¶ Project Module
¶ Overview
The Project module in Sherkety ERP is your complete project management solution for planning, executing, and tracking projects from start to finish. Whether you're managing consulting engagements, software development sprints, construction projects, or marketing campaigns, this module provides the tools to deliver projects on time and within budget.
Business Value:
- Improve project delivery rates by 40% with systematic task management
- Increase team productivity by 30% with clear task assignments and priorities
- Reduce project overruns with real-time progress tracking
- Enhance client satisfaction with transparent project visibility
- Track profitability per project (time vs. budget)
- Collaborate effectively across distributed teams
¶ Getting Started
¶ Prerequisites
Before using the Project module effectively, ensure you have:
- ✅ Created user accounts for team members
- ✅ Defined project stages matching your workflow
- ✅ Set up task stages (To Do, In Progress, Done, etc.)
- ✅ Configured project tags for categorization
- ✅ Set up customers/clients (if applicable)
- ✅ Defined hourly rates for billing (if time tracking enabled)
¶ Initial Configuration
¶ 1. Configure Project Settings
Navigate to Project → Configuration → Settings
Essential Settings:
¶ Task Management Section
- ✅ Subtasks - Break down complex tasks into smaller units
- ✅ Recurring Tasks - Automate creation of repeated tasks
- ✅ Task Dependencies - Define task prerequisites
¶ Time Management Section
- ✅ Timesheets - Track time spent on tasks
- ✅ Time Estimation - Plan and compare estimated vs actual time
¶ Analytics Section
- ✅ Task Logs - Audit trail of task changes
- ✅ Rating on Tasks - Collect feedback on completed work
¶ Integration Section
- ✅ Sales Orders - Link projects to sales orders
- ✅ Worksheets - Track field service work
¶ 2. Set Up Project Stages
Path: Project → Configuration → Project Stages
Project stages represent the lifecycle of your projects.
Default Stages:
- New - Newly created project
- Planning - Requirements gathering, planning
- In Progress - Active work
- On Hold - Paused temporarily
- Completed - Finished successfully
- Cancelled - Terminated
Customization:
- Click Create
- Enter stage name (e.g., "Client Approval", "Testing", "Deployment")
- Set sequence (order of stages)
- Define whether stage is "Folded" in kanban (archived/completed stages)
- Save
Industry Examples:
Software Development:
- Backlog → Sprint Planning → Development → QA → Staging → Production
Consulting:
- Proposal → Discovery → Analysis → Recommendations → Implementation → Review
Construction:
- Planning → Permits → Foundation → Construction → Finishing → Handover
¶ 3. Configure Task Stages
Path: Project → Configuration → Task Stages
Task stages define workflow within projects.
Typical Stages:
- To Do - Not started
- In Progress - Currently being worked on
- Review - Waiting for review/approval
- Blocked - Cannot proceed (dependency or issue)
- Done - Completed
Per-Project Stages:
- Each project can have custom task stages
- Or use global stages across all projects
¶ Daily Operations
¶ Workflow 1: Create and Set Up New Project
Business Scenario: New client engagement - build a website for $50,000 over 3 months.
¶ Step 1: Create Project
- Navigate to Project → Projects
- Click Create
¶ Step 2: Configure Project Details
- Project Name: "ABC Corp Website Redesign"
- Customer: Select client (ABC Corporation)
- Project Manager: Assign project lead
- Planned Date: Start and end dates
- Tags: Add tags (e.g., "Website", "High Priority", "Consulting")
Settings Tab:
- Allow Timesheets: Enable time tracking
- Billable: Can create invoices from project
- Privacy: Visible to team members or followers only
¶ Step 3: Set Up Task Stages for Project
Option A: Use Default Stages
- System uses global task stages
Option B: Custom Stages
- Settings tab
- Task Stages section
- Create stages specific to this project:
- Backlog
- Design Phase
- Development
- Testing
- Client Review
- Live
¶ Step 4: Add Team Members
- Settings tab
- Team section
- Add users who will work on this project
- Or leave open for all users
Result: Project created, ready for task planning.
