The Projects section tracks all the jobs and clients your team works on. When employees log their hours, they select a project — this is how WorkRoster knows where to allocate the time and how to produce accurate billing reports.
This section is for:
- Employees & Managers — selecting projects when logging timesheets
- Managers & Admins — creating, editing, and managing projects
What Is a Project?
A Project in WorkRoster is any named job, contract, or client engagement that your team works on. Every timesheet entry must be linked to a project.
Examples:
- "Acme Office Fit-Out" (client: Acme Ltd)
- "City Council Substation Upgrade" (client: Birmingham City Council)
- "General Maintenance" (client: Internal)
- "Annual Leave Administration" (client: Internal)
Part 1 — Viewing the Projects List
- Click Projects in the left-hand sidebar
- You will see a table of all current and past projects
┌───────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ Client Projects [+ Add Project] │
│ │
│ Search projects... ┌──────────────────────┐ │
│ │ All Statuses ▼ │ │
│ └──────────────────────┘ │
├─────────────────────────┬──────────────────┬──────────┬──────────┬───┤
│ Project / Client │ Description │ Hours │ Status │ │
├─────────────────────────┼──────────────────┼──────────┼──────────┼───┤
│ Acme Office Fit-Out │ Level 3 rewire │ 124.5h │ Active │ ✏️│
│ Acme Ltd │ │ │ │ │
├─────────────────────────┼──────────────────┼──────────┼──────────┼───┤
│ City Council Sub. │ Substation │ 89.0h │ Active │ ✏️│
│ Birmingham CC │ upgrade proj. │ │ │ │
├─────────────────────────┼──────────────────┼──────────┼──────────┼───┤
│ Old Brewery Rewire │ Completed 2025 │ 210.0h │ Inactive │ ✏️│
│ Brewery Group │ │ │ │ │
└─────────────────────────┴──────────────────┴──────────┴──────────┴───┘
Stats cards at the top of the page:
┌──────────────┐ ┌──────────────┐ ┌──────────────┐ ┌──────────────┐
│ 12 │ │ 8 │ │ 4 │ │ 423.5h │
│ Total │ │ Active │ │ Completed │ │ Total │
│ Projects │ │ Jobs │ │ Jobs │ │ Hours │
└──────────────┘ └──────────────┘ └──────────────┘ └──────────────┘
Part 2 — Creating a New Project
Who can do this: Managers and Admins
- Click the + Add Project button (top right of the Projects page)
- Fill in the form:
┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
│ Create New Project │
│─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────│
│ │
│ Project Name │
│ ┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────┐ │
│ │ e.g. Acme Office Level 3 Rewire │ │
│ └─────────────────────────────────────────────────┘ │
│ │
│ Client / Customer Name │
│ ┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────┐ │
│ │ e.g. Acme Ltd │ │
│ └─────────────────────────────────────────────────┘ │
│ │
│ Description (optional) │
│ ┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────┐ │
│ │ Brief description of the work scope... │ │
│ └─────────────────────────────────────────────────┘ │
│ │
│ Status │
│ ┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────┐ │
│ │ Active ▼ │ │
│ └─────────────────────────────────────────────────┘ │
│ (Set to Active so staff can select it in timesheets) │
│ │
│ ┌─────────────────────────────────────────────────┐ │
│ │ Create Project │ │
│ └─────────────────────────────────────────────────┘ │
└─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
- Click Create Project
The project immediately appears in employees' timesheet dropdown so they can start logging hours.
Part 3 — Editing a Project
- Find the project in the list
- Click the Edit (✏️) pencil icon
- Update the name, client, description, or status
- Click Save Changes
Part 4 — Active vs. Inactive Projects
| Status | Effect |
|---|---|
| Active | Shown in the timesheet project dropdown — staff can log hours to it |
| Inactive | Hidden from the dropdown — staff cannot log new hours to it |
When to Use Each Status
Active — for any ongoing or current project
Inactive — when a project is finished, cancelled, or on long-term hold
✅ Never delete old projects. Set them to Inactive instead. All historical hours are preserved for reports and client billing records.
How to Mark a Project as Inactive
- Find the project in the list
- Click the toggle or status button on the right
- Confirm the change
The project disappears from timesheets but remains visible in the Projects list (use the status filter to show "All Statuses" if you want to see inactive ones).
Part 5 — Searching and Filtering Projects
Use the controls at the top of the Projects list:
Search: [ acme ]
Filter: [ Active Only ▼ ]
Options: All Statuses / Active Only / Inactive Only
- Search: Type any part of the project name, client name, or description
- Status filter: Show only Active, only Inactive, or all projects
Part 6 — Viewing Hours per Project
The Hours Logged column on the Projects page shows the total approved hours logged to each project.
This is useful for:
- Checking how much has been worked on each client job
- Tracking progress against a project budget
- Producing client invoices
For a full breakdown (by date, employee, or custom range), use the Project Hours Report in the Reports section. See Reports →.
Tips for Managing Projects
💡 Tip 1 — Use clear names. Include the client and location if helpful. "Smith Residential" is clearer than "Smith Job". "Main St Office Rewire" is clearer than "Office Project".
💡 Tip 2 — Add a description. Even a one-line description helps staff pick the right project from the dropdown, especially when client names are similar.
💡 Tip 3 — Review inactive projects monthly. It only takes a moment to check which projects should be set to Inactive. A clean, short dropdown makes it faster for staff to log hours.
💡 Tip 4 — Create an "Internal" or "Admin" project. Useful for capturing time spent on non-billable tasks like team meetings, training, or admin work.
Frequently Asked Questions
Q: A project does not appear in my timesheet dropdown. The project is probably set to Inactive. Ask your Admin or Manager to set it back to Active.
Q: Can I change a project's name after staff have already logged hours to it? Yes — editing the name does not affect any historical records. All past timesheets linked to that project will automatically show the updated name.
Q: Can the same employee log to multiple projects in one day? WorkRoster allows only one timesheet entry per person per day. If work was split between projects, the employee should note this in their timesheet notes (e.g. "Morning: Acme. Afternoon: City Council").
Q: I cannot find a project I created last month. It may have been set to Inactive. On the Projects page, click the status filter and select All Statuses to see inactive projects too.
Next: Reports & Exports →