o get the most out of the Project Reporting features, follow these best practices. They’ll help ensure your data is accurate, your team stays aligned, and your reports drive real results.
1. Define Clear Project Structures Before Starting #
- Set up all milestones, tasks, and subtasks as early as possible.
- Assign responsibilities clearly — reports will only be useful if tasks and time are tied to the right team members.
- Example: Before launching a product website project, define each phase—design, development, testing—as milestones.
2. Encourage Daily Time Logging #
- Ask team members to log their time daily, even if they are not billing by the hour.
- This ensures accurate time reports and identifies where the team spends most effort.
- Use the Timers feature when available to simplify tracking.
🧠 Tip: Make time logging a routine part of daily standups or work completion.
3. Use Tags & Groups for Filtering #
- Organize tasks, expenses, and entries using tags (e.g., “Urgent”, “Research”, “QA”).
- Use task groups or expense categories to generate cleaner, more segmented reports.
Example: For a manufacturing project, group tasks under “Procurement,” “Assembly,” “Quality Control,” and “Shipping.”
4. Link All Relevant Modules #
- Link related invoices, expenses, time entries, and support tickets to each project.
- This ensures that all associated data is reflected in the reports—especially financial and performance metrics.
- Helps you track cost, revenue, and profitability from a single dashboard.
5. Review Reports Weekly #
- Hold a weekly or bi-weekly internal review of project reports:
- Check milestone progress.
- Identify upcoming deadlines.
- Review time spent vs. expected.
- Spot budget overruns early.
🧠 Tip: Use the financial and time reports to prepare client updates or internal progress reviews.
6. Use Reports for Continuous Improvement #
- After completing a project, analyze:
- Which tasks took more time than expected?
- Which team members were overloaded?
- Were deadlines realistic?
- Use this analysis to improve future project estimates, staffing, and workflow planning.
7. Customize Reporting Views for Clients vs. Internal Use #
- For clients: Focus on milestones, task completion, and financials.
- For internal teams: Dive into time tracking, team activity, and performance.
You can control this by selecting filters and export settings.
8. Back Up and Export Final Reports #
- At the end of a project, export the key reports (PDF or Excel) and archive them.
- This helps with future audits, client renewals, or post-mortem reviews.
