Project Center: Settings - Details

Projects are created with unique IDs, and should be simple and short. The ID appears on screens, in drop-down lists and in various reports. The ID field can save up to 65 characters. CORE supports both numeric and alphanumeric IDs.   

If you prefer, you can set the Project ID format at the global level from the Settings screen. There, you can specify a prefix, ID number and suffix for your project (you should add space or hyphen to separate them). The middle number is automatically incremented by one unit from the value entered. CORE then automatically pre-fills those IDs when you create new projects from this screen.   

You can also choose in Settings how the project name displays on screen and in various drop-downs.

You can assign any of these status to a project. Please note that when there is none selected, you can view all the projects in the list view irrespective of the status. You are notified via email or in-app message when the project status changes, say from Active to Hold (if you are a project manager, principal, originator, or team member with view or edit permissions for projects and have set up notifications in User Settings > Notifications). When you update the status for the parent project, CORE prompts you to implement the changes to its phases as well.

• Active

  This is an ongoing project. You can log and bill time and expenses against it. Only active projects appear in the drop-down lists. Also, projects with status other than active are not considered for billing even if they have the rule Always show in Create Batch Invoice screen applied.

• Completed

  This is a completed project. You can bill logged time and expenses, but cannot log new entries against it. You are prompted if the projects have unbilled (billable) time and expenses associated with them. These entries can be billed after the project is assigned the Completed status. You can also bill pending invoices and record payments against these projects. Completed projects do not appear in the drop-down lists except for billing and A/R. 
  Note: When the project status is changed to 'Completed' and there are no unbilled time and expenses, the project rule Always show in Create Batch Invoice screen is automatically turned off in CORE. 

• Hold

  This is a project on hold because of non-payment by a client or any other reason, such as a disagreement with a client regarding the progress of work. You cannot bill recorded time and expenses nor log new entries against the project as it is locked. Time and expenses can be recorded only after the project work is resumed. Hold projects do not appear in the drop-down lists.

• Draft

  This status is used for projects that are in the early planning stages and are not yet active. You cannot log or bill new time and expense entries against such projects. By default, new projects and phases are assigned this status.

• Inactive

  This is a project on which work has been temporarily stopped due to scheduling or other issues within the company. You can bill logged time and expenses, but cannot log new entries. Inactive is similar to the hold status except that here you can bill previously recorded time and expenses, and record payments against them. Project work can be resumed after the resources are available. Inactive projects do not appear in the drop-down lists except for billing and A/R.

• Canceled

  This is a project on which work has been stopped indefinitely, say, due to breach of contract by the client. You can bill the clients, but cannot log new time and expenses because the project has been canceled. No future work is to be done on it and it does not appear in the drop-down lists. 
  Note: When the project status is changed to 'Canceled' and there is no unbilled time and expenses, the project rule Always show in Create Batch Invoice screen is automatically turned off in CORE.

CORE offer two types of project set-up: main and standard. It is recommended to use the Main type for parent projects when you don’t plan to record and bill time and expenses against that parent project. Else, you should use the regular Standard type for all projects as such.

• Standard

  A standard project can be a parent or a standalone project with or without phases under it.
  - You can log time and expense to standard projects as well as their phases.
  - You can bill standard projects directly as well as their phases. You can create both manual and batch invoices for standard projects and record payments to them directly.
  - The total contract amount for a standard parent project (when viewing cumulative data) is the sum of its own contract amount and that of its phases. If you update the parent project’s contract amount, you are prompted to update the contract amount of its phases as well.  
  - CORE allows direct retainers for the standard projects and their phases. The parent retainer can be applied to any phase.
  - You can assign fee schedules, estimates or budgets to standard projects. The phases then inherit those by default but can be changed. However, you can also assign a standard project to the fee schedules, budgets or estimates from their respective screens.
  - In case of standard parent projects, you can see the roll-up totals of all their phases by checking the ‘Is Cumulative Data’ option, where available. Otherwise, you can see the data of the parent projects only.