View All Projects:
Organize by stage to see project pipeline.
¶ Workflow 2: Create and Assign Tasks
Business Scenario: Break down website project into actionable tasks.
¶ Step 1: Access Project Tasks
Method A: From Project
- Open project
- Click Tasks smart button
- Shows all tasks for this project
Method B: Task View
- Navigate to Project → Tasks → All Tasks
- Create task and select project
¶ Step 2: Create Task
- Click Create
- Enter task details:
Task Form:
Required Fields:
- Task Title: Clear, action-oriented (e.g., "Design homepage mockup")
- Project: ABC Corp Website Redesign
- Assigned To: Team member responsible
Optional but Recommended:
- Deadline: When task must be completed
- Tags: Categorize (Frontend, Backend, Design, Bug, etc.)
- Priority: Stars (1-3 stars for high priority)
- Planned Hours: Estimated time to complete
- Parent Task: If this is a subtask
Description:
- Detailed requirements
- Acceptance criteria
- Links to resources
- Client feedback
¶ Step 3: Set Task Stage
Drag task to appropriate column or set Stage field:
- To Do
- In Progress
- Review
- Done
Kanban View:
Drag and drop tasks between stages.
Result: Tasks created, assigned, prioritized. Team knows what to work on.
¶ Workflow 3: Work on Tasks and Track Progress
Business Scenario: Designer starts working on homepage mockup task.
¶ Step 1: Select Task to Work On
My Tasks View:
Navigate to Project → Tasks → My Tasks
Shows only tasks assigned to you, filtered by:
- Priority
- Deadline
- Project
¶ Step 2: Update Task Status
- Open task
- Move to In Progress stage (drag in kanban or change field)
- System timestamps when task started
Calendar View:
See tasks by deadline for weekly planning.
¶ Step 3: Track Time Spent (If Timesheets Enabled)
On Task Form:
- Timesheets tab
- Click Add a line
- Enter:
- Date: When work was done
- Employee: (auto-filled)
- Hours Spent: Actual time worked
- Description: What was accomplished
Or Use Timesheet View:
- Timesheets → My Timesheets
- Log daily hours across all tasks
Benefits:
- Track actual vs estimated hours
- Bill clients for time (if billable)
- Analyze team productivity
- Identify bottlenecks
¶ Step 4: Update Progress
Progress Tracking Methods:
Method A: Manual Percentage
- Set Progress field (0-100%)
Method B: Automatic from Subtasks
- Create subtasks
- Mark subtasks complete
- Parent task progress updates automatically
Method C: Checklist
- Add checklist items in description
- Check off as completed
- Visual progress indicator
¶ Step 5: Complete Task
- Finish work
- Move task to Done stage
- Add completion notes
- Notify stakeholders (mention in chatter)
Result: Task completed, time logged, project progress updated.
¶ Workflow 4: Monitor Project Progress
Business Scenario: Weekly project review meeting - need current status.
¶ View Project Dashboard
- Open project
- Smart buttons show:
- Tasks: Total, by stage
- Hours: Planned vs actual
- Milestones: Key deliverables (if configured)
Progress Indicators:
- Overall project progress percentage
- Tasks completed / total tasks
- Budget consumed (if financial tracking enabled)
- Days remaining vs deadline
¶ Task Analysis
Graph View:
- Tasks by stage (bar chart)
- Tasks by assignee
- Completion trend over time
Activity View:
Timeline of upcoming and overdue tasks.
¶ Gantt Chart (If Available)
Visual project timeline showing:
- Task dependencies
- Critical path
- Resource allocation
- Deadline conflicts
¶ Identify Issues
Red Flags:
- Overdue tasks (deadline passed, not done)
- Blocked tasks (dependencies not met)
- Overallocated resources (too many tasks per person)
- Budget overruns (actual hours >> planned hours)
Action Items:
- Reassign overloaded team members
- Escalate blocked tasks
- Adjust deadlines if needed
- Add resources to critical tasks
¶ Workflow 5: Collaborate on Tasks
Business Scenario: Designer needs feedback from client on homepage mockup.
