Manage projects
/visma-net-erp/help/project-accounting/manage-projects
section
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# Manage projects
About the project life cycle
/visma-net-erp/help/project-accounting/manage-projects/about-the-project-life-cycle
page
Below, you can read about the different stages of a project, from planning to completion.
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# About the project life cycle
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)](/visma-net-erp/help/project-accounting/project-accounting-windows/projects-pm301000/) 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)](/visma-net-erp/help/project-accounting/project-accounting-windows/project-accounting-preferences-pm101000/) 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)](/visma-net-erp/help/project-accounting/project-accounting-windows/projects-pm301000/) and
[Project tasks (PM302000)](/visma-net-erp/help/project-accounting/project-accounting-windows/project-tasks-pm302000/) 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)](/visma-net-erp/help/project-accounting/project-accounting-windows/projects-pm301000/) 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](/visma-net-erp/help/project-accounting/about-integration-with-other-modules/)
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.
Related pages
Concepts
Tasks
Windows
About the calculation of task completion percentage
/visma-net-erp/help/project-accounting/manage-projects/about-the-calculation-of-task-completion-percentage
page
A project task is the smallest identifiable piece of work that is a part of the project.
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# About the calculation of task completion percentage
A project task is the smallest identifiable piece of work that is a part of the project.
A project task is the smallest identifiable piece of work that is a
part of the project.
Some tasks may require more than one financial period to complete and
may be invoiced on task completion or even on completion of the entire project.
Often, the
allocation rules for projects are rather straightforward and use the
percentage-of-completion scheme to evaluate the revenue earned during a specific financial
period.
## Methods of calculation of task completion percentage
For each task in the project, you can select which method will be used to evaluate the
completion percentage of the task, which is shown in the **Completed (%)** column in the **Tasks** tab of the [Projects (PM301000)](/visma-net-erp/help/project-accounting/project-accounting-windows/projects-pm301000/) window.
You select the method in the
**Completion calculation method** field in the [Project tasks (PM302000)](/visma-net-erp/help/project-accounting/project-accounting-windows/project-tasks-pm302000/) window.
You can select one of the following
options:
Manual
: You can use this method if it is not possible to select one cost line in which the actual amount or quantity would reflect the overall task progress. This may be the case if different cost lines are expressed as quantities measured in different UoMs, or some of the lines have budgets expressed as amounts with other line budgets expressed as quantities. With this method, you evaluate the task progress by using all the available information and manually specify the task completion percentage in the **Completed (%)** field. You can change the value as often as needed and yous should update it before you perform an allocation for the project.
Budgeted quantity
: With this method, the system calculates the task completion percentage for all cost budget lines associated with the task for which the **Auto completed (%)** check box is selected in the **Cost budget** tab of the [Projects (PM301000)](/visma-net-erp/help/project-accounting/project-accounting-windows/projects-pm301000/) window. The system calculates the percentage based on the quantities in the **Actual quantity** and **Revised quantity** columns on the **Cost budget** tab by using the following formula: `Completed (%) = Actual quantity / Revised quantity`. If the **Auto completed (%)** check box is selected for more than one cost budget line associated with the task with this completion method, the result of the **Completed (%)** calculation can be unpredictable due to different UoMs of the cost budget lines. For example: Suppose that a task has a budget for 100 hours of consulting (with a cost of €100 per hour) for a customer company and a budget for 25 round trips (with a cost of €10 per hour) to the customer location. If you select the consulting cost for tracking the task completion, with 40 hours of consulting completed, the percentage of the task completion is calculated as 40%. Splitting or merging consulting sessions may change the number of required round trips; however, the task progress should be measured by the actual hours of consulting performed.
Budgeted amount
: You can use this method for a task if all cost lines have budgeted amounts. With this method selected, the system calculates the task completion percentage for all the cost budget lines associated with the task for which the **Auto completed (%)** check box is selected on the **Cost budget** tab of the [Projects (PM301000)](/visma-net-erp/help/project-accounting/project-accounting-windows/projects-pm301000/) window. The system calculates the percentage based on the amounts in the **Actual amount** and **Revised amount** columns on the **Cost budget** tab by using the following formula: `Completed (%) = Actual amount / Revised amount`.
## Evaluation of project completion percentage
With Visma Net, you cannot directly track the completion percentage for the entire project although you
can track completion for each of the project tasks.
If needed, you can create a separate
task and use it exclusively to manually specify
the project completion percentage that you evaluate by using all the information available
about the progress of project tasks and project-related transactions.
Related pages
Concepts
Tasks
Windows
About project-specific format of invoices
/visma-net-erp/help/project-accounting/manage-projects/about-project-specific-format-of-invoices
page
For individual projects, you can configure different formats for printable pro forma invoices and sales invoices.
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# About project-specific format of invoices
For individual projects, you can configure different formats for printable pro forma invoices and sales invoices.
For individual projects, you can configure different formats for printable pro forma invoices
and sales invoices.
The invoice format may depend on the project type; for
instance, an installation project may have one invoice format, and a repair project may have
a different invoice format.
Also, a default invoice format can be specified for particular
customers, with this format used for all projects of this customer unless the user specifies
a different format.
## Defining printing window of invoices for projects
On the **Mailing settings** tab of the [Projects (PM301000)](/visma-net-erp/help/project-accounting/project-accounting-windows/projects-pm301000/) window, you can specify a custom format and an email notification template that
should be used for the printing and emailing of the invoices prepared for the particular
project.
