Project settings and finances

A project’s Settings tab brings together everything that defines it: its status, information, client, finances (budget, sale price, hourly rates, costs, margin, billing milestones) and sub-projects. This article explains each card and who can change it. It is aimed at project leads, cross-project managers and accounting.

Before you start #

• Changing the status, the information and the Finances card requires the Project permission at the Execute level, and a role that writes in the project. Without it, these fields are greyed out.
• Each financial area has its own permission, at the Access level to read it and Execute to manage it: Hourly rates — Manage, Cost lines — Manage, Billing milestones — Manage. In the roles supplied, accounting manages them.
• The budget type and amount are shown with Budget — View; the margin, with Margin preview; the sale price, with either.
• Sub-projects are managed with Sub-projects — Manage at the Execute level.

Status #

The Status card offers Active, Draft and Archived. The change is saved straight away, without the button at the bottom, and the message “Status updated” confirms it. Only an Active project accepts new time and expense allocations (see Getting started with project management).

Information and client #

1. In the Information card, fill in the project’s Name and Code (for example “CLI-GVA”). The code is shown in the project list and is used by the search.
2. Choose the Client type: Internal client (project for your own organisation) or External client (project for a third-party client).
3. For an external client, complete the Client details: the contact’s First name, Last name, Company, Address and Email.
4. Enter the Start and End dates, and a Description of the objectives and scope.
5. Click Save changes, at the bottom of the tab. The word “Saved” confirms it.

A warning reminds you that you are recording a third party’s personal data: collect only what the client relationship requires. These details are erased immediately if the project is deleted.

With the CRM #

When the CRM is installed, the CRM client block lets you link the project to a CRM Account and Contact. The client details then come from the CRM: they are edited on the account and the contact, and follow in the project, where they are read-only. A project created from a won deal also shows its Originating opportunity and Accepted quote. See From a won deal to a project.

Finances #

The Finances card brings together the budget, the sale price and the areas that feed the margin.

Billable and currency #

Switch on Billable for a project you invoice, and choose its currency. The currency can only change while the project carries no amount yet (budget, sale price, milestones, cost lines, hourly rates, allocated expense reports); a notice says so if you try.

Budget type #

• None: no budget tracking.
• Time: track time spent, in hours or days. Enter the budget in the project’s unit. The Overview then shows the Time consumed card.
• Cost: track the financial budget. Enter the Amount. The Overview then shows the Finances card, with spending.

Below the budget, Task effort estimates sets the unit for estimates: Hours or Days and, in days, the length of One day = in hours.

Sale price #

For a billable project, enter the Sale price. It is the revenue in the margin preview and the total in billing milestone tracking. Click Save changes to save the client type, budget, unit and sale price.

Hourly rates #

Hourly rates put a value on time spent: each member at their own rate, otherwise at the default rate.

1. Click Add a rate.
2. Enter a Label… and the hourly Rate.
3. Choose the member concerned, or All members; in the latter case, you can tick Default.
4. Confirm. The rate is saved straight away.

Only one rate is the default rate; the Set as default rate icon designates another. Without a default rate, a notice reminds you that hours of members without a rate are not valued. A rate in a currency other than the project’s is marked “other currency — not applied”.

Fixed costs #

Under Detailed fixed costs, add the project’s expenses that are neither time nor expense reports (licences, hosting, subcontracting…): enter the Label… and the Amount, then click Add. The Total is shown below. A line in a currency other than the project’s is not counted, and the screen says so.

Margin preview #

For a billable project with a sale price, the margin preview shows Revenue (the sale price), Costs and the Margin as a percentage. The cost breakdown separates Fixed costs (the cost lines), Labor (logged hours valued at the hourly rates) and Expenses (approved expense reports allocated to the project). Hours without a rate, rates and lines in another currency, and expense reports without a reliable exchange rate are flagged and not counted.

Billing milestones #

For a billable project, Billing milestones split the sale price into instalments.

1. Click Add a milestone.
2. Enter the Description…, the Amount and the planned date, then confirm.
3. Move its status on: Planned, Sent, then Paid.

The Collected total adds up the paid milestones, against the sale price. Moving a paid milestone to another status asks for confirmation, because its amount then leaves the collected total. Unpaid milestones appear in the Overview’s upcoming deadlines and in the Billing row of the Gantt chart.

Sub-projects #

Sub-projects split the project into modules or phases. Tasks are attached to them, and the Gantt chart groups tasks by sub-project.

1. Click Add a sub-project, enter the Sub-project name… and click Create.
2. To rename a sub-project, hover over it, click its pencil icon, change the name and confirm.
3. To delete one, hover over it and click its bin icon. If it has no tasks, confirm the deletion. If it has some, the Deletion blocked window says so: under Reassign tasks to: choose another sub-project, or No sub-project (detach), then click Reassign & delete.

Reassigning tasks also requires the Project task permission at the Execute level.

Good to know #

• Status, hourly rates, costs, milestones and sub-projects are saved straight away; information, client, budget, unit and sale price, with Save changes.
• Without permission to see the budget or the margin, these amounts are not sent to you: they are not displayed and you cannot change them.
• When a billing milestone moves to Paid, the project managers who have access to billing milestones are notified.
• Approved expense reports allocated to the project count towards spending and the margin (see Entering, submitting and tracking an expense).

Frequently asked questions #

I can’t change the project currency. #

The project already carries amounts: they would change label without being converted. The currency can only be changed on a project with no amounts at all.

I can’t see the billing milestones or the margin. #

The project is not marked “Billable”, or it has no sale price, or your role does not have the “Billing milestones — Manage” or “Margin preview” permissions.

Why is Labor zero in the margin? #

No hours have been logged against the project yet, or the members who logged hours have no rate and the project has no default rate.