¶ Internal Communication (Chatter)
- Open task
- Scroll to Chatter section (bottom)
- @mention team member: "@john can you review this design?"
- They receive notification
- Conversation logged on task
File Attachments:
- Attachments section
- Drag and drop files (mockups, documents, screenshots)
- Files linked to task
- Version history maintained
¶ External Communication (Customer Portal)
If portal access enabled:
- Customer receives portal invitation
- Can view assigned tasks
- Can comment on tasks
- Cannot see internal notes
Use Cases:
- Client approval workflows
- Customer feedback on deliverables
- Transparency on project status
¶ Activities and Reminders
Schedule Follow-Up:
- Click Schedule Activity
- Select activity type:
- Call - Phone discussion
- Meeting - In-person or video
- Email - Send message
- To-Do - Internal reminder
- Set due date
- Assign to team member
- Click Schedule
Result: Never miss a follow-up, clear audit trail.
¶ Advanced Features
¶ Subtasks and Task Breakdown
Business Scenario: "Build contact form" is too large. Break into smaller tasks.
¶ Create Subtasks
Method A: From Parent Task
- Open parent task ("Build contact form")
- Click Subtasks smart button
- Click Create
- Create subtasks:
- Design form layout
- Implement HTML/CSS
- Add form validation
- Connect to email service
- Test form submission
Method B: Set Parent on Task
- Create new task
- Parent Task field: Select parent task
- Automatically becomes subtask
Hierarchy View:
Build Contact Form (Parent)
├── Design form layout
├── Implement HTML/CSS
├── Add form validation
├── Connect to email service
└── Test form submission
Benefits:
- Break complex work into manageable pieces
- Track progress granularly
- Assign different subtasks to different people
- Parent task auto-calculates progress from subtasks
¶ Task Dependencies
Business Scenario: Cannot start "Deploy to production" until "QA Testing" is complete.
¶ Configure Dependencies
If dependencies enabled in settings:
- Open dependent task ("Deploy to production")
- Blocked By field
- Add prerequisite task ("QA Testing")
- Task marked as Blocked until prerequisite complete
Visual Indicators:
- Blocked tasks show warning icon
- Cannot move to "In Progress" if blocked
- Automatic notification when blocker resolved
Use Cases:
- Sequential workflows (design → development → testing)
- Resource constraints (same person needed)
- Approval processes (review → approval → execution)
¶ Recurring Tasks
Business Scenario: Monthly client status report must be generated every month.
¶ Create Recurring Task
If recurring tasks enabled:
- Create task ("Generate monthly status report")
- Recurrence tab
- Configure:
- Repeat Every: 1 Month
- Repeat On: First Monday
- End After: Never (or specific date)
- Save
What Happens:
- Task auto-created on schedule
- Previous instance marked complete
- Assigned to same person (or round-robin)
- Deadline auto-calculated
Use Cases:
- Regular reporting
- Maintenance tasks
- Monthly reviews
- Quarterly planning
¶ Time Tracking and Timesheets
Business Scenario: Track billable hours for client invoicing.
¶ Enable Timesheets
- Project Settings: Enable "Allow Timesheets"
- Tasks now have Timesheets tab
¶ Log Time
Method A: From Task
- Open task
- Timesheets tab
- Add line: Date, Hours, Description
Method B: Timesheet View
- Timesheets → My Timesheets
- Weekly grid view
- Enter hours per task per day
- Faster for bulk entry
Timesheet Approval:
- Manager reviews timesheets
- Approve or reject
- Only approved hours billable
Reports:
Navigate to Project → Reporting → Tasks Analysis
Pivot View:
- Rows: Employee, Project
- Columns: Week, Month
- Measures: Hours Logged, Tasks Completed
Use Cases:
- Client billing (hours × rate)
- Project profitability analysis
- Resource utilization
- Performance reviews
¶ Project Templates
Business Scenario: You deliver similar website projects for multiple clients. Create template.