When you create a new project, the system copies all the predefined mailing
settings from the **Mailing settings** tab of the [Project accounting preferences (PM101000)](/visma-net-erp/help/project-accounting/project-accounting-windows/project-accounting-preferences-pm101000/) window, but you can override them.
You can use the
following predefined mailings:
PROFORMA
: The mailing with this ID is used to print pro forma invoices. By default, this mailing uses the [Pro forma invoice (PM642000) report](/visma-net-erp/help/project-accounting/project-accounting-windows/pro-forma-invoice-pm642000/) for printing the pro forma invoice.
INVOICE
: The mailing with this ID is used to print customer ledger invoices that originate from the Projects module. By default, this mailing uses the [Pro forma invoice (PM642000) report](/visma-net-erp/help/project-accounting/project-accounting-windows/pro-forma-invoice-pm642000/), which is a copy of the [Invoice/note (AR641000) report](/visma-net-erp/help/customer-ledger/customer-ledger-reports/invoice-note-ar641000/), for printing the invoice.
If you need to override the printing form of pro forma invoices or sales
invoices for a project, you edit the respective mailing setting but do not edit the mailing
identifier, which is the system setting.
For example: Suppose you need to override the
printing form of pro forma invoices for a project.
For the **PROFORMA** mailing of this project, you select the needed report from the Projects module in the **Report** column of the **Mailing** table on the **Mailing settings** tab of the [Projects (PM301000)](/visma-net-erp/help/project-accounting/project-accounting-windows/projects-pm301000/) window.
## Printing invoices
When you print a pro forma invoice in the [Pro forma invoice (PM642000) report](/visma-net-erp/help/project-accounting/project-accounting-windows/pro-forma-invoice-pm642000/) window,
the system uses the report specified for the **PROFORMA** mailing of the corresponding
project on the **Mailing settings** tab of the [Projects (PM301000)](/visma-net-erp/help/project-accounting/project-accounting-windows/projects-pm301000/) window.
If the corresponding project has no mailing
setting with the **PROFORMA** identifier, an error occurs.
When you print a sales invoice that originates from the Projects module in the [Sales invoices (AR301000)](/visma-net-erp/help/customer-ledger/customer-ledger-windows/sales-invoices-ar301000/) window, the system uses one of the following reports:
+ The report specified for the **INVOICE** mailing, if one is specified, of the corresponding project on the **Mailing settings** tab of the [Projects (PM301000)](/visma-net-erp/help/project-accounting/project-accounting-windows/projects-pm301000/) window.
+ The report specified for the customer on the **Mailing settings** tab of the [Customers (AR303000)](/visma-net-erp/help/customer-ledger/customer-ledger-windows/customers-ar303000/) window if the **INVOICE** mailing of the corresponding project is not active.
+ The [Invoice/note (AR641000) report](/visma-net-erp/help/customer-ledger/customer-ledger-reports/invoice-note-ar641000/) if the **INVOICE** mailing of the corresponding project and the customer is not active.
Related pages
Concepts
Windows
About project tasks
/visma-net-erp/help/project-accounting/manage-projects/about-project-tasks
page
In Visma Net, each project can consist of one project task or multiple project task.
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# About project tasks
In Visma Net, each project can consist of one project task or multiple project task.
A project task is the smallest identifiable piece of work that is a part of the project, and you can select an invoicing rule for each project task to determine how it will be invoiced.
+ You create a project task when you are configuring a new project from the beginning or when you need to add a new project task to an existing project
+
+ You can also create new project tasks directly in the [Project tasks (PM302000)](/visma-net-erp/help/project-accounting/project-accounting-windows/project-tasks-pm302000/) window by specifying the identifier of the project to which the project task relates, the identifier of the new project task, and the settings specific for the project task.
+ When you create a project-related document, you must specify a project task for each document line. If you have specified one of the project’s tasks as the default one for the project, the system will automatically insert this project task in the lines of documents when you select the project.
+ When you process a sales or purchase invoice related to the project, the system may automatically generate additional general ledger transaction lines, for instance, to include a discount or freight charge. To automatically associate these transaction lines with specific project tasks, you need to map particular general ledger accounts to specific project tasks within the project in the **Default task for the general ledger account** table on the **Defaults** tab the [Projects (PM301000)](/visma-net-erp/help/project-accounting/project-accounting-windows/projects-pm301000/) window. In the automatically generated transaction lines posted to the general ledger account mapped to a project task, the system will specify this project task by default.
> [!NOTE]
> The defined account mapping does not affect the entry of project-related invoices in the [Purchase invoices (AP301000)](/visma-net-erp/help/supplier-ledger/supplier-ledger-windows/purchase-invoices-ap301000/) window. In the invoice lines, the system inserts the default task of the project if it is configured on the **Tasks** tab of the [Projects (PM301000)](/visma-net-erp/help/project-accounting/project-accounting-windows/projects-pm301000/) window.
Related pages
Tasks
About project transactions
/visma-net-erp/help/project-accounting/manage-projects/about-project-transactions
page
Project-related information from the documents processed in the system is collected by means of project transactions.
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# About project transactions
Project-related information from the documents processed in the system is collected by means of project transactions.
You can also use project transactions for tracking budget costs and revenue directly without updating general ledger.
