---
title: From a won deal to a project
description: Create a won opportunity’s project, by hand or at signature, find an account’s projects and the CRM client on a project’s record, and take over the clients of existing projects as accounts.
url: "https://illizeo.com/en/centre-aide/crm-won-deal-to-project/"
updated: "2026-11-08"
category: CRM
---

# From a won deal to a project

When the CRM is installed, its accounts become the reference list of project clients. A won deal becomes a project without retyping anything, a project’s record shows its CRM client, an account’s record lists its projects, and the clients typed by hand on existing projects can be taken over as accounts. This article is intended for sales representatives, project managers and CRM administrators.

## Before you start

- The CRM module must be enabled for your workspace and open to you (see [Enabling and administering the CRM module](https://illizeo.com/en/centre-aide/crm-enable-and-administer/)).
- The Projects module must be active: it is as soon as Expense Report Management or Attendance Management is installed. Otherwise, creation is refused: “The Projects module is not active in this space: it comes with Expenses or Attendance.”
- Creating an opportunity’s project requires reading that opportunity (“Opportunities — View”, within your scope) and the “Project” permission at the Execute level, in the Projects section of the role matrix.
- Seeing an account’s projects requires access to projects (“Project — Overview tab”).
- Choosing a project’s client in the CRM requires “Project” at the Execute level, the right to write to that project and “CRM accounts — View”.
- Taking over the clients of existing projects requires “CRM settings — Edit” and seeing every project, which “Project” at the Execute level gives. Creating accounts along the way also requires “CRM accounts — Create”.

## Creating the project of a won deal

A won opportunity (see [Tracking opportunities in the pipeline](https://illizeo.com/en/centre-aide/crm-opportunities-and-pipelines/)) can give rise to its project, once.

1. Open the won opportunity and click **Create the project**. The button only appears with the necessary permissions and as long as the opportunity has no project.
2. In the **Create the project** window, check the **Project name** (the opportunity’s), the **Project manager** (**The owner** of the opportunity, or another person), the **Start** and **End** dates (optional; the end follows the start) and the **Client contact**, or **No contact**.
3. Click **Create the project**. The message “Project “…” created.” confirms it and the project opens.

![The Create the project window of a won opportunity: project name, project manager, start and end dates, and client contact.](https://i0.wp.com/illizeo.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/11/crm-won-deal-to-project-01.en_.png?resize=512%2C470&quality=80&ssl=1)
Creating a won deal’s project: the account, contact, name and amount are carried over.

The project takes:

- the opportunity’s **name**, unless you give another one;
- the **client**: the opportunity’s account, with its legal name and main address; the project is of the **External client** type;
- the **contact**: the one you choose, otherwise the opportunity’s first contact who is attached to the account and whom you can read, the decision-maker first; a project has only one contact;
- the **budget**: the opportunity’s amount, as a **Cost** budget, in its currency; without an amount, the project has no budget;
- the **project manager**: the opportunity’s owner, or the person you designate. They must be active and have access to projects (“Project — Overview tab”). If it is not you, you join the project as an editor and the project manager is notified;
- the link to the **originating opportunity**.

Illizeo refuses the creation in these cases:

- the opportunity is no longer won (reopened in the meantime): “This opportunity is no longer won: a project is only created from a won deal.”;
- it already has its project, created in the meantime by someone else: “This opportunity already has its project.”;
- you do not have the right to create a project: “You do not have the right to create a project.”;
- the chosen project manager is not suitable: “This person cannot lead a project: an active account with access to projects is required.”

## Creating the project automatically at signature

For the project to be created without anyone acting, activate the workflow supplied with the CRM: open **Settings › Manage Employees › Workflows** and look, in the CRM category, for “Deal won (signature): create the project”. It is inactive by default. Its action, “Create the project of the won opportunity”, is also available in the workflow builder for your own circuits.

Once active, every won opportunity, for example when its quote is signed, gets its project, created in its owner’s name, with the same information as above. An opportunity that already has its project does not get a second one. If creation is refused (Projects module inactive, owner without “Project” at the Execute level, owner who cannot lead a project), the workflow stops and no project is created. To activate a workflow, see [Creating and editing a workflow](https://illizeo.com/en/centre-aide/workflows-create-and-edit/).

![The workflow list, CRM category: the Deal won (signature): create the project workflow, inactive by default.](https://i0.wp.com/illizeo.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/11/crm-won-deal-to-project-02.en_.png?resize=800%2C500&quality=80&ssl=1)
The Deal won (signature): create the project workflow, inactive by default.

![Diagram: a won opportunity becomes a project, by hand with the Create the project button or through the workflow in the owner’s name; if the Projects module is inactive, the Project right is missing or the opportunity already has its project, nothing is created; otherwise the External client project takes the account, contact and budget, the project manager is notified and the CRM client block appears in the project settings.](https://i0.wp.com/illizeo.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/11/crm-won-deal-to-project-flux-01.en_.png?resize=800%2C597&quality=80&ssl=1)
A won opportunity has only one project, created by hand or by the workflow.

## Finding the project from the CRM

The header of an opportunity that has its project carries a link to that project. In the **Timeline** tab, filter on **Project**: the “Project created from the opportunity” event also leads to the project. If you cannot see that project (a private project you are not a member of, for example), it is marked **Record not visible**, with neither name nor link.

