Use phases to track parts of a project separately. Each phase can have its own schedule and budget in hours and euros. Its hours and costs also count towards the project totals. You do not need phases if tracking the project as a whole is enough.
Create and organise phases
Select Add phase in the Phases section of the project’s Overview tab, or in the Timeline view on the Tasks tab. Enter a code, name and any budgets.
Open a phase on the timeline to edit its schedule, status, budgets or time-entry lock. The phase name in the overview also takes you to the editor. You need permission to manage the project to edit its phases.
The phase list in the overview shows dates, status, budget usage and any time-entry lock, subject to your permissions. Use the arrow buttons to change the order of phases.
Phase status does not lock time entries
A phase’s status is Planned, Active or Done. Marking it done does not, by itself, prevent people from recording hours.
Lock for time entries prevents new entries against the phase and its tasks. You also cannot add new tasks, purchases or hour bookings to a locked phase. Locking does not remove existing data or, by itself, prevent invoicing previously recorded hours. You can still edit the phase’s own details.
You can mark a phase done and lock time entries in the same action. Reopen for time entries allows entries again if the project is open. Completed, cancelled and archived tasks do not become available for time entries simply because the phase is reopened.
Track completion and budgets
Phase completion is calculated from its tasks. Completed tasks count as 100%; open tasks use their recorded progress. Tasks are weighted by their estimated hours. If none have estimates, they are weighted equally. Cancelled tasks are excluded. The calculated percentage does not change the phase’s status automatically.
Under the project’s Settings → Billing & budget, set Phase budget alert threshold (%). The project owner receives a notification when that share of a phase’s hour budget has been used. Reaching the full hour budget also triggers a notification. Each threshold is reported only once per phase.
The default threshold is 80%. Leave the field empty to turn off these budget notifications.
Assign tasks to phases
Select a phase on the task card, in quick add or in a recurring task rule. You can also create a phase from the picker or assign several tasks to the same phase at once. The task board can be grouped by phase.
A locked phase cannot be selected for a new task. Tasks already in that phase keep their assignment.
Choose the required level for time entries
Under the project’s Settings → Billing & budget, Booking precision determines whether hours can be recorded against the project or must be allocated to a phase or task:
- Project is enough — the root may carry the hours
- Phase or deeper — hours must be booked on a phase (a phase or one of its tasks)
- Task — hours must be booked on a task
An entry with an incomplete allocation can be saved as a draft, but the day cannot be confirmed until its entries meet the requirement. Changing the setting does not reopen previously confirmed days. Any incomplete allocations on those days are flagged to the approver. See Unable to confirm a day.