You create project transactions manually if you need to directly capture project costs without updating the general ledger. The transactions created for a project update the actual values of the project budget with the incurred expenses that you may need in one of the following cases:
+ To control the amount of money spent on the project against the budgeted values
+ To invoice the customer for the incurred expenses
+ To control the project profitability
You create general ledger transactions manually for a project if you need to directly capture project costs without creating original documents (such as invoices, purchase orders, or time activities).
## Creation of project transactions
You can create a project transaction directly in the [Project transactions (PM304000)](/visma-net-erp/help/project-accounting/project-accounting-windows/project-transactions-pm304000/) window. When you specify the debit account and credit account for the project transaction and release the transaction, the system creates the general ledger transactions in the [Journal transactions (GL301000)](/visma-net-erp/help/general-ledger/general-ledger-windows/journal-transactions-gl301000/) window, based on whether the amount of the project transaction is positive or negative.
If you specify no debit and credit accounts for a project transaction in the [Project transactions (PM304000)](/visma-net-erp/help/project-accounting/project-accounting-windows/project-transactions-pm304000/) window or specify only the debit account, on the release of the transaction, the system does not generate the corresponding general ledger transaction.
About pro forma invoices
/visma-net-erp/help/project-accounting/manage-projects/about-pro-forma-invoices
page
Visma Net provides draft (pro forma) invoice capabilities for project invoicing.
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# About pro forma invoices
Visma Net provides draft (pro forma) invoice capabilities for project invoicing.
Visma Net provides draft (pro forma) invoice capabilities for project invoicing.
A pro forma invoice,
which you can view in the [Pro forma invoices (PM307000)](/visma-net-erp/help/project-accounting/project-accounting-windows/pro-forma-invoices-pm307000/) window, is isolated from
the Customer ledger workspace.
You can review and modify the invoiceable transactions and amounts
of the pro forma invoice before you prepare the Customer ledger invoice that is based on this
pro forma invoice. A pro forma invoice can be printed and sent to a customer as many times as is
necessary until an agreement is reached.
Once all the necessary changes have been applied to the pro forma invoice, it can be approved
and released.
When you release the pro forma invoice, the system creates a sales
invoice with all the information copied from the pro forma invoice.
With this process, you
minimise corrections in the Customer ledger workspace.
Pro forma invoices provide the following capabilities:
+ On the **Revenue budget** tab of the [Projects (PM301000)](/visma-net-erp/help/project-accounting/project-accounting-windows/projects-pm301000/) window, you can define invoicing limit amounts for revenue budget lines of the project if the **Use time and material revenue budget limits** check box is selected on the **Summary** tab of this window. The system applies these limit amounts to the pro forma invoices of the project. If an invoice exceeds a limit, in the [Pro forma invoices (PM307000)](/visma-net-erp/help/project-accounting/project-accounting-windows/pro-forma-invoices-pm307000/) window, the user receives a warning or an error message, depending on the **Validate time and material revenue budget limits** setting in the [Project accounting preferences (PM101000)](/visma-net-erp/help/project-accounting/project-accounting-windows/project-accounting-preferences-pm101000/) window.
+ You can use different formats of printable pro forma invoices, depending on the particular project. On the **Mailing settings** tab of the [Projects (PM301000)](/visma-net-erp/help/project-accounting/project-accounting-windows/projects-pm301000/) window, you can specify a custom format and an email notification template that should be used for the printing and emailing of the pro forma invoices prepared for that project.
Also, in
the **Invoice-to contact** and **Invoice-to address** sections
of the **Summary** tab of the [Projects (PM301000)](/visma-net-erp/help/project-accounting/project-accounting-windows/projects-pm301000/) window, you can
specify the contact information of the customer to whom the pro forma invoices should be sent.
This information is copied to each pro forma invoice created for the project and can be
modified at the invoice level.
## Creating a pro forma invoice
A pro forma invoice can be created only through the project invoicing process (and assigned a
reference number only automatically).
You cannot manually enter new pro forma invoices in the [Pro forma invoices (PM307000)](/visma-net-erp/help/project-accounting/project-accounting-windows/pro-forma-invoices-pm307000/) window.
By default, the system creates a pro forma
invoice when you invoice a project because the **Create pro forma on invoicing**
check box is initially selected on the **Summary** tab of the [Projects (PM301000)](/visma-net-erp/help/project-accounting/project-accounting-windows/projects-pm301000/) window.
To disable the draft invoice workflow for a
project, you can clear this check box or to prevent the system from creating a pro forma
invoice when you invoice the project.
For a pro forma invoice created for a project, the system records to the following tabs of the [Pro forma invoices (PM307000)](/visma-net-erp/help/project-accounting/project-accounting-windows/pro-forma-invoices-pm307000/) window the lines to be invoiced:
+ **Progress invoicing**: The system creates these lines by using the **Progress invoicing** steps of invoicing rules specified in the [Invoicing rules (PM207000)](/visma-net-erp/help/project-accounting/project-accounting-windows/invoicing-rules-pm207000/) window. The lines originate from the revenue budget of the project.
+ **Time and material** The system creates these lines by using the **Time and material** steps of invoicing rules; the lines originate from the project transactions.
The **Time and material** steps of invoicing rules support the aggregation of
project transactions by date, employee, supplier, and stock item.
On the **Time and material** tab of the [Pro forma invoices (PM307000)](/visma-net-erp/help/project-accounting/project-accounting-windows/pro-forma-invoices-pm307000/) window, you can select a line
and then click **View transactions details** in the table toolbar to drill
down to the list of project transactions based on which the **Invoiced quantity** and **Invoiced amount** of the line have been
calculated by the formula of the invoicing rule.