¶ Create Project Template
Process:
- Create exemplary project with:
- Standard task list
- Task stages
- Estimated hours
- Dependencies
- Action → Duplicate
- Name: "Website Project Template"
- Remove client-specific details
¶ Use Template
When new project starts:
- Duplicate template project
- Rename for new client
- Assign new team members
- Adjust deadlines
- All tasks auto-created
Time Saved: 2-3 hours of planning per project.
Variations:
- Small website template (20 tasks)
- Large website template (100 tasks)
- Mobile app template
- Marketing campaign template
¶ Project Budgets and Profitability
Business Scenario: Track if project is profitable or over budget.
¶ Set Project Budget
- Open project
- Budget field: Enter total budget ($50,000)
- Billable checkbox: Enabled
¶ Track Costs
Costs Accumulate From:
- Timesheets: Hours logged × employee hourly cost
- Expenses: Associated expenses (if expense module enabled)
- Materials: Products consumed (if inventory tracking enabled)
Revenue:
- Link to sales order
- Or create invoices from project/timesheets
¶ Profitability Report
Metrics:
- Budget: $50,000
- Costs: $35,000 (700 hours @ $50/hour)
- Revenue: $50,000 (invoiced to client)
- Profit: $15,000 (30% margin)
Red Flags:
- Costs exceed budget (overrun)
- Actual hours >> estimated hours
- Revenue < costs (unprofitable)
Actions:
- Reduce scope
- Increase pricing for future projects
- Improve time estimates
- Optimize processes
¶ Integration Scenarios
¶ Project ↔ Sales Integration
Workflow: Sales order creates project automatically
How It Works:
- Sales person creates quotation for consulting services
- Products configured as Service type with Create Project enabled
- Confirm sales order
- Project auto-created with:
- Customer from sales order
- Tasks based on product configuration
- Linked to sales order
- Team delivers project
- Invoice from timesheets or fixed price
Configuration:
- Product → Sales tab → Create on Order: Project
- Or Create on Order: Task (creates task in existing project)
Benefits:
- Seamless sales-to-delivery handoff
- No manual project creation
- Traceability from quote to delivery
See: Sales Module - Service Products
¶ Project ↔ Timesheets Integration
Workflow: Log time on tasks, create invoices from time
How It Works:
- Team logs time on project tasks
- Timesheets approved by manager
- Create invoice from project
- System calculates: Hours × billing rate
- Invoice sent to client
- Payment received
Billing Types:
- Time & Materials: Bill actual hours logged
- Fixed Price: Bill milestones regardless of hours
- Mixed: Some tasks T&M, some fixed
Configuration:
- Product for services (e.g., "Consulting Hour" - $150/hour)
- Employee: Set cost rate (for profitability)
- Project: Set as billable
See: Accounting Module - Service Invoicing
¶ Project ↔ HR Integration
Workflow: Track employee time across projects for payroll
If HR Timesheet module installed:
- Timesheets integrate with HR
- Attendance tracking
- Leave requests affect project capacity
- Performance reviews based on completed tasks
¶ Reporting & Analysis
¶ Standard Reports
¶ Tasks by Project
Path: Project → Reporting → Tasks Analysis
Metrics:
- Total tasks per project
- Tasks by status (To Do, In Progress, Done)
- Overdue tasks
- Average time to complete
Filters:
- Date range
- Project
- Assignee
- Stage
Use Cases:
- Sprint retrospectives
- Project health check
- Team productivity analysis
¶ Time Analysis
Path: Timesheets → Reporting → Timesheet Analysis
Metrics:
- Hours logged per project
- Hours per employee
- Billable vs non-billable hours
- Overtime hours
Use Cases:
- Client billing
- Resource allocation
- Project cost tracking
- Employee utilization
¶ Project Pipeline
View: Project → Projects (Kanban by Stage)
Shows:
- Projects in each stage
- Total project count
- Revenue potential (if linked to sales)
Use Cases:
- Capacity planning
- Sales forecasting (services business)
- Resource planning
¶ Custom Reporting
¶ Create Custom Project Dashboard
Scenario: Executive wants high-level project status.