On an account’s record, the **Projects** tab gathers all its projects, newest first: **Project**, **Status** (Draft, Active, On hold, Completed, Archived), **Start**, **End**, **Project manager** and **Originating opportunity**. You only see the projects that the Projects module’s rules show you; the others are only counted (“+ 2 project(s) not visible”, for example). The tab only appears with access to projects (“Project — Overview tab”).

![An account’s Projects tab: the project born from the deal, with its status, dates, project manager and originating opportunity.](https://i0.wp.com/illizeo.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/11/crm-won-deal-to-project-03.en_.png?resize=800%2C47&quality=80&ssl=1)
An account’s projects, newest first.

An opportunity that has its project cannot be deleted, nor can an account that has projects: archive it instead (see [Managing accounts](https://illizeo.com/en/centre-aide/crm-accounts/)).

## The CRM client on a project’s record

When the CRM is installed, the record of an **External client** project shows the **CRM client** block: open the project, the **Settings** tab, then the **Client details** section.

1. Under **Account**, search for the client account (at least two characters) among the CRM accounts you can read. The choice is saved immediately.
2. Under **Contact**, choose a contact among those attached to that account, or leave **No contact**.

The block also shows the **Open the account** link, the **Originating opportunity** when the project was born from a deal, and that deal’s **Accepted quote**, with its **Total excl. tax** and its lines (**Description**, **Qty**, **Unit**, **Unit price**, **Discount**, **Amount excl. tax**). A CRM record outside your scope is marked **Record not visible**.

The client details filled in by the CRM become read-only on the project: **Company** and **Address** from the account, **First name**, **Last name** and **Email** from the contact. The block says so: “The client details come from the CRM: they are edited on the account and the contact, and follow here.” When the account’s legal name or main address, or the contact’s name or main email change in the CRM, the projects follow.

Possible refusals: “Choose the client account before its contact.”; “This contact does not belong to the chosen account, or is out of your reach.”; “This account does not exist or is out of your reach.” Changing the account removes a contact who is not attached to it.

![The CRM client block in a project’s settings: the account, contact, originating opportunity and accepted quote with its lines.](https://i0.wp.com/illizeo.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/11/crm-won-deal-to-project-04.en_.png?resize=734%2C270&quality=80&ssl=1)
The CRM client in a project’s settings: account, contact, originating opportunity and accepted quote.

## Taking over the clients of existing projects

After the CRM is installed, your existing projects keep the client typed by hand. The take-over links them to accounts, without doing anything on its own: Illizeo suggests, you decide group by group. Open **Settings › CRM › Take-over of project clients**.

1. The page opens the simulation, which writes nothing. Illizeo gathers the projects without a CRM account that have a client name, excluding the bin, into one group per distinct client: spellings that differ only by legal form or capitalisation (a company “Ltd” and the same without “Ltd”, for example) form a single group. The header gives the number of distinct clients, of projects and the proposal (“to create”, “to attach”).
2. For each group, you see its **Spellings**, its **Projects**, its **Close accounts** and a proposal: attach the group to an existing account, when a very close account exists and you can read it; otherwise, create an account with the most frequent spelling. Close accounts you cannot read are only counted (“+ 1 not visible”).
3. For each group to process, choose **Create the account** (you can correct its legal name), **Attach to an existing account** (then **Choose the account** among those you can read) or **Ignore**. **Use the proposals** sets every group’s proposal at once. A group left on **No decision** stays as it is.
4. Click **Confirm … decision(s)**, check the summary in the **Apply the take-over** window, then click **Apply**. The message “Take-over applied.” and the summary give the number of accounts created, groups attached, projects linked and groups ignored; the simulation is recalculated.

Accounts created get the Customer type. Their owner is the person chosen in **Owner of an imported account** (**Settings › CRM › CRM settings**, see [CRM settings](https://illizeo.com/en/centre-aide/crm-settings/)), if you can assign an account to them; otherwise, you. Each linked project takes the account’s legal name and main address. If a group changed between the simulation and applying it, Illizeo refuses: “This group is no longer in the simulation: run it again.” The take-over is written to the CRM log.

![The take-over of project clients: one group per distinct client, its spellings, projects, close accounts, proposal and decision choice.](https://i0.wp.com/illizeo.com/wp-content/uploads/2026/11/crm-won-deal-to-project-05.en_.png?resize=800%2C404&quality=80&ssl=1)
The take-over simulation: one group per client and its proposal.

## Good to know

- Without the CRM installed, projects do not change: there is no CRM client block, and the client is typed by hand.
- The contact of a project linked to the CRM follows the CRM’s retention; the retention of project client contacts does not apply to them. Deleting or erasing that contact in the CRM also erases their copy on projects, including those in the bin (see [Protecting contact data (GDPR)](https://illizeo.com/en/centre-aide/crm-contact-data-protection/)).
- The project keeps a link to the opportunity and to the accepted quote: their lines can be viewed from the project, they do not become project costs.
- Creating the project is recorded in the opportunity’s timeline and in the project’s log.
- A project that brings several organisations together (a municipality, companies, a funder) is a multi-organisation project (see [Links between organisations and multi-organisation projects](https://illizeo.com/en/centre-aide/crm-links-and-multi-organisation-projects/)).

## FAQ

### I do not see the Create the project button.

Check that the opportunity is won, that it does not already have its project (its header then carries the link to the project), that the Projects module is active and that your role holds “Project” at the Execute level. If you designate another project manager, they must be active and have access to projects.

### I cannot change the client’s company or address on the project.

The project is linked to a CRM account: its details are edited there. Correct the legal name or main address on the account’s record, and the project follows. For the contact, correct their record in the CRM.

### *Similaire*