Fore more information about the invoicing process, see: [About project invoicing](/visma-net-erp/help/project-accounting/manage-allocations-and-invoicing-rules/about-project-invoicing/)
## Modifying a pro forma invoice
In the [Pro forma invoices (PM307000)](/visma-net-erp/help/project-accounting/project-accounting-windows/pro-forma-invoices-pm307000/) window, you can edit a pro forma invoice when it is **On hold**, including the following:
+ You can delete a line of the pro forma invoice to invoice it later in the full amount.
+ You can modify the pro forma invoice to invoice any lines on the **Progress invoicing** and **Time and material** tabs in a greater or smaller amount by changing the **Amount to invoice** as desired. The **Amount to invoice** is added to the customer ledger invoice when the pro forma invoice is released.
On the **Time and material** tab, if a
manually edited **Amount to Invoice** is less than the **Invoiced amount**, you can make a decision about the difference between the calculated
**Invoiced amount** and the corrected **Amount to invoice** by selecting the needed option in the **Status**
column of the invoice line.
The difference can be postponed until the next invoice (**Hold remainder**) or written off by this invoice (**Write off remainder**).
The whole amount
of the pro forma invoice line can also be written off (**Write off**); the amount will no
longer show up in future invoices.
> [!NOTE]
> For a postponed amount to be added to a pro forma invoice, the sales invoice that contains the line from which this postponed amount originates must be released.
+ On the **Time and material** tab, you can select a line and then click **View transactions details** in the table toolbar to drill down to the list of project transactions for which the **Invoiced quantity** and **Invoiced amount** have been calculated by the formula of the invoicing rule. These values are summed to obtain the **Invoiced quantity** and **Invoiced amount**, respectively, of the pro forma invoice line. You can remove particular transactions from this list, and they will appear in the next invoice.
+ You can rearrange lines within the invoice by dragging them to the appropriate positions. If invoicing limit amounts are defined for the project in the [Projects (PM301000)](/visma-net-erp/help/project-accounting/project-accounting-windows/projects-pm301000/) window, the system applies these limit amounts to the pro forma invoice lines as a running total, starting from the first line on the **Time and material** tab of the [Pro forma invoices (PM307000)](/visma-net-erp/help/project-accounting/project-accounting-windows/pro-forma-invoices-pm307000/) window. For each line of the invoice, the system subtracts the **Amount to invoice** from the **Max available amount** and uses the reduced amount as the available limit for the next line. Invoice lines for which the **Over limit amount** becomes non-zero exceed the limit. By rearranging the lines, you can make the system apply the limit amounts to the needed lines of the invoice.
+ You can add to a pro forma invoice an adjustment line that does not originate from the revenue budget or project transactions. Such lines are also included in the limit application and can decrease or increase the limit total.
## Releasing a pro forma invoice
The release of a pro forma invoice does not generate project transactions or general ledger
transactions directly.
When you release the pro forma invoice, the system creates a
corresponding sales invoice with all information copied from the pro forma
invoice.
You can release the pro forma invoices one by one in the [Pro forma invoices (PM307000)](/visma-net-erp/help/project-accounting/project-accounting-windows/pro-forma-invoices-pm307000/) window, or you can mass-process pro forma invoices to release them and produce
sales invoices in the [Process pro forma invoices (PM506000)](/visma-net-erp/help/project-accounting/project-accounting-windows/process-pro-forma-invoices-pm506000/) window.
The pro forma invoices of a project can be released according to the following rules:
+ The pro forma invoices can be released only one by one, starting from the earliest one, on the **Invoices** tab of the [Projects (PM301000)](/visma-net-erp/help/project-accounting/project-accounting-windows/projects-pm301000/) window. The only exception is when multiple pro forma invoices segregated by invoice group have been generated during a single iteration of the invoicing process; in this case, the pro forma invoices can be released in any order.
+ A pro forma invoice can be released only after the sales invoice of the preceding pro forma invoice has been released.
If the **Detail total** of a pro forma invoice is negative in the [Pro forma invoices (PM307000)](/visma-net-erp/help/project-accounting/project-accounting-windows/pro-forma-invoices-pm307000/) window (for example, if you have added a negative adjustment line in an amount greater than the total amount of invoiceable lines), the system creates a sales credit note when the pro forma invoice is released.
As a result of the release of the sales invoice, the general ledger transactions are recorded, and the revenue budget of the corresponding project is changed as follows on **Revenue budget** tab of the [Projects (PM301000)](/visma-net-erp/help/project-accounting/project-accounting-windows/projects-pm301000/) window:
+ The **Actual quantity** of the corresponding revenue budget line is increased by the line quantity of the released sales invoice if **Task and item** is the **Revenue budget level** of the project; otherwise, the **Actual quantity** is zero.
+ The **Actual amount** of the corresponding revenue budget line is increased by the line amount of the released sales invoice.
+ The **Draft invoices amount** of the corresponding revenue budget line is decreased by the line amount of the released sales invoice.
The document details of an unreleased customer ledger document that originates from a pro
forma invoice are displayed in read-only mode in the [Sales invoices (AR301000)](/visma-net-erp/help/customer-ledger/customer-ledger-windows/sales-invoices-ar301000/) window.
To make a correction to the customer ledger document, you need to delete
this document and start over from the pro forma invoice.
