Client projects with team, value and health
Every project holds its client (or marks it internal), Entity, currency, value, dates and the team with their roles and dates. The project manager sets its health, On Track, At Risk or Off Track, with one line on why.
PLANSEvery plan
The problem it solves
- Projects live in a spreadsheet, and nobody can say who is on which one, or since when.
- When a person hands a project over, the record of who held the role before is lost.
- Management hears a project is in trouble only when the client complains.
- Internal work and client work sit in one list, and internal hours end up on an invoice.
How it works
- A Projects Manager opens Projects > Work > Projects > Projects and presses New. You type the name, a short code, and pick Client Work with the client, or Internal.
- You fill in the project manager, the start, the planned finish, the value sold, the currency and the Entity.
- On the Team tab you add one line per person: their role, Lead if they hold the role, and From and Until dates.
- The project moves through Planned, Running, On Hold and Completed on the board. Each card shows the days left, or how many days late it is.
- The project manager sets the Health and writes the Health Note. The date of the change is kept by itself.
- Managers filter At Risk or Off Track, and see the same health on the Delivery Dashboard, the client portal and the phone app.
Everything it does
The project
- Name and Code (short, for documents and reports); a code is used once per Entity
- Kind of Work: Client Work (a client is needed) or Internal (no client, never billed)
- Project Manager (you, to start with), Priority (Normal or High) and Tags
- Start, Planned Finish and Completed On; Value, Currency (the Entity's, to start with) and Entity
- Site tab: address, map position, the site's time zone and units (metric or imperial)
- Notes, and a history of every change to the project
Status and the board
- Status: Planned, Running, On Hold, Completed, Closed
- Cards by status, with the client, tags, health, manager and a finish line: days left, Due today or days late
- The finish line turns amber 14 days before the planned finish and red once it is late
- List view with code, manager, city, planned finish and status; value totals on demand
Health
- On Track (to start with), At Risk or Off Track, set by the project manager
- Health Note: one line on what is late or what is needed
- Health Updated: the date of the last change, filled in by itself
- Shown on the board, the list, the Delivery Dashboard, the client portal and the app
The team
- One line per person: Role, a User (logs in) or a Contact (does not log in), Lead, From, Until, phone and email
- Hand-over: set Until on the old line and add the next person; the history stays
- Each line shows whether it was added by hand, by an assignment rule or from the work done
- Eight roles ready: Project Manager, Team Member, Reviewer / QA, Finance / Billing, Sponsor, Client Contact, Client Approver, Freelancer / Subcontractor
- Each role has an audience (Our Team, Management, Client, Subcontractors and Suppliers) that decides what its people see on the feed and the portal
- A role can be marked Every Project Needs One; Project Manager is, to start with
Finding projects
- Filters: My Projects, Running, At Risk or Off Track, Client Work, Internal, Archived
- Group by status, project manager, health or client; search by name, code, client or team member
- Who Is on What (People): every person on every project with role and dates, as a list or a pivot
Who sees what
- A Projects User sees the projects they manage or are on the team of now
- A Projects Manager sees every project of the Entities they work in
Who uses it
Projects ManagerCreates projects, sets the team and the value, and watches health across all projects.
Project managerKeeps the dates, the team and the health of their own projects up to date.
Team memberFinds the projects they are on under My Projects.
Projects AdministratorSets up project roles, their audiences and project tags.
ClientSees status, health with the note, dates and the project manager on the client portal.
Where you use it
- Web: Projects > Work > Projects > Projects, and Projects > People > Who Is on What
- Configuration: Projects > Configuration > Projects > Project Roles and Project Tags
- Client portal: status, health and dates of the client's projects
- The SmartMy Projects app: projects with health and team (built and in testing, not in the app stores yet)
What you control
Settings
- Project roles, their audience and whether every project needs one
- Project tags, for every Entity or for one
- Health on each project: On Track to start with
Works with
SmartMy HRMSA project made in SmartMy HRMS is the same project in SmartMy Projects, so moving up keeps its team and history.
Questions
Is health worked out by itself?
No. The project manager sets it and writes why. That keeps it an honest judgement. Late tasks and late finish dates are shown next to it so the manager can see when to change it.Can people outside the company be on the team?
Yes. Add them as a Contact instead of a User, for example the client's contact or a freelancer. They do not log in and do not count as users.What happens when someone leaves a project?
Set the Until date on their line and add the person who takes over. Who held the role before, and when, stays on the project.Can we run projects for more than one Entity?
Yes. Each project belongs to one Entity and has its own currency. Managers see the projects of the Entities they work in.Which plan has it?
Every plan, Starter included, with no limit on the number of projects.Related features
PROJECTSProject feed for the team and the clientOne timeline per project where updates, tasks done, payments, stage changes and key events land, each marked with who it is meant for. The client is told on WhatsApp or by email with a link to their own view, and confirms important items with Seen.CLIENTS, DASHBOARDS, APPS, AIClient portalYour clients log in to see their projects. They see status and health with your note, the tasks you let them see, the updates meant for them and the payments due and received. Clients are free; they do not count as users.CLIENTS, DASHBOARDS, APPS, AIDashboards: My Work, Delivery and MoneyThree ready dashboards open first in the Projects app. My Work is for everyone, and Delivery and Money are for managers. Every number counts only what the viewer may open, and a click shows the records behind it.PROJECTSStages you leave only when the checks passEvery project moves through your stages, such as Planning, Execution and Closure. It leaves a stage only when its checks pass: tasks done, time approved, the payment received. Passing a check anyway takes an approval, with the reason on record.PEOPLECapacity, allocations and utilisationSee each person's hours for every week, what is promised to projects and what is free. With SmartMy HRMS, leave and holidays are taken out. Utilisation and billable percentage come from the hours people actually log.CLIENTS, DASHBOARDS, APPS, AIThe SmartMy Projects appYour team's tasks, the timer, time added by hand and the weekly timesheet on Android and iPhone, also without signal. Managers approve the team's weeks on the phone.
See your next project on it.
Tell us how many people keep time, how you bill your clients today (hours, fixed price, retainers) and what you use now. We will set up one of your real projects with you.