Manage Projects

In ClickTime, a Project lives under a Client. Before anyone can track time, you’ll need at least one Client and at least one Project associated with that Client. For details on Clients, see Creating and Editing Clients.

Note: If you see “-unspecified-” in Client lists, it typically indicates one or more Projects exist without an associated Client (for example, from older data, imports, or incomplete setup). Those Projects are grouped under “-unspecified-” until a Client is assigned. To resolve it, edit the affected Project(s) and select the correct Client.

Jump to:

• Terminology
• Create a Project
• Project fields
• Project Availability
• Project Manager & approvals
• Optional sections on the Add/Edit page
• Billing rates at Project level
• Edit a Project
• Actions menu
• Notes on Start/End Dates
• Best practices
• Troubleshooting

Terminology (customizable)

The term Project can be relabeled (e.g., Program, Job) by a local Administrator in Company Preferences. Behavior is unchanged if you rename it. More details.

Create a Project

1. Go to Company → Projects.
2. Click Add Project.

On the Add page, choose the Client the Project belongs to and enter the required fields (see Project fields). Click Save (or Save and Add Next to add another).

Project fields

• Client — Required. The parent Client for this Project.
• Project Name — Required. Limit: 50 characters. Consider a consistent pattern.
• Project Number — Required and must be unique within the Client. Helps disambiguate similar names and is shown in the Expenses workflow.
  

Optional (Basic Information)

• Lifetime Budget — For Resource Management users, set a total budget. Learn more.
• Start Date / End Date — Used in exports and Resource Management; can restrict when time can be entered (see Notes).
• Accounting Package Project ID — ID used by your accounting system.
• Billable — Whether time on this Project is billable.
• Resource Management — Toggle to allocate people to this Project.
• Status — Active or Inactive. Only Active Projects can receive new time/expenses. Inactive Projects still appear in reports.
• Notes — Freeform admin notes.

Custom Fields

If your organization uses Project-level Custom Fields, any required fields (marked *) must be completed before saving. Learn more about Custom Fields.

Project Availability

Your account may control who can access and code time to a Project:

• Open access — With Project List Controls set to None, Projects are visible to everyone.
• Restricted access — With controls set to Moderate or Maximum, restrict visibility to specific Divisions and/or People.
  

If your account restricts access, you’ll see a Project Availability step on the Add/Edit page.

Moderate controls — Control which Projects are visible to each Division:

• On Project — From the Project Detail page, select which Divisions can access this Project.
  
• On Division — From the Division Detail page, choose to show all Projects, select Projects, or hide all for that Division.
  

Maximum controls — Control visibility on a person-by-person basis:

• On Project — From the Project Detail page, select which People can access this Project.
  
• On Person — From each Person Detail page, choose to show all Projects, select Projects, or hide all for that individual.
  

Changing availability affects who can see/select the Project on time entry and pickers; historical data remains intact. For details, see the Project Availability guide.

Project Manager & approvals (optional)

Optionally select a Project Manager for oversight. If your account uses Project Approvals, you can allow the Project Manager to approve time coded to this Project.

Optional sections you may see on the Add/Edit page

• Project Availability — Visible if Project List Controls are set to Moderate/Maximum. Choose which Divisions or People can access this Project. See the Project Availability guide.
• Task Availability — Visible if Task List settings are set to Client/Project. Choose which Tasks can be used with this Project. See the Task Availability guide.
• Budget (Project Insights) — If your account uses budgeting, configure the Project budget here. See the Project Insights guide.
• Project Structure (Phases / Multiple Job Levels) — If enabled, divide a Project into sub-Projects (Phases). See Phases documentation.

Billing rates at the Project level (if applicable)

If your Billing Rate Model is set to Project and you’re an Administrator (or a Manager with permission to “Add and Edit Billing Rates”), you’ll see a Billing Rates section for this Project. Configure how entries to this Project are billed. See the Billing Rates guide for details.

If Billing Rate Model = Project, you can choose how much to bill for this Project by editing the Project and Selecting "Billing Rates":

Advanced: Model = Person with per-Project exceptions:

• Default Rate (per Person) — Uses each employee’s default billing rate.
• Custom Rate (per Person for this Project) — Override an employee’s default rate when billing to this Project.
• Flat Rate (per Project) — One rate applied to all people billing to this Project.
  
  

Advanced: Model = Task with per-Project exceptions:

• Default Rate (per Task) — Uses each task’s default billing rate.
• Custom Rate (per Task for this Project) — Override a task’s default rate when billing to this Project.
• Flat Rate (per Project) — One rate applied to all tasks on this Project.
  
  

Edit a Project

1. Go to Company → Projects and click the Edit (pencil) icon next to the Project.

The Project Detail page is divided into sections. Use the navigation to jump between sections, and click Edit Section to make changes.

Rename / renumber caution

While it’s possible to change Project Name and Project Number after creation, this can affect reporting continuity and historical context. Best practice is to inactivate the old Project and create a new one with the updated name/number.

Click Update to save changes (or Cancel to discard). Repeat for other sections (Project Manager, etc.).

Reports (Project-centric)

Some accounts surface a Reports section within Project Detail to quickly run reports that use Project as a primary key. Use it to jump to relevant reports filtered to the selected Project. For “Reporting by Job,” see this guide.

Actions menu (Project Detail) + Duplication

The Actions menu (top-right) of a Project's, Project Detail page includes:

• Delete — Only possible when no time is associated with the Project. Otherwise set Status to Inactive. Only Administrators can delete Projects.
• Download Audit Log — If your organization uses the Audit Logging module, download an Excel audit export for this Project. Details.
• Duplicate — Not available from Project Detail; use the Project List page to duplicate.
  

Notes on Start/End Dates

Use Start Date and End Date to indicate when a Project can be worked on. These fields are optional, but when set, they control time entry eligibility:

• Employees can only enter time on dates within the Start/End range.
• Outside the range, employees see an error that the Project is outside its date parameters.
• Leave these fields blank if you don’t want date-based restrictions.

Best practices

• Naming & numbering: Use a consistent pattern and unique Project Numbers per Client to reduce confusion.
• Availability: Keep Project lists clean with Divisions/People scoping (if using list controls).
• Status hygiene: Inactivate Projects when work is complete; reactivate only when needed.
• Dates: Use Start/End Dates to prevent late or early coding when appropriate; otherwise leave blank.

Troubleshooting

• “I can’t find my Project.” Ensure the Project is Active, within its Start/End range, and available to the user (via Division/Person access if enabled).
• “I can’t save my new Project.” Check that Project Number is unique within the Client and all required fields (including Custom Fields) are complete.
• "What order will my Projects appear in, on the time entry screens (Day View/Week View)?" The Projects will appear in alphabetical order but please note this is based on the organization's Project Display Options.  These options are only configurable by ClickTime Support.  Please reach out to support@clicktime.com for further assistance.