Project management setup checklist
The table below outlines all steps required before projects can be added in Polaris. Default settings are in place for most of these options, therefore you may be able to skip steps if the defaults work for your organization.
Features can be set up in any order, except options in section 2 must be set up before they can be assigned to users (section 3).
The checklist assumes users have already been added to the system. Programs and clients may also need to be added to your system before projects are added. These are typically created by program managers and client managers, respectively.
Other timesheet and expense functionality may need to be configured before resources can enter time and expenses against projects.
1. Define system-level settings
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✓ |
Feature to set up |
What the feature does |
Configure at |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Configure project roles |
Roles are assigned to users in their resource profiles. They can be associated with default billing, cost, and target utilization rates. |
Administration > Projects > Project Roles |
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Create skills |
Resource managers assign skills to project resources, to help them decide who should be allocated to what project |
Administration > Projects > Skills |
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Create client, project, and task custom fields |
Project and client managers can enter data in custom fields when managing their projects and clients |
Administration > Projects > Project Settings or Client Settings |
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Set up project and client codes |
Project codes can be automatically assigned to new projects; Project code and/or client code can be set as the unique identifier for projects and codes, respectively |
Administration > Projects > Project Settings or Client Settings |
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Set up currencies for projects |
Ensure currencies are set up to meet your organization’s project billing and costing requirements |
Administration > Company > Currencies |
2. Set up system-level options that you’ll assign to users
|
✓ |
Feature to set up |
What the feature does |
Configure at |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Create cost normalization rules for project resources |
Cost normalization rules allow costs to be automatically normalized in Polaris reports |
Administration > Projects > Cost Normalization Rules |
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Set up timesheet and expense sheet approval paths for project resources |
Approval paths specify who approves timesheets and expenses, and in what order. You can include project managers and client representatives in project approval paths. |
Administration > Timesheet s or Expenses > Timesheet or Expense Sheet Approval Paths |
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|
Enable project options in timesheet and expense templates for project resources |
Timesheet and expense templates define certain user timesheet and expense settings. You can choose whether projects, tasks, clients, and billing options display to resources. |
Administration > Timesheet s or Expenses > Timesheet or Expense Sheet Templates |
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Set up project permissions for managers |
Permissions determine what fields and data managers can view and edit when working with projects |
Administration > Employees and Organization > Permission Sets |
3. Assign project functionality to project resources and management
|
✓ |
Feature to set up |
What the feature does |
Configure at |
|---|---|---|---|
|
Ensure employees have a license for a project management product |
The license allows the user to access project management functionality, including entering time against projects. Users are assigned a license for all products by default. |
Administration > Employees and Organization > Users > Licenses |
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Assign timesheet and expense templates |
Ensure templates that include project options are assigned to project resources |
Administration > Employees and Organization > Users > Timesheets or Expenses |
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Assign timesheet and expense approval paths |
Ensure approval paths that include project approvers are assigned to project resources |
Administration > Employees and Organization > Users > Timesheets or Expenses |
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Assign cost normalization rules |
Normalization rules need only be assigned to resources whose costs must be normalized within Polaris |
Administration > Employees and Organization > Users > Billing & Cost |
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Assign default billing rate and hourly cost rate |
Resource billing rates can be modified by project managers on a per project basis |
Administration > Employees and Organization > Users > Billing & Cost |
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Assign permission sets and licenses to managers |
Ensure all project, client, resource, and program managers who work with projects are assigned the permissions and licenses they need |
Administration > Employees and Organization > Users > Roles & Permissions and Administration > Employees and Organization > Users > Licenses |
Related links
Polaris PSA setup checklist
Time tracking setup checklist
Expense tracking setup checklist
Adding a project