- Navigate to Project → Projects
- Pivot View
- Configure:
- Rows: Project Name, Project Manager
- Columns: Stage
- Measures: Task Count, Total Hours
- Save as Favorite: "Executive Project Dashboard"
Export:
- Click Download → Excel
- Share with stakeholders
¶ Best Practices
¶ ✅ Project Planning
Start with Clear Scope
- Define deliverables upfront
- Get client sign-off on scope
- Document assumptions
- Benefit: Prevent scope creep, set expectations
Break Down into Tasks
- No task should exceed 8 hours
- Use subtasks for complex work
- Estimate realistically (add 20% buffer)
- Benefit: Better tracking, fewer surprises
Set Realistic Deadlines
- Consider team capacity
- Account for dependencies
- Add buffer for unknowns
- Benefit: On-time delivery, less stress
Assign Clear Ownership
- Every task has one owner
- Shared tasks lead to confusion
- CC others as followers
- Benefit: Accountability, faster execution
¶ ✅ Task Management
Use Descriptive Task Names
- Action-oriented (e.g., "Build" not "Building")
- Specific (e.g., "Design homepage" not "Design")
- Include context if needed
- Benefit: Clear communication, no ambiguity
Prioritize Ruthlessly
- Use stars for high-priority tasks
- Focus on critical path
- Say no to non-essential work
- Benefit: Deliver what matters most
Update Status Daily
- Move tasks through stages
- Log blockers immediately
- Communicate delays early
- Benefit: Real-time visibility, proactive problem solving
Document Everything
- Requirements in description
- Decisions in chatter
- Attachments for deliverables
- Benefit: Knowledge retention, onboarding easier
¶ ✅ Time Tracking
Log Time Daily
- Don't wait until end of week
- Track time immediately (most accurate)
- Use timer if available
- Benefit: Accurate billing, better estimates
Be Honest with Time
- Log actual hours, not estimated
- Include meetings, email, revisions
- Don't inflate or deflate
- Benefit: Learn true project costs
Review Timesheets Weekly
- Manager approves timesheets
- Catch errors early
- Discuss discrepancies
- Benefit: Data quality for billing/analysis
¶ ✅ Team Collaboration
Use Chatter for Communication
- Keep all discussion on task
- @mention for notifications
- Avoid external email chains
- Benefit: Context preserved, searchable history
Schedule Regular Stand-Ups
- Daily 15-minute team sync
- What did you do? What's next? Any blockers?
- Keep projects on track
- Benefit: Alignment, quick issue resolution
Celebrate Milestones
- Acknowledge completed projects
- Recognize top contributors
- Share successes with company
- Benefit: Team morale, motivation
¶ Troubleshooting
¶ Issue: Cannot Create Tasks for Project
Symptoms: "Create Task" button disabled or missing
Possible Causes:
-
No task stages configured
- Solution: Project → Configuration → Task Stages → Create stages
-
Project is archived
- Solution: Unarchive project
-
User lacks permissions
- Solution: Check access rights (Project User vs Project Manager)
¶ Issue: Time Tracking Not Available
Symptoms: No "Timesheets" tab on tasks
Possible Causes:
-
Timesheets not enabled globally
- Solution: Project → Settings → Enable "Timesheets"
-
Project not set to allow timesheets
- Solution: Open project → Settings tab → Check "Allow Timesheets"
-
Wrong module installed
- Solution: Ensure "Project" module installed (not just basic Tasks)
¶ Issue: Task Progress Not Updating
Symptoms: Parent task shows 0% progress despite subtasks completed
Possible Causes:
-
Manual progress mode
- Solution: Set progress manually or enable auto-calculation from subtasks
-
Subtasks not marked "Done"
- Solution: Verify subtasks are in "Done" stage (not just "In Progress")
¶ Issue: Cannot Find Project in List
Symptoms: Project missing from projects view
Possible Causes:
-
Filtered by stage
- Solution: Remove filters or check "All" projects
-
Project archived
- Solution: Include archived projects in filter
-
Privacy settings
- Solution: Check if project is private (only visible to team/followers)
¶ Frequently Asked Questions
Q: Can multiple people work on the same task?