• Main

  A main project is a parent project with phases/child projects under it.
  - You cannot log time and expense to main projects, only to their phases.
  - You cannot bill main projects directly, but bill their phases. They show up on joint invoices in such cases. However, you can create manual invoices for main projects and then record payments on such invoices.
  - The total contract amount for a main parent project is always the sum of the contract amounts of its child projects or phases. If you update the parent project’s contract amount, you are prompted to update the contract amount of its phases as well.

  CORE ensures that the contract amount assigned to a phase remains within the specified contract amount for its corresponding main project. If you enter a contract amount that exceeds the predefined limit for the main project, CORE prompts you to resolve this discrepancy. You can choose to either adjust the contract amount of the main project by including the exceeding amount or modify the contract amount of the phase to a value within the established limit.

  In case of a hierarchical structure with multiple main projects, CORE applies this restriction to the immediate parent (Main) project. You can disable this option (Restrict the contract amount of phases within...) from the Settings > Projects screen.
  - CORE does not allow direct retainers for main projects; only for their associated phases. The parent retainer can be applied to any phase.
  - You can assign fee schedules, estimates or budgets to main projects. The phases then inherit those by default but can be changed. However, you cannot assign a main project to the fee schedules, budgets or estimates from their respective screens.
  - In case of main projects, you can see the roll-up totals or cumulative data of all their phases. So, if you have phased projects, it is better to set the top-level parent project to 'Main' as it provides various benefits in reporting and display.

It determines the billing arrangement for a project. Whether a project is billed per hour, lump sum, or not billed at all, it is a best practice to record time and expenses against it to take advantage of the project management features in CORE.

• Hourly

  These contracts are based on time and expense entries recorded against a project. There is no fixed contract amount and bill amount is based on the total value of billable, approved time and expenses. You can also use a pre-defined billing schedule for the project.

• Fixed

  These contracts are based on a fixed price or contract amount agreed with the client. You can bill the client in full, by the hour or in incremental flat amounts up to the contract amount. You can also use a pre-defined billing schedule for the project.

• Hourly Not to Exceed

  These contracts involve a ceiling or cap. You can bill in full, by the hour or in incremental flat amounts. Bill amount can be based on the total value of billable, approved time and expenses but up to the contract amount. You can also use a predefined billing schedule for the project.

• Marketing

  These contracts are assigned to projects that your company is trying to win and for which a formal contract is not yet secured. Tracking of marketing time and expenses can begin when a client calls. Conversations, budget and estimate preparations, meetings, planning, and bid proposals can be included here as it affects a project’s profitability. When a full contract is secured (project is won), you can change the contract to whatever is appropriate, with an option to convert the previous time and expense entries from non-billable to billable automatically.
  Note: When updating the contract type of a project from Marketing to an Hourly, Fixed, Hourly Not to Exceed or Recurring type, you are prompted to convert the time entries to billable according to the Billable status of the associated activity or Access Management (if set). The same applies to expense entries.

• Overhead

  These contracts are assigned to internal projects where work is done for the company and is not billable to any client. It requires you to set up your company as the ‘client’ and assign the overhead project to it. You can use it to track internal activities and expenses like education, staff meetings, research, filing expenses, office maintenance, birthday parties, holidays, and so on.
  Note: When updating the contract type of a project from Overhead to an Hourly, Fixed or Recurring type, the time entries are made billable according to the Billable status of the associated activity or Access Management (if set).

• Percentage

  These contracts are based on a percentage of cost or settlement amount agreed with the client. This amount might change if you change the contract amount due to a change order. You can also use a predefined billing schedule the project.

• Recurring

  These contracts involve billing a fixed amount after a specified number of days. The project is billed for that amount irrespective of how much time or expenses are spent on it. A contract amount is not required but can be entered for reference and tracking profitability.

• Recurring With Cap

  These contracts involve billing a fixed amount after a specified number of days but the total amount has a ceiling or cap. You can also use a predefined billing schedule the project. Example: If you want to bill a client $2,000 per month up to a total of $25,000, CORE will generate a $2,000 invoice every month for 12 months. Then for the 13th month, a $1,000 invoice will be generated regardless of how much time is recorded to the project during those 13 months.