In the
[Sales invoices (AR301000)](/visma-net-erp/help/customer-ledger/customer-ledger-windows/sales-invoices-ar301000/) window, you can also navigate directly to the [Pro forma invoices (PM307000)](/visma-net-erp/help/project-accounting/project-accounting-windows/pro-forma-invoices-pm307000/) window by using the **View pro forma** menu command and view the pro
forma invoice from which the current customer ledger document originates.
This menu command
becomes available on the **Inquiries** menu if the invoice being viewed has
originated from a pro forma invoice.
Related pages
Concepts
Windows
About templates for projects and tasks
/visma-net-erp/help/project-accounting/manage-projects/about-templates-for-projects-and-tasks
page
In Visma Net, you can create project templates from scratch by adding every detail that you think will be required for a typical project of specific type.
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# About templates for projects and tasks
In Visma Net, you can create project templates from scratch by adding every detail that you think will be required for a typical project of specific type.
In Visma Net, you can create project templates from scratch by adding every detail that you
think will be required for a typical project of specific type.
Alternatively, you
can create a template based on an existing project which you think is a typical
representation of projects of specific type.
When you create projects based on the templates, you can change any settings for particular projects; templates are used only to provide the default settings.
## Templates created from existing projects
+ You can create a template based on an existing project.
+ In the [Projects (PM301000)](/visma-net-erp/help/project-accounting/project-accounting-windows/projects-pm301000/) window, select a project that is a typical project of specific type and click **Create template** from the **Actions** menu.
+ A template will be created with all the tasks that were included in the project.
+ You can modify the created template as you want. You can delete some of the tasks and add new tasks.
## Templates from scratch
You can create project templates from scratch by using the [Project templates (PM208000)](/visma-net-erp/help/project-accounting/project-accounting-windows/project-templates-pm208000/) window.
When you create a project template, you can specify as many settings as you want, including the following:
General settings
: The broad information about the projects, including the default account and subaccount, default accrual account and subaccounts, and invoicing period. In the **Status** field, you can specify whether the specific project template is available for creating new projects. You can create projects only by using project templates with the **Active** status.
Visibility settings
: The list of the workspaces where the projects based on this template will be visible.
Template tasks
: The tasks to be included in the projects based on this template. Tasks for the project template can be added by using the [Project template tasks (PM208010)](/visma-net-erp/help/project-accounting/project-accounting-windows/project-template-tasks-pm208010/) window.
List of employees
: The employees who will work on the projects and the project manager who will be monitoring projects of the type. You also specify labour items and hourly rates for employees working on this project. Also, you can specify whether only the listed employees can work for the project.
## Template tasks and common tasks
A project template may include tasks that are actually templates of tasks that can be included
in projects based on the template.
You can add task templates to the project
template.
You add the tasks to the project template and specify the settings for these tasks
by using the [Project template tasks (PM208010)](/visma-net-erp/help/project-accounting/project-accounting-windows/project-template-tasks-pm208010/) window.
When you create a
new template task, you can specify whether it is automatically included in all
projects based on the project template.
Template task settings include the following:
General settings
: are overall information about the task, including approver, VAT category, default subaccount, and invoicing period. The general settings also include **Visibility settings**, the list of the workspaces in which this project task must be visible. You can make tasks visible only in the workspaces in which the parent project is visible; the scope for the task cannot be wider than the scope for the project.
Recurring invoicing
: can be used to implement the flat-price scenario with recurring payments when your future project uses flat rates for services or products you provide to your customer regularly. For more information about recurring invoicing, see: [About project invoicing](/visma-net-erp/help/project-accounting/manage-allocations-and-invoicing-rules/about-project-invoicing/)
When you create a new project based on a project template, you can add to the new project any of the tasks associated with this project template and any of the existing common tasks.
Common tasks are also templates of tasks, but they are not linked to any specific project
template and, as such, can be added to any new or existing project.
You can create
common tasks with the help of the [Common tasks (PM208030)](/visma-net-erp/help/project-accounting/project-accounting-windows/common-tasks-pm208030/)
window.
Generally, you provide the same types of settings for common tasks as for the
template tasks: general, budget, and recurring invoicing settings.
Related pages
Concepts
Tasks
Windows
About change orders
/visma-net-erp/help/project-accounting/manage-projects/about-change-orders
page
You can use the change order functionality to control changes to a project’s budgeted and committed values and control the profitability of every change initiated by a customer.
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# About change orders
You can use the change order functionality to control changes to a project’s budgeted and committed values and control the profitability of every change initiated by a customer.
You can use the change order functionality to control changes to a project’s budgeted and committed values and control the profitability of every change initiated by a customer. A change order is a document for profitability analysis and an audit trial of changes to the project revenue budget, commitments, and budgeted costs.
Change orders do not alter the original figures of a project directly; they are tracked separately from the original figures for analysis.
With the help of change orders, you can do the following:
+ Record changes to the project revenue budget, cost budgets, and commitments.
+ Review the list of change orders related to a project on the **Change orders** tab of the [Projects (PM301000)](/visma-net-erp/help/project-accounting/project-accounting-windows/projects-pm301000/) window.
+ See the changes for each purchase order as well as the original and committed values in the [Commitments (PM306000)](/visma-net-erp/help/project-accounting/project-accounting-windows/commitments-pm306000/) window.
+ See the list of change orders that affect the purchase order on the **Change orders** tab of the [Purchase orders (PO301000)](/visma-net-erp/help/purchases/purchases-windows/purchase-orders-po301000/) window.
+ See the profitability of every change of the project budget initiated by the customer.
