Create a project

Most projects don't need to be created by hand: they're built automatically the moment a quote is accepted. Create one manually only when there's no quote behind the work, such as a favor visit or work you're tracking before sales is involved.

Before you start

Creating a project manually needs the Create Projects permission (Owner, Admin, Sales Manager, Operations Manager, and Operations User have it by default). No role is needed for the automatic path: it happens on its own when a quote is accepted.

A project is created automatically when a quote is accepted

When office or sales marks a Quote Accepted, solarOS creates a project for that customer right away. If your organization has a project template mapped to that quote type, the project comes in already structured: its stages and work items are built from the template, along with its payment schedule from the quote.

Check it worked: a new project appears in Operations → Projects for that customer. Opening it shows its stages, and the button at the top right of the header names the next step to work. The project's number, such as P-00089, sits above its name. Under the project name, a summary row shows the Customer, Service Address, Quote, Billing, and Team. A box with nothing yet reads No quote, Not set, or No salesperson. Under the quote, Sold shows the date it was accepted.

Common problem: if nobody has mapped a project template to that quote type, the project is still created, but without stages or items to work. An Admin sets up the mapping in template mappings; existing bare projects aren't restructured after the fact.

Create a project manually

1. Go to Operations → Projects.
2. Click New Project.
3. Search for the Customer, or click New Customer to create one. Then choose the Property.
4. Check the jurisdiction. Under the property, the jurisdiction row names the property's jurisdiction. Click it to pick another. The change applies to the property and to its open projects. A project with no property has a plain Jurisdiction list instead.
5. Choose a Project template, or No template at the bottom of the list.
6. With a template, fill in the pages across the top of the drawer. Click Save as draft on any page, or Create in production on the last one. See Start a project without a quote.
7. With No template, type a Name. Set the Owner, Date sold, and Description if you want to. Click Create Project.

Check it worked: the new project opens. With a template, its stages and steps are already built. A project saved as a draft, or made with no template, reads Draft until you click Move to production. Find it under the Draft chip on Operations → Projects.

Update a project from a newer quote

If a customer's scope or price changes after their project already exists, you don't have to rebuild it by hand. Open the project's ⋯ menu and choose Re-onboard from quote to pick a newer accepted quote as the project's new source of truth. This updates scope, budget, and payment schedule; it doesn't rebuild the project's stages or work items.

To change an existing project's price, payment schedule, or scope with the customer's agreement, add a change order from the project's Scope tab instead. See Change orders.