How Do I Create Projects?

BillQuick Online provides several ways to create a new project profile, including several shortcuts that can reduce setup time. You can set up your project profile at a basic level with a few mouse-clicks or at an advanced level with all the details.

Basic Setup

To create a new project profile:

1. Open Project screen from the Lists menu.
2. On the Project screen, click New to open the detail view where you can enter information for a new project.
3. The pointer is automatically placed in the Project Code field on the General tab. Enter the Code and Phase (if you want to break down this project into phases and segments), up to 65 characters long.
   
   When you save the project, BillQuick Online automatically combines the Code and Phase into a single Project ID.
   

4. Move from field to field by pressing the Tab key or clicking on the desired field. Enter other required data, such as Name of the project (up to 50 characters).
5. Enter a Status for the project (usually Active for a new project).
6. Enter or select the Client to whom this project belongs. You can also create a new client on the fly by clicking on the Add New Client link.
7. Specify a Manager who is responsible for the project.
8. Select the Type of contract such as Hourly, Fixed, etc. It determines the processing rules and billing arrangement for the project.
9. Click Save.

Advanced Setup

To add additional information for the project:

1. On the General tab, select a Start Date for the project, if needed. It defaults to the current date.
   

1. BillQuick Online includes the start and due date on several reports, including Project Master File, Project Due Date and Project Master File by Project Status.

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2. Enter the Address Details of the project. Else select the ‘Use Client Address’ option if you want to assign the client address to the project.
   
   On saving the project information, BillQuick Online auto populates the address fields with the client address.
   

3. Optionally, enter any additional information in the Custom 1/2/3/4 fields (up to 50 characters each). Additional custom fields are available on the Details tab. You can customize these fields in the Custom Labels screen.
4. Enter unlimited text and notes in the Memo.
5. On the Details tab, choose a Default Group for the project. This can be specified in addition to any other group you choose.
   
   This is useful for reports like Budget Comparison. If there is a budget for project PV, which is a member of both group A and B but its default group is A, then PV will be listed against A.
   

6. You can also assign the project to one or more existing Groups by clicking . Else, create a new project group by clicking Group on the button panel.
7. On the Assign tab (visible only if specified in the Preferences screen), you can assign specific activities, expenses and employees to your project.

8. Click Attachments to attach any file or document to the project record. For example, you might want to scan and attach contract documents for reference.

To set up billing information for the project:

1. On the General tab, enter a Contract Amount (required for the fixed-type of projects). This amount can be broken into a Service Amount and Expense Amount portion. Entering values in two fields calculates the third.
   
   By default, BillQuick Online assumes billable expenses are not part of the contract. If these are to be included in the contract, mark ‘Expense Part of Contract’ rule on the Details tab.
   
2. In the Fixed Fee field, enter a percentage for Cost + Percentage contract. For Cost + Fixed Fee contract, enter a fixed fee amount. This field is visible only if you select a Cost Plus contract type.
3. If relevant, enter a Project Settlement percentage. BillQuick Online re-calculates the Contract Amount based on the percentage entered here.
4. Enter the % Complete value for the project. Usually, the project manager manually updates this percentage. When you do percent complete billing (for any contract type), this value carries to the Billing Review screen (and vice versa). BillQuick Online uses it to compute the bill amount and earned value.
5. Now move to the Billing tab.
6. Click Auto Bill to define an automatic billing schedule for the project. BillQuick Online saves the settings and generates invoices accordingly.

7. Select a Payment Term for the project invoices. 
   
   A blank payment term means the invoice is due upon receipt. The payment term for a project overrides the default term set for the client. See Payment Terms for more information.
   
8. Select a local Currency for the project. You can maintain currency conversion rates on the Currency Manager screen. The currency selected for a project overrides the default currency set at the client level.
9. Enter the Recurring Bill Amount and Frequency for recurring-type contracts. It triggers a reminder whenever it is time to bill the client.
   
   Frequency of billing for a project starts from the date of the invoice.
   
10. Enter the Retainage percentage that a client will hold back while making payments on invoices. The client pays this amount after the verification of work done or completion of entire project.
11. Specify a Maximum Retainage Amount allowed by your company on the project. Billed amounts above the maximum retainage are due from the client.
12. Next, select and assign a service fee schedule, expense fee schedule, estimate or budget to the project.
13. Select an additional Delayed SFS if you want to use different bill rates while pre-selling services. Based on a Trigger Type and Trigger Value, BillQuick Online applies the delayed SFS rates instead of the scheduled rates.
14. If relevant, enter a Code in the Misc section. Architects and engineers who work with federal agencies can use this as a reference for Forms SF 254 and SF 255.
15. Select a Contact for the project or create a new one in the Client Contact screen by clicking .
16. Select ‘Send Invoices to Contacts’ option if you want BillQuick Online to send invoices to the project contact instead of the client contact. This rule also applies when emailing invoices.
17. Enter a Retainer amount if you want the client to pay some amount in advance. Click Print to print a retainer invoice.
18. Select ‘Use Custom Invoice Number’ option to customize the project’s invoice number format. You can use it in exceptional cases, when you want to replace the default format defined in the Global Settings screen.
19. Enter the static text for the Prefix and Suffix of the invoice number. In the Last Invoice No. field, enter a variable (or static text and a variable). For example, the prefix might be the name of a project type (Tax) while the suffix is the year (say 2021) the project started. With a digit variable beginning with 1000, the next invoice number would be Tax 10012021. #1 - {  } are not accepted in these field.
    
    You can specify an alternative invoice template for the project instead of the default template. See Changing Project Invoice Templates for more information.
    
20. Select ‘Send as Joint Invoices’ option to bill the marked projects belonging to the same client on a consolidated joint invoice.
    
    To consolidate all project bills for a client into a joint invoice automatically, Select ‘Default to Joint Invoice’ on the Client-Billing screen.
    
21. Select ‘Email Invoices’ to automatically email a PDF of project invoice to the client.
22. Move to the Details tab. Enter the number of days or grace period after which BillQuick Online will charge an interest per month on past due invoices.
23. Enter the Main Service Tax and Main Expense Tax rates to apply on the labor and expense totals on invoices. BillQuick Online applies the rates from the Client or Company screen, unless specified here.
24. Enter a ‘Message on Invoice’ to print on all invoices for this project.
    
    You can also define standard invoice messages at the Company and Client level. BillQuick Online checks for a message in the following order: Project, Client and then Company. If none has an invoice message, none will print.
    

7. You can see a summary activity and account information of an existing project on the Account and History tabs. See Project Information for more information.

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To create a phase for the project:

On the Details tab, enter required data to set the current project as a phase of another project. See Creating Project Phases and Segments for more information.

To set up project rules:

1. On the Details tab, click Rules to display a panel.
2. Check the relevant rules to apply to the selected project. These rules affect the management and billing of the project. See Project Settings in for more information.
3. When you have finished, click Save and then Return.