Change orders are available when the **Change orders** functionality is enabled in the [Enable/disable functionalities (CS100000)](/visma-net-erp/help/common-settings/enable-or-disable-functionalites/enable-disable-functionalities-cs100000/) window.
Change orders are managed in the [Change orders (PM308000)](/visma-net-erp/help/project-accounting/project-accounting-windows/change-orders-pm308000/) window.
Related pages
Windows
About account groups
/visma-net-erp/help/project-accounting/manage-projects/about-account-groups
page
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# About account groups
+ An **account group** is an entity in Visma Net that you can define by using the [Account groups (PM201000)](/visma-net-erp/help/project-accounting/project-accounting-windows/account-groups-pm201000/) window and map to a subset of General ledger accounts.
+ Account groups are used to track the project budget and balances. Because they are mapped to general ledger accounts, account groups allow for the transfer of project-related financial information between the General ledger and Project accounting workspaces.
For information about how to create an account group, see [Create an account group](/visma-net-erp/help/project-accounting/manage-projects/create-an-account-group/).
## Account group IDs
To configure the IDs of account groups in Visma Net, you use the **ACCGROUP** segmented key in the [Segment keys (CS202000)](/visma-net-erp/help/common-settings/common-settings-windows/segment-keys-cs202000/) window.
+ By default, this segmented key specifies that the account group ID is an alphanumeric string of up to 10 characters.
+ You can divide account group IDs into segments with specific values.
+ In most cases, you do not need to change the default configuration of the **ACCGROUP** key.
## Types of account groups
An account group can be one of the following types: **Asset**, **Liability**, **Expense**, or **Income**. It can be mapped to specific general ledger accounts of only certain types.
You can use account groups of the **Off-balance** type to collect and track project statistics and other information that is not finance-related. For example, you can create an account group of the **Off-balance** type to record all hours spent by employees on a given project. You may want to know the total number of hours worked, but you do not want to post those numbers to the General ledger.
## Account groups and the general ledger
You can create account groups to be used in the Projects module by using the [Account groups (PM201000)](/visma-net-erp/help/project-accounting/project-accounting-windows/account-groups-pm201000/) window. Before defining account groups, identify the accounts that will be used for project-related transactions.
Exclude customer ledger accounts and supplier ledger accounts.
Use the following rules to create account groups:
+ Any single account group may include one or more general ledger accounts; however, you cannot map any general ledger account to more than one account group.
+ An account group should include accounts of only certain types (for instance, an account group of the **Income** type can include only income and expense accounts).
+ When you map the accounts to account groups, consider the invoicing and allocation rules. For invoicing and allocation, if the transactions of two accounts should be processed differently, these two accounts should be included in different account groups. If the transactions usually use the same rate, consider including their accounts in one group.
+ Consider whether you need the **Off-balance** account groups that are not linked to general ledger accounts and that can hold amounts not posted to the General ledger.
By using account groups, you can view specific balances by project.
For example: The **EXPENSE** account group was created for customisation projects and includes
the following accounts:
+ 4010 Travel expenses
+ 4030 Accommodation
+ 4050 Car rent
+ 4113 Office supplies
+ 4115 Miscellaneous expenses
Employees will record their expenses related to the project to the appropriate general ledger accounts. The project manager can view the project's expenses as the balance of the **EXPENSE** account group, which is the total of all expenses recorded to all the expense accounts included in the **EXPENSE** account group.
## Account-task mapping for automatically added transactions
When creating a document, you must specify a project task for each applicable transaction. However, automatically added transactions, such as freight transactions for sales invoices, do not have a project task specified, leading to errors.
To resolve this issue, provide account-task mapping for automatically added transactions using the **Account-task mapping** tab in the [Projects (PM301000)](/visma-net-erp/help/project-accounting/project-accounting-windows/projects-pm301000/) window. If multiple similar projects require the same mapping, define the rules using the [Project templates (PM208000)](/visma-net-erp/help/project-accounting/project-accounting-windows/project-templates-pm208000/) window.
## Attributes for account groups
You can create attributes in the [Attributes (CS205000)](/visma-net-erp/help/common-settings/common-settings-windows/attributes-cs205000/) window to
+ Store additional properties of account groups that can be used in invoicing and in allocations.
+ Specify which of the attributes can be assigned to account groups in the [Account groups (PM201000)](/visma-net-erp/help/project-accounting/project-accounting-windows/account-groups-pm201000/) window.
Related pages
Tasks
Windows
Create an account group
/visma-net-erp/help/project-accounting/manage-projects/create-an-account-group
section
Before defining account groups, identify the accounts that will be used for project-related transactions.
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# Create an account group
Before defining account groups, identify the accounts that will be used for project-related transactions.
Before defining account groups, identify the accounts that will be used for project-related transactions.
You should exclude customer ledger accounts (accounts debited by project invoicing) and supplier ledger accounts (accounts credited by supplier invoices).
1. Go to the [Account groups (PM201000)](/visma-net-erp/help/project-accounting/project-accounting-windows/account-groups-pm201000/) window.
1. Click .
1. In the **Account group ID** field, enter an ID for the account group you want to create. You can use up to 10 characters, both letters and numbers. It must comply with the ACCGROUP segmented key.
1. In the **Type** field, select the account type of the account group. The type of group should be the same as the type of general ledger accounts included in the group. An off-balance account group cannot include any general ledger account.
