---
title: "About the project life cycle"
description: "Below, you can read about the different stages of a project, from planning to completion."
lang: en
languages:
  en: https://docs.vismasoftware.no/visma-net-erp/help/project-accounting/manage-projects/about-the-project-life-cycle/index.md
lastmod: 2026-02-19
---

> Documentation index: https://docs.vismasoftware.no/visma-net-erp/help/project-accounting/manage-projects/llms.txt


# About the project life cycle

Last modified February 19, 2026

> Below, you can read about the different stages of a project, from planning to completion.


## Planning stage

Any new project you create in Visma Net is automatically assigned the **In planning** status.
Before you make any
project active or submit it for approval, you must thoroughly plan it and specify
all the key properties.

You can create a project either from scratch or from a template.
If you use a template, your
new project will be populated with the template settings, and you need to enter only
information that differs from the information in the
template.

When adding a new project from the [Projects (PM301000)](https://docs.vismasoftware.no/visma-net-erp/help/project-accounting/project-accounting-windows/projects-pm301000/index.md) window, you should enter the following information:

+ **General settings**:

  This information includes the description, start
  date, end date, and invoicing period.
  You also select one of these invoicing
  options: on the date of the customer statement, at the end of each month, at the
  end of each quarter, or at the end of each year.
+ **Visibility settings**:

  You can specify the workspaces with which you want to
  integrate your project.
  We recommend that you select only those workspaces that you
  will use to post documents related to your project.
+ **Tasks**:

  You can define the tasks for the project.
  A task in a project is a
  separate work unit with its own life cycle, budget, cost, and revenue.
+ **Employees**:

  You specify the employees to be engaged in the project.
  You
  can override the default labour class specified for specific employees by
  defining different labour classes for regular working hours and for overtime
  hours.
+ **Attributes**:

  You can specify attribute values for the project if a group of attributes has been assigned to projects in the [Project accounting preferences (PM101000)](https://docs.vismasoftware.no/visma-net-erp/help/project-accounting/project-accounting-windows/project-accounting-preferences-pm101000/index.md) window and for project tasks if a group of attributes has been assigned to tasks.

A project in the planning stage is not available for selection in data entry windows in
other modules.

To projects and project tasks
that are in the **In planning** status, you can add activities by using the [Projects (PM301000)](https://docs.vismasoftware.no/visma-net-erp/help/project-accounting/project-accounting-windows/projects-pm301000/index.md) and
[Project tasks (PM302000)](https://docs.vismasoftware.no/visma-net-erp/help/project-accounting/project-accounting-windows/project-tasks-pm302000/index.md) windows.
For instance, you can add an employee task for planning budgets
for project tasks while at the stage of project planning.
However, the transactions
generated for completed activities (if any) cannot be released until the project
gets the **Active** status.

After preparation has been completed, you can take the project off hold by clearing
the **On hold** check box in the [Projects (PM301000)](https://docs.vismasoftware.no/visma-net-erp/help/project-accounting/project-accounting-windows/projects-pm301000/index.md) window and saving it.

## Active stage

Active projects become available for selection on the windows of the modules you have selected for
integration with the Projects module.
For more information, see: [About integration with other modules](https://docs.vismasoftware.no/visma-net-erp/help/project-accounting/about-integration-with-other-modules/index.md)
When users create
transactions in the integrated modules, they can link the transactions with a
specific project task by specifying the project and task.
Also, they can specify
whether the transaction is invoiceable for the project task.
If users do not want to
link a transaction with any project, they can specify the non-project code.

Budget changes often occur during the course of the project.
In Visma Net, you cannot change the initial budget, although you can enter the revised figures
for the project budget.
The revised budget appears in a separate column.

## Completion of project

A project life cycle ends when the project is either completed or closed.
The project is
considered completed when all its tasks are completed.
You complete the project by assigning it the **Completed** status.

A project may end prematurely when the customer stops using the services your company provides.

In that case, you can close the project before completing all its tasks.

<h2>Related pages</h2><h3>Concepts</h3>
<ul><li><a href="/visma-net-erp/help/project-accounting/about-integration-with-other-modules/index.md">About integration with other modules</a></li><li><a href="/visma-net-erp/help/project-accounting/settings-and-configuration/preparation/index.md">Preparation</a></li><li><a href="/visma-net-erp/help/project-accounting/settings-and-configuration/about-setup-and-configuration-of-the-workspace/index.md">About setup and configuration of the workspace</a></li>
</ul><h3>Tasks</h3>
<ul><li><a href="/visma-net-erp/help/project-accounting/settings-and-configuration/set-up-and-configure-the-workspace/index.md">Set up and configure the workspace</a></li><li><a href="/visma-net-erp/help/project-accounting/settings-and-configuration/set-preferences-for-projects/index.md">Set preferences for projects</a></li>
</ul><h3>Windows</h3>
<ul><li><a href="/visma-net-erp/help/time-and-expenses/time-and-expenses-windows/time-and-expenses-preferences-ep101000/index.md">Time and expenses preferences (EP101000)</a></li><li><a href="/visma-net-erp/help/project-accounting/project-accounting-windows/project-accounting-preferences-pm101000/index.md">Project accounting preferences (PM101000)</a></li>
</ul>


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