• Recurring + Expense

  These contracts involve billing a fixed amount after a specified number of days but expenses are not included in the amount charged. Expenses are billed on top of the recurring amount. A contract amount is not required but can be entered for reference and tracking profitability.

• Recurring + Hourly

  These contracts involve billing a fixed amount after a specified number of days plus an additional amount based on logged time and expense entries. You can use it to handle situations wherein you have, say, a block of hours that you sell for a certain amount per month and then any additional hours are billed on top of it at a different rate. A contract amount is not required but can be entered for reference and tracking profitability. Example: An accountant’s office might do monthly bookkeeping and charge a client $500 for it. Any additional services done are billed hourly. So the client pays a fixed amount of $500 no matter what plus an amount for additional hours logged. Another example is that of computer consultants who charge every month, say, $500 for providing technical support for 10 hours. Any additional hours are charged separately, on top of it.

• Cost + Percentage

  These cost-plus contracts involve billing direct costs (time and expenses) to the client plus an additional percentage of the costs to allow for profit. CORE adds the fee or profit percentage to the net bill before generating the invoice until the project is complete.

  Fee or Profit = Billable Amount x Rate %

  If Fee or Profit = 10% and value of billable time and expenses = $500, then 500 x (10/100) = $50
  Net Bill = $500 + $50 = $550

• Cost + Fixed Fee

  These cost-plus contracts involve billing direct costs (time and expenses) to the client plus an additional fixed fee amount to allow for profit. CORE adds the fixed fee amount to the net bill before generating the invoice until the project is complete.  
  
  If Fixed Fee = $100 and value of billable time and expenses = $500, then Net Bill = $500 + $100 = $600

You can set a default invoice and statement template for each type of contract in the Settings screen.

This is the total consideration for the project (billable and non-billable Service Amount + non-billable Expense Amount). You can include or exclude billable expenses and taxes in this amount, depending on how you bill. Although a contract amount is required for fixed-type contracts, it is a good practice to set it for hourly projects as well. This field exhibits a label showing the available amount and the total parent contract amount.

Available Contract Amount: Contract amount of root parent (Main) - Sum of contract amount of all its phases

Please note that this label is only visible if the root (Main) project is in the hierarchy and that the project has a contract amount specified. 

• Split Amount/Enter as Sum

  As a project manager, you can enter or calculate the contract amount for the project. The Contract Service Amount gets pre-filled with the entire amount by default. You can then manually assign some portion of it to the Contract Expense Amount.

• Calculate Contract Amount

  CORE provides options to calculate the contract amount on a percentage of construction cost basis or unit cost basis.
  
  - If you choose the Calculation Method as Percent of a Total Amount, you must enter a Percent of a Total project value on which the fee is based (say construction cost) and have CORE do the calculation. For example, 50% of 100,000 = $50,000. 
  
  - If you choose the Calculation Method as Units x Rate, you must enter both the Units and Rate charged per unit, and have CORE do the calculation. For example, 100 sq.ft. x $100 = $10,000. Typical units include square feet or square meters, e.g., 1,250,000 sq.ft.

The original contract value is saved for reference till you apply a new calculated contract amount. If the contract amount is changed after creating invoices, past invoices continue to use the original contract amount.

Contract amount for a parent project can be allocated to its child projects using the % of Project value. Example: If the contract amount of a main or parent project, NET-001, is $100,000 and Phase A is 60% of the total project, then CORE assigns $60,000 to NET-001:A.

Amount spent on the labor or service part of the contract. When you enter the contract amount, this field gets pre-filled by that entire amount. It accounts for the amount spent on the services provided by employees (Client Hours x Bill Rate). You can change this amount, the balance of which goes into the expense amount.

= Contract Amount - Contract Expense Amount

Amount spent on the expense part of the contract amount. When you enter the service amount of the contract, this field gets pre-filled with the balance, if any. It accounts for the billable expenses incurred by the employees (Cost Amount = Units x Cost Rate), excluding extra expenses. You can change this amount, with adjustments made to the service amount automatically.

= Contract Amount - Contract Service Amount