The projects list, templates, and adding a client

Three pages carry most of the setup work in the portal: the all-projects list where you see every job at once, the template library where you save setups you reuse, and the new-client wizard. This page covers all three.

All Projects

Open /admin/projects to see every project across all of your clients in one grid, sorted by most recent activity.

At the top, an Invoices waiting on you panel lists drafts ready to send, sent invoices still awaiting customer payment, and any that need a retry, across all projects. Below it, filter tabs narrow the grid, and each tab shows a live count:

• Active: projects still in progress or idle. This is the default view.
• From Quote: projects that were created automatically when a client accepted a quote. These cards carry a badge linking back to the source quote.
• Completed: projects you have marked done.
• All: everything.

A client dropdown on the right of the tabs filters the whole page down to one client, and the tab counts update to match.

What each project card shows

Every card is a snapshot of one project:

• The project name and client, linking to that client's workspace.
• A status pill: completed, or actively being worked when a timer is running.
• Color-coded billing badges so you can scan the list and tell retainer work from hourly work, quote-derived projects, and projects carrying surcharges.
• Billable and Total time logged.
• Unbilled: the value of billable time you have not invoiced yet.
• Surcharges /mo: if the project has active surcharges, their combined monthly run rate. Quarterly and annual surcharges are averaged into a monthly figure so cards compare cleanly.
• Budget: if the project has a budget, a percentage and progress bar. The bar turns amber at 80 percent and red at 100 percent, so overruns are visible before they become disputes.
• The project's billing profile, its session count, and the date of the last project note.

Creating a project from here

The Create Project button opens a form right on the page. Pick the client, name the project, choose a billing profile (or leave it on the client's retainer), and optionally add a description, start date, and end date. The end date drops a milestone on your calendar. The form also asks about surcharge disclosure, which is covered on Approvals and surcharges.

Project templates and the library

Open /admin/templates for everything you build once and reuse. The top of the page is a hub that links out to the rest of your library: contract templates, saved quote templates, the clause library, your pricing catalog, and service plans. Each of those has its own page; this one is home base plus the project templates themselves.

Creating a project template

A project template is a preset you apply when adding a project: a name, an optional description, a billing profile, and an optional budget. Create one with the form on the page. Something like "Monthly Support Retainer" with its usual billing profile and budget means the next twenty setups take one click instead of five fields.

Using a template

When you add a project from a client's workspace, a Start from template dropdown appears above the form. Picking a template fills in the name, description, billing profile, and budget. Anything you already typed stays put, and you can still change every field before saving. Templates prefill the form; they never lock anything in.

Archiving

Archiving a template removes it from the list and from the dropdown. Projects already created from it are not affected. You will confirm before it archives.

Adding a new client

Open /admin/clients/new to add a client. It is a four-step wizard, and nothing is saved until you finish the last step, so you can back out at any point without leaving a half-made client behind.

Step 1: Client details

Contact first name, last name, email, and phone number are required. Company name and mailing address are optional but worth filling in, since the address feeds invoices and tax handling later.

Step 2: Pricing

Three choices:

• Industry: tags the client so their portal shows pricing relevant to their trade.
• Retainer tier: the client's ongoing plan, or none.
• Billing profile: how hours and fees roll up for this client. Profiles are grouped by industry, with the client's own industry expanded first, but you can pick any profile.

Step 3: Surcharges and costs

The wizard asks one important question: were surcharges disclosed in your signed contract with this client? If yes, future surcharges (materials, fuel, equipment, third-party fees) post to invoices without a per-charge approval, and you can paste the exact contract clause for the record. If no, every future surcharge will need the client's explicit approval before it bills. You can also add any surcharges and recurring third-party costs you already know about, and they attach to the first project.

If you are creating a first project in step 4, this question must be answered before the wizard will finish.

Step 4: First project (optional)

Name a kickoff project, add details the client will see on first login, and set a budget, deposit percent, and start and end dates. The deposit percent drives the first invoice when you bill the project, and the end date shows on the project calendar. Leave the project name blank to create just the client workspace.

This step also has an Email them a portal invite right away checkbox, checked by default. Leave it checked and the portal emails the client secure access as soon as you finish, so they can sign in and see their portal. Uncheck it and no email goes out; when you are ready, open the client's page and click Send Portal Invite to set up their access later.

Either way, when you click Create Client Workspace the client is created: you will find their new workspace on your client list and any first project on /admin/projects.