1. In the **Description** field, enter a short description of the account group.
1. On the **Accounts** tab, click .
1. In the **Account** field, select an account.
1. Repeat steps 5 and 6 to add more accounts to the account group.
1. Click .
Related pages
Concepts
Windows
Create a project template task
/visma-net-erp/help/project-accounting/manage-projects/create-a-project-template-task
section
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# Create a project template task
1. Go to the [Project templates (PM208000)](/visma-net-erp/help/project-accounting/project-accounting-windows/project-templates-pm208000/) window.
1. Click .
1. In the **Template ID** field, select the template you want to create a task for.
1. In the **Task ID** field, enter an ID for the new template task.
1. In the **Description** field, enter a short description for your task.
1. Go to the **General settings** tab.
1. In the **Invoicing option** field, click the drop down and choose between:
+ By invoice period
+ On task completion
+ On project completion
1. Click .
Use the other tabs to customise your new project template further.
Related pages
Concepts
Tasks
Windows
Create a project
/visma-net-erp/help/project-accounting/manage-projects/create-a-project
section
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# Create a project
1. Go to the [Projects (PM301000)](/visma-net-erp/help/project-accounting/project-accounting-windows/projects-pm301000/) window.
1. If necessary, click  to empty the fields and prepare the window for a new project.
1. In the **Project ID** field, the system displays <NEW>. The ID will automatically be assigned to the project when you save it. The project is automatically set to **On hold** and the status is **In planning**.
1. In the **Customer** field, if this is a customer-related project, select the customer you want to relate this project to. If you are creating an internal project, skip this field.
1. In the **Description** field, give a description of your project. This field is mandatory.
1. On the **General settings** tab, fill in the mandatory details, which is the project's start date, and for some types of project, the default subaccount. Fill in any other details you need.
Related pages
Concepts
Tasks
Windows
Create a project task
/visma-net-erp/help/project-accounting/manage-projects/create-a-project-task
section
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# Create a project task
1. Go to the [Project tasks (PM302000)](/visma-net-erp/help/project-accounting/project-accounting-windows/project-tasks-pm302000/) window.
1. If necessary, click  to empty the fields and prepare the window for a new project task.
1. In the **Project ID** field, click to select the project you want to create a task for.
1. In the **Task ID** field, enter an ID for the task you want to create. This ID can be a ten-character string of letters and numbers.
1. Depending on the project ID you select, the **Task ID** field and other following fields in this window may be filled in automatically.
1. In the **Description** field, enter a description for the project task.
1. Fill in the relevant fields on the **Summary** tab.
1. Click .
> [!NOTE]
> A project task automatically gets the status **In planning**. When the project is started, it changes to **Active**, and when it is finished, it changes to **Completed**. If you want to cancel a task, select the status **Cancelled**.
Related pages
Concepts
Tasks
Windows
Save a project as a template
/visma-net-erp/help/project-accounting/manage-projects/save-a-project-as-a-template
section
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# Save a project as a template
1. Go to the [Projects (PM301000)](/visma-net-erp/help/project-accounting/project-accounting-windows/projects-pm301000/) window.
1. [Create a project](/visma-net-erp/help/project-accounting/manage-projects/create-a-project/) or select the one in the **Project ID** field that you want to use as a template.
1. Click the **Actions** button and select **Create template**.
1. The **Project templates** window is displayed.
1. Modify any of the settings for your new project template, and click .
Related pages
Concepts
Tasks
Windows
Create fixed-price projects
/visma-net-erp/help/project-accounting/manage-projects/create-fixed-price-projects
section
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# Create fixed-price projects
1. Create a project as in [Create a project](/visma-net-erp/help/project-accounting/manage-projects/create-a-project/).
1. In the **Invoicing settings** section, set the **Allocation rule** to **Fixed price, percent complete**.
1. Set the **Invoicing rule** to **Standard invoicing rule**.
1. On the **Task** tab, click  to add a task called **Contract price**. Set the account group to **Revenue**. See [Create a project task.](/visma-net-erp/help/project-accounting/manage-projects/create-a-project-task/)
1. Select the task line you created and click the **View task** button. The [Project tasks (PM302000)](/visma-net-erp/help/project-accounting/project-accounting-windows/project-tasks-pm302000/) window is displayed.
1. In the [Project tasks (PM302000)](/visma-net-erp/help/project-accounting/project-accounting-windows/project-tasks-pm302000/) window, go to the **Budget** tab.
1. In the **Budget** column, enter the contract amount. For a project task of the labour category, select the **Production** check box. This is to measure the percentage that is complete on the amount of hours registered on a project, compared to the budget. If you cannot see the **Production** column in the table, click  in the top left corner of the table and select the column header there.
1. On the **General settings** tab, set **Completion calculation method** to **Budgeted quantity** or **Budgeted amount**, so that the system will automatically calculate the percentage that is complete when a task is completed. You can also set this to **Manual**, which means that you have to enter the percentage manually per task. If you do that, update this percentage before the allocation process. The system uses this percentage to calculate earned revenue. You can also create a separate task for the contract amount and use this task to set the completion percentage (manually). This gives you the possibility to restrict the visibility of this task in other modules.
1. When you have registered the tasks you need, and given them all a budget, set the **Status** for each task line to **Active**.
1. Then set the **Status** for the project to **Active** and click .
Related pages
Concepts
Tasks
Windows
Create project attributes
/visma-net-erp/help/project-accounting/manage-projects/create-project-attributes
section
To define new attributes, start by creating the attribute in the Attributes (CS205000) window.
