Administrators, Portfolio Managers and Project Managers can create projects. Other roles, including Finance Managers, don't see the Add Project option.

Where to start

Open Add Project from any of these:

  • In the left menu, open Projects and click the + next to All Projects.
  • Click the + button at the top of any page and choose Add Project.
  • On Projects › All Projects, click + Add Project.
  • On a customer's page, open the Projects tab and click Add Project. The project is created for that customer.

You can also turn an estimate or an invoice into a project, with a task for each line item.

Fill in Add Project

  1. Type a Project Name. If your account uses manual project codes, you can also type a Project Code.

    The Add Project popup filled in for a Website Refresh project for Bluegum Architects, with project code WR-01 and two project members

  2. Choose the Customer, or leave it empty for an internal project.

    To create a customer, click + Add new Customer and enter the Customer Name and Currency (your account's currency is selected at first). A contact is optional, but if you fill in any of its first name, last name or email, all three are needed.

  3. Check the Project Members. People whose contact record has Add to new projects ticked are already listed. Add or remove people as needed. You're always added.

  4. If your account uses custom fields for projects, fill in any required ones under Custom fields.

  5. To copy tasks, members and settings from another project, click + Use a previous project as a template?. See project templates.

  6. Click Create. Your new project opens.

What a new project starts with

  • One section, Section 1, ready for your tasks (unless you copied tasks from a template).
  • The billing method and budget type from Settings › Project Management Settings, and the timesheet rules from Settings › Timesheet Settings.
  • Every timesheet category marked is Default? in Timesheet Settings.
  • The account's default project status, with you as the Project Owner.

Change any of these in the project's settings. Setting the account defaults once saves you changing every new project.

If you can't create a project

  • No Add Project option: you need the Administrator, Portfolio Manager or Project Manager role.
  • "Your account has reached the Active Project limit": archive a finished project, or upgrade your plan. Archived projects don't count towards the limit. See archiving a project.
  • "You have reached the External Company limit for your plan": this appears when you add a new customer. Choose an existing customer, or upgrade.
  • "The new Customer Name you provided already exists": pick that customer from the list instead.
  • "This email address is already in use by a team member": a customer contact needs an email address of their own.

Next, add sections and tasks: see getting started with projects and task management.