A: Tasks have one Assigned To person (owner). But:
- Add Followers for others involved
- Use Subtasks to split work
- @mention collaborators in chatter
Best Practice: One owner ensures accountability.
Q: How do I handle urgent tasks that interrupt planned work?
A:
- Create task
- Set Priority to 3 stars
- Tag as "Urgent" or "Hotfix"
- Assign immediately
- Owner re-prioritizes workload
Or:
- Create separate "Support" or "Maintenance" project
- All urgent tasks go there
- Easier to track interruptions
Q: Can I invoice clients directly from project?
A: Yes, if:
- Project linked to sales order
- Or create invoice from timesheets:
- Project → Create Invoice
- Select time period
- Choose tasks/timesheets to bill
- Invoice generated automatically
See: Sales Module - Service Invoicing
Q: How do I close a completed project?
A:
- Ensure all tasks marked "Done"
- Move project to "Completed" stage
- Archive project (keeps data, removes from active views)
- Or Delete (permanent, not recommended)
Archiving Benefits:
- Historical reference
- Template for future projects
- Reporting on past performance
Q: Can I track project expenses (not just time)?
A: Yes, if Expense module installed:
- Create expense linked to project
- Examples: Travel, materials, subcontractors
- Expenses count toward project cost
- Include in client invoices (markup if desired)
Q: How do I handle projects with external contractors?
A:
- Create Portal User for contractor
- Add to project team
- Assign tasks
- They access via customer portal
- Can log time (if permitted)
- Cannot see internal tasks/notes
Privacy: Use internal notes for sensitive info.
¶ Related Modules
- Sales - Create projects from service sales orders
- Timesheets - Track time for billing and payroll (if installed)
- Accounting - Invoice clients for project work
- HR - Employee management and performance (if installed)
- Expenses - Track project-related expenses (if installed)
¶ Keyboard Shortcuts
Alt + C- Create new recordAlt + E- Edit current recordAlt + S- SaveEsc- Discard changes/- Global searchCtrl + K- Command palette
¶ Video Tutorials
(Coming soon)
- Project Management Quick Start (5 min)
- Creating and Managing Tasks (8 min)
- Time Tracking and Client Billing (10 min)
- Advanced: Dependencies and Subtasks (7 min)
- Project Reporting and Analysis (6 min)
¶ Glossary
Project - A collection of related tasks with a specific goal, timeline, and often a budget.
Task - A single unit of work within a project. Has an owner, deadline, and status.
Subtask - A smaller task that is part of a larger parent task. Used to break down complex work.
Task Stage - The current status of a task in its workflow (To Do, In Progress, Review, Done, etc.).
Project Stage - The current phase of a project's lifecycle (Planning, In Progress, Completed, etc.).
Kanban - Visual board showing tasks/projects as cards organized by stage. Drag-and-drop to update status.
Timesheet - Record of hours worked on tasks. Used for billing clients and tracking costs.
Billable - Time or tasks that can be invoiced to a client.
Milestone - Significant project checkpoint or deliverable (major deadline).
Dependency - When one task cannot start until another task is completed.
Blocker - An issue preventing a task from progressing (dependency not met, resource unavailable, etc.).
Sprint - Time-boxed period (typically 1-2 weeks) for completing a set of tasks (Agile methodology).
Follower - User who receives updates about a task/project but is not the assigned owner.
Chatter - Communication thread on a task/project. Logs all discussions and @mentions.
Gantt Chart - Visual timeline showing tasks, durations, dependencies, and project schedule.