be charged to it. |
Use Change status on the project page to move it on. Close project and Reopen need the permission to close projects. Close a project once its last invoices are in, so nobody charges a new cost to it by mistake.
What the list shows
Each row shows the project's status, customer and contract value, with Revenue to date and Cost to date read from the entries charged to it. Search by code, name or location, and filter by status.
Common questions
Can I delete a project? Only while nothing has been charged to it. After that, close it instead. Its history stays in the books.
Is this the same as Projects & Tenders in the CRM? No. The CRM tracks the market: projects you might bid on, tenders and offers. A project here is a job you have won and are carrying out, and it is linked to the CRM award it came from.
Can I charge a closed project by mistake? No. Invoices, vouchers and journal entries that name a closed project are refused until the project is reopened.