Setting up phases

Type a name for the phase, which can be up to 30 characters. Be sure not to use any slashes / \ in the name.

Multi-company only.

Required. The company responsible for the project.

If your company is defining departments in Ajera, and if the department that owns this phase is different from that of the project, enter the department.

You can use project types to sort and group information on reports. For example, your company may want to group work done for governmental and private sector phases separately for company-wide reporting.

Identify the project manager for this phase.

Identify the principal responsible for this phase.

Identify your company's marketing representative for this phase.

unavailable in ajeraCore

Link the production phaseTerm used to differentiate a billable work-related phase from a phase that represents business development effort. to the Business Development phase to track your BD efforts through reports and inquiries.

If the location for work on the phase is different from that of the project, type it here.

Select a status for the phase, if different from the project. You can change it at any time during the project lifecycle.

Status options are:

Marketing (unavailable in ajeraCore)

You want to track BD efforts and win rates, and project your pipeline. Time and expenses can be entered to the phase. The client cannot be invoiced. When the status of the phase is Marketing, Ajera automatically sets the billing type to Marketing.

Preliminary

The phase is not ready for billing. Time and expenses can be entered to the project but the client cannot be invoiced.

Active

The phase is active. Time and expenses can be entered to the project. The client can be invoiced. Ajera enters a status of Active until you change it. 

Hold

Time and expenses cannot be entered to the project. The client cannot be invoiced.

Work hold

Time and expenses cannot be entered to the phase. The client can be invoiced.

Billing hold

Time and expenses can be entered to the phase. The client cannot be invoiced.

Closed

The phase is complete, but you still want to include it in reports.

The next two fields appear only if you selected the Company > Preferences > Payroll tab> Allow state taxes from multiple states on one paycheck check box.

To learn about the entire process of setting up state and local withholding when processing for multiple states, see About state withholding for multiple states.

Enter a state if you want Ajera to withhold state tax when employees enter time to this phase.

If you do not enter a state for a phase, Ajera uses the state you entered for the project if you entered one.

If you do not enter a state for the project, when you process payroll, Ajera uses the state you entered for the employee in the Setup > Employees > Payroll Taxes tab > Default

Enter the client who would be hiring your firm for the project. Click and make a selection.

Note:

If the client is not already set up, after clicking , click the New button, enter information, click Save, and then double-click the client you just entered.

Indicate if you worked with this client in the past. Select either New or Repeat.

Ajera uses this field when you want to sort projects by new or repeat clients.

Enter the company paying for the project. For example, the owner may be the developer. Click and make a selection.

Note:

If the owner is not already set up as a contact, after clicking , click the New button, enter information, click Save, and then double-click the owner you just entered.

Indicate if you worked with this owner in the past. Select either New or Repeat.

Ajera uses this field when you want to sort projects by new or repeat owners.

Enter the primary architecture or engineering firm on the project.

Note:

If the AE firm is not already set up as a contact, after clicking , click the New button, enter information, click Save, and then double-click the AE firm you just entered.

Indicate if you worked with this AE firm in the past. Select either New or Repeat.

Ajera uses this field when you want to sort projects by new or repeat AE firms.

Enter the type of project, such as residential or a medical facility.

Note:

If the project type is not already set up, after clicking , click the New button, enter information, click Save, and then double-click the new project type.

If you want to track projects by priority, enter a priority for the project, ranked as low, medium, or high. The priority is useful for reporting purposes or quickly sorting and grouping projects by priority.

Type the percent probability that your firm can win the project.

This information is useful when reviewing reports to help predict future workload. You can also sort projects in the project list by the percent chance of winning.

Enter the description of work to be performed for the project.

In the following fields, enter the costs and fees for the project that you plan to use on the proposal. These amounts are for reference only and when building inquiries for marketing proposals.

Costs:

Type the total cost of the project for the owner. It includes permits, fees, construction, design, furnishings, and so on.

Type the total construction cost of the project.

Fees:

Type the contract amount for the project.

Type the amount of fees charged by subconsultants you are using on the project.

Use this tab to set up, and later track, the various stages of the BD project.

For each stage in the Stage column, review the status and enter as much of the information for the stage as you know at this time.

Enter all the people you plan to contact regarding this project.

In the blank field below the Contact field, enter any notes or other information that you want to associate with the contact.

If this phase is billed differently from the project, change the billing type by making a selection.

Billing types are:

Time & Expense

You bill the client for actual hours worked and expenses incurred. You can use this type if you bill the client with a billing rate or a markup of cost.

Fixed Fee

You charge the client a fixed amount and bill a fixed amount on the invoice.

Percent Complete

You charge the client a fixed amount. You bill a percent of the total amount based on the amount of the phase that is complete.

Unit Price

You charge the client a price per each unit completed, such as square feet.

Percent of Construction Cost

You charge the client for the actual or estimated cost of construction for this phase of the project.

Nonbillable

You do not charge the client for the phase. Use this billing type to track project-related time and expenses that you cannot invoice to the client. You can set up a nonbillable phase so that you can enter charges against the project which contribute to the total cost but cannot be billed.

Marketing

You track the marketing cost for this phase of the project. Use this billing type to track time and expenses related to winning the project. You can enter and track time and expenses, but the client cannot be invoiced. You can change this billing type to one of the billable types after the project is won, if the contract allows you to recover any of these costs.

Overhead

You can optionally set up an overhead project to track your internal expenses. You can enter and track time and expenses, but no client is associated with the project and no invoice is produced.

Required if you entered a billable billing type. Indicate the pricing structure for the phase.

Select if notes are required on timesheets for this project.

If selected, this check box is also automatically selected for all phases in the project. You can clear the check box for individual phases, if needed.

Sales tax:

Select it if any of the labor or expenses for this phase are subject to sales tax. If already selected and sales tax does not apply to this phase, clear it.

If sales tax applies to this phase and the tax code is different from that of the project, type the tax code that applies to this phase.

If sales tax applies to the phase and the tax rate is different from that of the project, enter the sales tax rate. Enter it as a percent. For example, enter 6 for 6%.

Bill as Time & Expense:

For fee-based billing types only. If the fee on a contract does not include labor, expense, or consultant fees, but you want to bill them as time and expense, select these check boxes.

For example, a fixed fee on a contract includes labor and consultant fees. However, in addition to the fixed fee, you are also billing expenses as time and expense, so you select the Expense check box.

Enter a billing description if you want a phase name on the invoice to be different from the internal name your company uses.

It automatically contains the name of the phase unless you change it. In the Print Project box on the Invoice Summary, Fee Type, and Time & Expense tabs of the Invoice Format window, you can choose to print the billing description in bold or uppercase, and to include the phase ID.

Invoice Text:

When you enter this text for a phase, it prints on the invoice under the particular phase name.