Projects

Why and when you use it

Installation, construction and fabrication jobs run for months, are billed in stages and go over budget quietly. Projects keeps tasks, hours, purchases and bills against each project so you see profit per project while there is still time to act. Project managers use it daily; the owner reads Finance.

Before you start

• Client added as a customer
• Project value and billing stages agreed
• Projects module active (Enterprise plan)

Step by step

1. Create the projectAdd it in Projects with the client and value. The Dashboard then shows it with your other running projects.
2. Break it into tasks and milestonesList the work in Tasks. In Milestones & Billing set the stages at which you bill the client, so invoices go out on time.
3. Plan resourcesUse Resources to assign people and equipment, and Timesheets to record hours worked on the project.
4. Buy for the projectRecord outside contractors and materials bought for this job in Subcontracts & Purchases, so their cost lands on the project.
5. Keep the site recordWrite daily progress, weather and manpower in Site Diary. Store drawings in Documents & RFIs and raise RFIs (requests for information - formal questions to the client or designer) there.
6. Manage problems and changesLog problems in Issues and possible problems in Risks. When the client asks for extra work, record it in Change Requests so it is approved and billed.
7. Watch the moneyOpen Finance to compare billed, received and spent against the project budget.
8. Check Registers Overview, Accounts and My PlanThe last tabs are shared by the industry modules. Registers Overview gives one summary of the registers in Projects, Accounts shows the money side of the module and how it reaches your books, and My Plan confirms the module is active - it reads "Projects Enterprise (Enterprise plan)".

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