Create a project

TidyEnterprise provides two ways to create a new project.

Quick Project

Go to PROJECTS > Quick Project to create a project with basic information and add more details later.

New Project

Go to PROJECTS > New Project to create a project completely. Click the More settings to expand the project summary section.

Code:

The project code. If you leave it blank, it will generate an automatic code.

Overhead:

Check this box if the project is an 'overhead' project, that does not relate to a specific customer. Such projects include training, vacation, and internal work such as maintenance.

Status

Click to know the definition of each status. Transition between states may occur automatically - for example, when time is written to a 'Not Started' project, it will move to 'In Progress'.

Name

The name for the project.

Description (optional)

A longer explanation of the project.

Customer

Select a customer from the drop-down list or click the plus icon to create a new Customer on the fly (without having to enter the Customer screen). If you have linked Tidy to a CRM you can also create a customer in Tidy from the CRM.

Contact (optional)

Select from the list of all contacts listed for the customer. If there is a primary contact listed, it will be selected by default.

Customer Ref. (optional)

A reference meaningful to the customer (such as their project code or PO number).

Project Priority:

This will appear flagged on projects. Amber flag as high, red flag as urgent.

Project Manager

Select from drop-down list. The person must have the Project Manager role assigned. Read Global settings - Users - User roles.

Special Instructions (optional)

Any additional instructions, if required.

Project Group

The group to which your project belongs (groups are configured by your Resource Administrator).

Project URL

A URL referencing a location relevant to the Project, for example a document storage location on SharePoint. This URL then appears in the details section of the Project Console.

Materials Under Tasks

If this feature is enabled, you can use the mandatory option to require all materials in the Material Plan be assigned to a specific task. To know how to enable this feature, read Global settings - Company

Project Group

The logical group to which your project belongs (groups are configured by your Resource Administrator).

Material Location

Select a location where the materials in this quote is located.

Time plan

In the TIME PLAN tab, you indicate the expected labour resource used for the project. The top left area contains summary information, based upon the tasks that you enter. On the right are the charge rates, which you indicate effort against. At the bottom of the panel is the task list (which begins with one empty task).

If Resource Scheduling is enabled, you will see additional calendar icons above the resource names, and also a schedule summary icon at the top right of the scheduling panel. Read Project - How to schedule resources and book time for more information.

Task Name

Enter the task name in the TASK NAME field and click New task (top level) to add other top level tasks. Click the green plus icon beside the task name to add next level child task or click the blue arrow icon and select the New child Task.

Note: TidyEnterprise supports unlimited task hierarchies. If you want to create a sub-task, you need click the plus icon in the level-up tasks.

Tips: Enter the EFFORT after you enter all the tasks.

Click the blue arrow icon to

• Move a task - Move a task up or down the task list.

• Delete a task - Remove a task and its assignments from the project (this cannot be done once some time has been written for that task). You have to clear the Charge Rate field and EFFORT field to delete a task. You can only delete the child task first to be able to delete parent task.

  

• Assign to a group - Assign this task to all members in the group selected in the right Charge Rate panel.

• Shift task dates - Shift the task start date to another date. Enter the days you want to shift.

  

• Advanced - Using the 'Advanced' menu allows you to:

  • Task description - You can add a task description. This description is then available as a hover on the task list in the Quote Console and is also displayed on the generated Quote Document (Summary and Detailed versions).
  • Non-billable tasks - For Time & Materials Quotes, the 'Advanced' menu can be used to identify the task as non-billable. Non-billable tasks are highlighted with a blue background when on a Time and Materials quote. All tasks on Overhead, Non-Billable and Fixed price projects are non-billable by default and cannot be changed.

• Effort: The number of hours (of days) required to complete the task. A task cannot be deleted unless the Effort estimate is set to blank.

• Bal: The number of hours in the Duration that remain to be assigned. This figure will appear in red if the task has been over-assigned.

Charge: The customer charge based upon the charge rate and hours applied.

Charge Rates: The number of hours (or days) required at each Charge Rate. The sum of these assignments is used to calculate the balance ('BAL') column.

The Time cost for Quotes is calculated based on the Quote Cost that is set for each Charge Rate. If no Quote Cost is set the cost will default to the global cost Rate. Read Global settings - Charge rates.

Subcontracts

In this tab you can add subcontract to multiple tasks. Click Add Subcontract and select from suppliers. Click Add Task and select one or more tasks to this subcontract. Select the material in DESCRIPTION field and save.

Material plan

In this tab you can set a budget for billable and non-billable materials to be used in a project.

MATERIAL:

Click New Planned Material, type in the material name in MATERIAL field or click the telescope icon to select a material from drop-down list or click the plus icon to create a new material. After the first three letters are typed, a list of the current materials in the Tidy Material Items list is displayed in the menu. Read Global settings - Materials - Add or edit materials.

QTY:

Type in the quantities of this material.

DIMENSIONS:

The dimensions of the material items, in the units specified in the materials list, can be overridden.

UNIT COST:

The cost for each of the items. This is obtained from the material list but can be overridden.

UNIT CHARGE:

The charge for each of the items. This is obtained from the material list but can be overridden.

TOTAL CHARGE:

The Unit Charge multiplied by the Quantity.

ON-CHARGE:

If selected, the material charge will be passed through to the customer invoice (when approved).

Click the orange arrow icon to move the material up or down.

Materials Under Tasks:

If you're using the Materials Under Tasks feature, the Material Plan works a little differently. You can turn on this feature in More Settings for this project or turn on this feature for all projects under __GLOBAL SETTING > Company. __

First, choose the task you want to add materials to. Then add materials directly to that task, as the steps explained above. If you have other tasks in your project, you will have the option to add them to the Material Plan, and then add materials to those tasks also.

EXPENSE PLAN:

Enter the amount of billable expense and non-billable expense and select the currency.

MILESTONES:

Click the New Milestone to add the miletones, enter the milestone name and description. The discription is optional and included on the invoice for invoiceable milestones.

Enter the date or select a date from calendar for this task.

Click the bin icon to delete a milestone.

ROLE ASSIGNMENT:

Select the role for this project. Read Global settings - Users - User roles.

INVOICING:

Select a Price Type for this quote.

Time & Material:

The revenue and cost total will be calculated based on the value that has been entered.

Fixed Price:

Enter a value for this project.

Click Save at any stage when you create the project.