How projects work

Administrators must configure system-level project options before project managers can add projects to Replicon. In most systems, they’ll need to enable project-related options in approval paths, templates, and permission sets, and then assign these to project resources.

Other project settings may also need to be configured, depending on how projects will be used. Administrators may need to enable options related to:

• Entry of expenses against projects and tasks
• Billing clients for project time
• Tracking project costs
• Allocating resources to projects and tasks (only available with resource management products)

In addition, project, client, and program managers must create any clients or programs that projects will be associated with.

Project managers create the projects they’ll manage. For most projects they’ll need to set up the basics – like tasks, a project team, and who works on what tasks.

Other project settings depend on how the project will be used. They may need to:

• Define what expense codes can be used, and their billable statuses
• For billable projects, specify whether the project is rate-based (Time & Materials) or Fixed Bid
• For rate-based projects, set up billing rates and mark tasks as billable or non-billable
• If you track project costs, mark tasks are CapEx or OpEx and assign cost estimates

Project resources enter time against projects and tasks in their timesheets. They may also be allowed to enter expenses against projects, using expense sheets.

If a single billing rate is assigned, time will be recorded at that rate. If multiple rates are assigned, the resource can choose which rate to use when entering their time.

Once submitted, timesheets are sent to each employee’s assigned timesheet and expense sheet approvers. These approvers could include the project manager and a client representative, if those roles are included in the resource’s approval path.

Approvers view items to confirm that hours and expenses are recorded accurately, and approve or reject. If rejected, the employee can correct the item and resubmit it for approval.

Billing and cost managers can view the approval status of timesheets and expense sheets, in the application or in reports, to confirm whether all timesheets that include hours needed for downstream calculations have been approved.

If an item they want included isn’t approved, they can override the regular approval process to make them available.

Once project hours and expenses are approved, managers can use them for many purposes, such as invoicing clients, calculating costs, tracking productivity, monitoring project progress, resourcing, budgeting and forecasting, aiding audit compliance, and determining profit.

Replicon includes reports and graphs that can help perform these tasks. Or, if you use third party software, you can transfer data to those applications using Replicon’s Microsoft Project and QuickBooks project integrations or report data exports. You can also create custom columns to perform additional calculations within Replicon itself.