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# Create project attributes
To define new attributes, start by creating the attribute in the Attributes (CS205000) window.
For more information: [Attributes (CS205000)](/visma-net-erp/help/common-settings/common-settings-windows/attributes-cs205000/).
1. Go to the [Project attributes (PM202000)](/visma-net-erp/help/project-accounting/project-accounting-windows/project-attributes-pm202000/) window.
1. In the **Name** field, select the entity type for which you want to add a new attribute.
1. To add a new attribute for the entity, click  in the table toolbar.
1. In the **Attribute ID** field, click  to select an attribute ID.
1. Optional: In the **Sort order** field, you can define the position of the attribute in the list of attributes available for the entity type. Specify 1 for the first attribute you want to be listed, 2 for the second, and so on.
1. Optional: Select the **Required** check box if you want to make it mandatory to enter a value for this attribute in the data entry window that is connected to this attribute.
1. Click .
> [!NOTE]
> You can edit existing attributes directly from this window: click the ID for the attribute you want to edit in **Attribute ID** column, and make your changes in the pop-up window that opens.
Related pages
Windows
Create a common task
/visma-net-erp/help/project-accounting/manage-projects/create-a-common-task
section
2026-02-19T17:09:06+01:00
# Create a common task
1. Go to the [Common tasks (PM208030)](/visma-net-erp/help/project-accounting/project-accounting-windows/common-tasks-pm208030/) window.
1. Click .
1. In the **Task ID** field, enter an ID for the common task you want to create. This can be a ten-character string of letters and numbers.
1. In the **Description** field, enter a description for the common task.
1. On the **General settings** tab, in the **Rate table** field, select a rate table.
1. Select an **Invoicing option**.
1. Optional: When you add a common task, the settings for the **Invoicing rule** and **Allocation rule** will be inherited from the project settings. It is not necessary to set different rules, but if you do, the project settings will be overruled.
1. Optional: Fill in any other information you want to specify, on the other tabs.
1. Click .
Related pages
Windows
Create a batch of project transactions
/visma-net-erp/help/project-accounting/manage-projects/create-a-batch-of-project-transactions
section
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# Create a batch of project transactions
1. Go to the [Project transactions (PM304000)](/visma-net-erp/help/project-accounting/project-accounting-windows/project-transactions-pm304000/) window.
1. Click .
1. In the **Workspace** field, select the workspace to which the project you want to create a batch of transactions for belongs. The **Ref. number** field is filled in automatically when you save.
1. In the **Description** field, add a description for the batch of project transactions.
1. In the table, click .
1. Select the **Project**, **Project task**, **Account group**, and the **Amount**.
1. Optional: Fill in the other columns.
1. Optional: Edit the **date** and the **period**.
> [!NOTE]
> The system automatically displays the current date and period.
1. Repeat steps 4, 5, 6, and 7, to add more project transaction to the batch.
1. Click , or **Release**. The latter will immediately release the batch, and then save it.
If you want to add information or a project to an existing batch: Start with step 2 and select the batch you want to edit.
Related pages
Tasks
Windows
Register expenses on a project
/visma-net-erp/help/project-accounting/manage-projects/register-expenses-on-a-project
section
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# Register expenses on a project
1. Go to the [Expense receipts (EP301010)](/visma-net-erp/help/time-and-expenses/time-and-expenses-windows/expense-receipts-ep301010/) window.
1. Click  to open a window where you can add a new expense receipt.
1. Fill out the following information: **Expense item**, **Description**, **Amount**, **Invoiceable**, **Project**, **Project task**
1. Click **Save and close**.
1. You en return to the **Expense receipts** window where you can see your receipt.
1. Click **Submit all**. The **Expense claim** window is displayed.
1. On the **Expense claim details** tab, you see the receipt you just created. If necessary, you can make corrections in the **Quantity** or **Unit cost** columns. Remember to save your changes.
1. Click the **Actions** button and select **Submit**.
## Correct and expense claim
If you want to correct an expense claim, you must insert a line item with the same information as the original item from the previous expense claim, but with a negative quantity. Then, you insert a new line for the correction.
Related pages
Concepts
Tasks
Windows
Release transactions
/visma-net-erp/help/project-accounting/manage-projects/release-transactions
section
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# Release transactions
1. Go to the [Release transactions (PM501000)](/visma-net-erp/help/project-accounting/project-accounting-windows/release-transactions-pm501000/) window.
1. If you want to release all available transactions in the list, click **Release all**.
1. If you want to release only selected transactions, select the check box next to the transactions you want to release and click **Release**. Once you have released the transactions, their statuses change to **Open** and you see the  icon.
If you do not want to post transactions when you release them, go to the [Project accounting preferences (PM101000)](/visma-net-erp/help/project-accounting/project-accounting-windows/project-accounting-preferences-pm101000/) window, and deselect the **Automatically post on release** check box.
Related pages
Windows
View project transactions in Project transactions - overview
/visma-net-erp/help/project-accounting/manage-projects/view-project-transactions-in-project-transactions-overview
page
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# View project transactions in Project transactions - overview
1. Go to the [Project transactions - overview (PM401000)](/visma-net-erp/help/project-accounting/project-accounting-windows/project-transactions-overview-pm401000/) window
1. In the **Project** field, select the ID of the project of the transactions you want to view.
The table list includes two types of transactions associated with the project:
+ Transactions that have not yet been released in the Projects module.
+ Transactions that have been released in all modules.
Related pages
Windows