Checklist optimisation new projects

Migrating to the new Projects is more than just clicking a button. Make sure you are ready to switch. The checklist below will help you get started on new projects well prepared.

 

There are three phases to consider: 

  1. Before migration
  2. After migration
  3. Specific use cases

 

1. Before migration

 

Topic Explanation
General
  • Appoint a ‘migration coach’ to collect and answer questions. That person is also responsible for setting up/revising the workflow.
  • How do you currently use the projects? What are the current internal processes?
  • Test your new workflow in advance by creating a test account. You will need a different email address from your current login to activate this account.
  • Create a sample project in the old project module. Visualise it in the new projects by turning on the slider. If you enable the slider, you are not yet migrating to the new projects. After migration, this ‘ideal project’ will be an easy sample project to modify and use as a ‘dummy’.
  • Make sure your active projects are up-to-date, this way you will have more time to apply your new workflow after the migration.
  • Document your new process: Use this document as a guide to your updated workflow. For each section, we will discuss the most important innovations.
  • Are you an admin?
  • Train your colleagues so they can get started right away:
Project settings
  • Define the preferences: 
    Do you need the fields regarding setting your own target figure for the cost budget? For the time budget?
     
  • Billing method preferences:
    Determine a default billing method for the entire account and which billing methods are selectable
     
How To: Billing methods in a project
Work breakdown

Video: The work breakdown in a project

How To: Add a project in Teamleader Focus

  • Duplicate project lines, groups and entire projects
  • Assign a status (to do/on hold/in progress/done) to each project line
  • Filter the view based on project line type (task, material, meeting), status and/or employee
  • Assign multiple users to a single task in a project
  • Phases are now called groups
  • Tasks, materials and (placeholder) meetings can be added separately from groups.
  • Determine which info is important to you in this overview by selecting the columns relevant to you (via the cogwheel at the top right of the project lines)
Project header

How To: Add a project in Teamleader Focus

How To: Billing methods in a project

  • Define which fields you want to see in the header, including custom fields
  • Set the project's invoicing method via the project header
    • You can deviate from this in each project line (task, meeting, material, group).
Materials/external costs How To: Add products to your project and invoice them
Project info Video: Project info in a project
Invoicing How To: Invoice a project in Teamleader Focus
Time tracking in projects TIP: Time tracking is always linked to a task or meeting.

TIP2: From the planning, you can also immediately enter prefilled timesheets for each week.
How To: Convert your planning to timesheets in Teamleader Focus 
Quotation or deal to a project incl. project lines

How To: Convert a deal or quotation into a project

 

TIP: Convert one or more existing quotations to a new project.
Project overview (list view)
  • Use the smart filters: status/overdue/over budget/billable
  • TIP: Invoice all billable projects in bulk (filter billable + bulk select)
Timeline view How To: The timeline view in projects
Settings FAQ: What are the different rights in a project?
Templates If you have project templates in your account, the projects they are based on will be migrated, but they'll lose their template status. 
Segments

On the list view of the projects overview, the segments have been replaced by filters.
 

Did you have segments that you used regularly? Check in your test account how to get the same result, possibly in combination with new columns (via the cogwheel at the bottom right of the list).
 

Also be sure to check out the new Insights; chances are you can access the report you want there too.
 

How To: The projects overview in Teamleader Focus

How To: Insights in Teamleader Focus


2. After migration

 

 Topic Explanation

Fill this out in the active projects

  • Update your projects according to the ideal project you created.
  • Review active projects and update what is new:
    • Project header
    • Billing method project
    • Billing method project lines
    • Work breakdown
      • Status of open tasks
      • Assignees
      • Column view
  • List view project overview: which columns do you want to see on it?


3. Specific use cases

 

Topic Explanation
Add loose time trackings to existing projects, without existing tasks

Did you add time tracking to a phase in the old projects?

 

After migration, this will be converted to: 
 

  • Per phase with time tracked on: a separate task grouping time tracked with the same work type and customer.
  • Name of that task: 'Time registration - phase - work type: xxx'
  • So if you had multiple time trackings on a phase, with multiple work types or customers, you will have several tasks after migration for those time trackings. They will be grouped per work type and customer.
  • In the timesheets, the separate time registrations are still consultable. So they are not gone, in the project they are only grouped by phase. 

 

To track time on a project, you now need a task. Tasks can be prepared in advance in the project, with assignment of employees.  Each employee can add their own tasks to the project.

 

If those tasks are also assigned an estimated time, it will be advantageous to use capacity planning as well.

 

If it is unnecessary to prepare tasks in advance in a project, each employee can also add tasks to the project themselves. 

 

Moreover, you can now also create project tasks while tracking time. This can be done via:

  • the + sign < Time tracking
  • timesheets < Multiple time tracking
Advance invoice in a project

Fixed-price projects:

  • When you create an invoice based on project lines, you can invoice even though the work has not yet been carried out.
  • If you want to invoice groups or project lines with a fixed price, you can choose to charge a percentage of the total amount. 

 

Projects with time & material:

  • Contact us and we will be happy to help you further on how to handle this in your specific workflow.

 

How To: Invoice a project in Teamleader Focus

Video: Invoice a project in Teamleader Focus
Invoice in bulk Were you used to invoice projects with time tracking in bulk from the Invoices overview?

From now on, you can do that in bulk from the projects overview page (filter billable + bulk select).

How To: Invoice a project in Teamleader Focus
Invoice time tracking on task

When time is tracked on a task in a project, it will not appear in invoices > invoice unbilled time like it used to. To make sure the tasks within a project are included in your bulk invoice, you can: 

  1. Go to a project and open the invoice tab. Click on add invoice and select create invoice from project lines. You can segment by date and then bulk invoice all the project lines you want, including tasks with time tracking.
     
  2. The second way to make sure you invoice tasks on a project with time tracking, is through the project's overview. Select the projects you want to invoice in bulk and then click on ‘invoice X projects’. Finally, click on ‘create X invoices’.
     

Use the filters to get a better overview of the project you want to invoice. Activate the ‘billable’ filter to see all projects that can be invoiced. Combine it with other filters, such as the status filter. In addition, fill in the customer’s name in the search bar to only see the results for that customer.
Link a ticket to a project It is no longer possible to link a ticket to a project. What is now possible is to add a project task to the ticket:
  • The task will then be added as a project line in the project.
  • This way, the task can also be invoiced from the project.
  • The link to the ticket is visible in the details of the task. If you also want to make this link visible at project level, it is best to refer to ‘ticket’ in the title of the task. 

 

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