Phases allow you to break down a project into smaller parts and monitor profitability at a more detailed level.

Instead of tracking the budget and profitability for the entire project as a whole, you can assign and control budgets per phase. This gives you better visibility into performance, progress, and margins across different stages of the project.

What are Phases?

Phases represent the main stages or milestones of a project (for example: Planning, Execution, Delivery).

By using phases, you can:

• Set individual budgets per phase
• Monitor tracked hours against each phase
• Analyse profitability at a more granular level
• Identify which stage of the project is over or under budget

How to track profitability by phase

To track profitability by phase, you need to configure this in your project settings.

Step 1: Go to the project

1. Open the project
2. Navigate to Settings

Step 2: Select your budget type

In the Financial details section, you’ll see the Project budget type options:

• Project → Track profitability at the project level.
• Phases → Track profitability separately for each phase.

Select Phases

Step 3: Configure your phases

After selecting “Phases”:

• Click Configure phases
• Create and define the different phases of your project
• Assign a budget to each phase

Create and manage phases in a project

Step 1: Create a new phase

1. Go to the Phases tab inside your project
2. Click + Create phase
3. In the pop-up window:
   • Enter the Phase name
4. Click Create phase

Your phase will now appear in the list.

Step 2: Configure phase details

Once the phase is created:

1. Click on the phase name
2. Open the Settings tab in the side panel
3. Complete the relevant fields: 
   • Basic information
     • Name
     • Code
     • Start date / Due date
     • Status
     • Description
   • Financial details
     • Estimated cost
     • Fixed costs (if applicable)
     • Estimated hours
     • Set as billable
     • Client budget
     • Option to include estimated expenses
4. Click Save

Monitor all phases in one place

Once your phases are created and configured, you can manage and track everything from the Phases tab inside the project.

This table gives you a complete financial and operational overview of every phase in one place.

For each phase, you can see:

• Status (Active / Draft)
• Tracked vs. estimated hours
• Used budget vs. budget cap
• Cost-to-date vs. estimated cost
• Current vs. estimated profit
• Current vs. estimated margin
• Alerts
• Start and end dates

At the bottom of the table, you’ll also see the total summary, which aggregates all phase data at the project level.

This allows you to:

• Identify which phase is consuming the most budget
• Detect margin issues early
• Monitor overall profitability
• Spot financial risks before they impact the full project

Understanding phase alerts

Phases include a profit-first alert system to help you quickly identify financial risks.

There are three types of alerts:

Unprofitable

• What it means:
  Your cost-to-date exceeds what you can bill the client.
  You are currently losing money on this phase.
   
• What to do:
  Review tracked hours, rates, or client budget. Consider adjusting scope, rates, or billing structure.

Overbudget

• What it means:
  You have reached or exceeded your defined budget cap.
  Additional costs will reduce profit unless:
  • The client approves more budget
  • You increase the budget cap
     
• What to do:
  Review scope and discuss budget adjustments if needed.

Close to cap

• What it means:
  You have used over 90% of your budget.
  This is a preventive warning before going over budget.
   
• What to do:
  Monitor remaining hours and costs carefully to avoid overruns.