Set up and use projects for QuickBooks Time

Learn how to set up and use projects for QuickBooks Time Elite. 

With projects, you can set up time estimates to track the progress made on a project. You can break your estimates down by individual tasks, or keep it simple with total hours.

Learn how to:

• Add a project
• Add an estimate
• Edit a project and estimate
• Track time for a project
• Manage projects
  • View project details
  • Complete a project
  • Cancel a project
  • Delete a project
  • Manage projects permissions

Add a project

If you use QuickBooks Online or QuickBooks Online Payroll

1. Create your project in QuickBooks first.
2. In QuickBooks Time, select QuickBooks dropdown and then select Import.  
3. QuickBooks Time imports the project start and end dates from QuickBooks, but you can add an estimate, if needed. 

If you don’t use QuickBooks Online or QuickBooks Online Payroll

1. In QuickBooks Time, select Projects, then select +Add Project.
2. Enter a Project Name.
3. (Optional) Choose the customer the project is for. The project will appear in the customer list and be labelled with (Project) to differentiate it from any other code.
4. (Optional) Add project start and end dates to have a timeline for your project.
5. (Optional) Add a project description.
6. (Optional) Add the project location using an address or GPS coordinates.
7. Select Continue to add an estimate (see next section).

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Add an estimate

If you use QuickBooks Online or QuickBooks Online Payroll

1. In QuickBooks Time, select Projects.
2. Select a project, then select +Add Estimate.
3. Select By hours, or By service items to divide the hours by list item. Once you save it, the estimate type can't be changed.
4. Do one of the following:
   1. If you select By hours, enter the total hours projected. Any timesheet tracked against that project will count toward those total hours.
   2. If you select By service items, select an item from the list. Enter the desired number of hours for that item. Continue for as many items as needed. All time tracked for this project will count toward the total hours, but will be visually broken up per item. If a new service item needs to be added, it must be added in QuickBooks first and imported into QuickBooks Time.
5. Select + Add, then Add estimate. 

If you don’t use QuickBooks Online or QuickBooks Online Payroll

1. In QuickBooks Time, select Projects.
2. Select a project, then select +Add Estimate.
3. Select By hours, or By tasks to divide the hours by list item. Once you save it, the estimate type can't be changed.
4. Do one of the following:
   • If you select By hours, enter the total hours projected. Any timesheet tracked against that project will count toward those total hours.
   • If you select By tasks, add a new item, or select an existing item from the list. Enter the desired number of hours for that item. Continue for as many items as needed. All time tracked for this project will count toward the total hours, but will be visually broken up per item. The items are added and managed directly in projects, but the field also appears in custom fields.
5. Select + Add, then Add estimate. 

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Edit a project and estimate

Edit a project

Note: For QuickBooks integrated accounts, edit the project in QuickBooks first, then import edits to QuickBooks Time. 

1. For non-QuickBooks integrated accounts, in QuickBooks Time, select Projects.
2. Next to the project, select , then Edit.
3. Make your changes, and select Save.

Edit an estimate

1. In QuickBooks Time, select Projects.
2. Select a project, then select .
3. Select Edit Estimate, make your changes, then select Update. 

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Track time against a project

Projects appear like any other customer or sub-customer to team members. When they clock in, they’ll select either the project directly, or the parent customer and then project to clock in. 

Note: If you want to include time already tracked in the past, those timesheets have to be edited to add the project to them.

On QuickBooks Workforce

1. Select Projects or More, then Projects.
2. If required for the selected project, choose a task. 
3. Select Clock in​​​​​​​.

On QuickBooks Time web

You can also track time against a project on the web dashboard.

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Manage projects

View project details

To view project details in QuickBooks Time, select Projects, then select the project to view. 

Overview tab

• Displays progress in hours worked for actual vs. estimated as well as how many estimated hours remain. 
• If a projected date range is added, it displays the start and end dates and a visual of how much time has lapsed.
• The By Estimates tab:
  • Displays the total hours or the total hours per task item.
  • Each line shows the estimated hours, how many hours have already been worked, the progress in percentage, and the remaining hours left to work.
  • Select each line to see the hours by team member.
• The By Users tab:
  • Displays the total hours worked by each team member.

Project posts and activity feed

Learn more about project posts and the activity feed.

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Complete a project

1. In QuickBooks Time, select Projects. 
2. Select a project, then In Progress dropdown.
3. Select Completed.

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Cancel a project

1. In QuickBooks Time, select Projects. 
2. Select a project, then In Progress dropdown.
3. Select Cancelled. Cancelling a project retains all tracked information and can be reactivated if needed.

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Delete a project

1. In QuickBooks Time, select Projects. 
2. Next to a project, select , then Delete. Select Delete to confirm. Deleting a project removes the project from your projects list. It can't be recovered. Timesheets tracked against the project will be retained.

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Manage projects permissions

1. In QuickBooks Time, select My Team, then select a team member.
2. Select the Permissions tab.
3. Next to Projects, select Off, View Only, or Create/Edit.
4. Select Save.

Notes:

• Admins always have the "Create/Edit" permission.
• All other team members default to the "View Only" permission.
• Team members with the "View Only" permission can see the total hours worked for a project as well as the breakdown of the hours they worked against that project.
• Managers see the breakdown for everyone in their group.
• If a team member has the “view timesheet reports for all” permission, they can see the breakdown for all team members.

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