The Projects module in Business Central lets you track costs and revenue for time-limited engagements, consulting projects, construction contracts, implementation work, or any activity where you need to capture time, materials, and billing against a defined scope. It was previously called the Jobs module in versions prior to Business Central 2023 Wave 2.
Each project has its own ledger, task breakdown, and planning lines, giving you a clear view of budgeted versus actual costs and revenue throughout the project lifecycle.
Configure Projects Setup
Before creating projects, review the global settings that control how the module behaves.
- Search for Projects Setup using
Alt + Q. - Review the Default WIP Method field, this controls how Work in Progress is calculated across projects. You can override this per project later.
- Set the Default Project Posting Group to point to the correct G/L accounts for project costs and revenue.
- Review the Apply Usage Link by Default toggle. When enabled, planning lines and usage entries are automatically linked, which makes budget tracking more accurate.
- Close the setup page when done.
Create a New Project
Each project starts with a project card that captures the basic details and links the project to a customer.
- Search for Projects using
Alt + Q. - Select New to open a blank project card.
- In the No. field, enter a project number or let the system assign one based on your number series.
- Enter a Description for the project.
- In the Bill-to Customer No. field, select the customer who will be invoiced for this project. The Customer No. field can hold a different customer if the work site differs from the billing address.
- Set the Status field. Options are:
- Planning, project is being scoped, no posting allowed
- Open, active project, posting is permitted
- Completed, project is closed
- In the WIP Method field, select the WIP calculation method for this project, or leave it to inherit from Projects Setup.
- Fill in the Starting Date and Ending Date fields if applicable.
- Select a Project Posting Group to control which G/L accounts costs and revenue post to.
Add Project Tasks
Project tasks break the project into a structured list of work items. Each task can be a posting line (where entries are recorded) or a heading (for grouping only).
- On the project card, scroll down to the Project Task Lines section.
- Select Add or click into the first empty line.
- Enter a Project Task No. (e.g.,
10,20,30) and a Description. - Set the Project Task Type:
- Posting, this task accepts time, item, and G/L entries
- Heading, used for grouping; no entries can be posted against it
- Begin-Total / End-Total, used to group tasks for subtotaling
- Repeat for each task or phase in the project.
A common structure is to create a Heading task for each project phase, then add Posting tasks underneath for the specific work items within that phase.
Add Project Planning Lines
Planning lines define the budget for each task. They specify what resources, items, or G/L costs are expected, and whether those lines are billable, budgeted, or both.
- On the project card, select a Posting task line, then choose Project Task > Project Planning Lines from the action bar.
- Select New to add a planning line.
- Set the Line Type:
- Budget, cost-side budget line, not invoiced
- Billable, revenue-side line, will appear on invoices
- Both Budget and Billable, creates both a cost and revenue budget from one line
- Set the Type field to Resource, Item, or G/L Account.
- In the No. field, select the specific resource, item, or account.
- Enter the Quantity and confirm the Unit Cost and Unit Price fields.
Planning lines feed directly into budget comparisons and WIP calculations, so it is worth completing them before posting any usage.
Post Usage Against a Project
Usage entries record actual time, materials, and costs consumed by the project. These post to the project ledger and update the budget comparison.
There are three types of usage you can post:
Time (Resources)
- Search for Project Journals using
Alt + Q. - Select or create a journal batch.
- Set Entry Type to Usage.
- Select the Project No. and Project Task No..
- Set Type to Resource and select the resource in the No. field.
- Enter the Quantity (hours) and confirm unit cost.
- Post the journal.
Items
Follow the same process in Project Journals, but set Type to Item and select the item number. Quantity represents the number of units consumed.
G/L Costs
Set Type to G/L Account to post direct costs such as subcontractor invoices or travel expenses against the project.
Alternatively, you can post project usage directly from purchase invoices by assigning a Project No. and Project Task No. to the invoice lines.
Project Status Lifecycle
Projects move through three statuses:
| Status | Description |
|---|---|
| Planning | Project is being set up. No usage entries can be posted. |
| Open | Active. Usage, invoicing, and WIP calculations are all available. |
| Completed | Project is closed. Remaining WIP is posted to G/L and the project is locked. |
Change the status on the project card at any point. Moving from Open to Completed triggers final WIP recognition.
To invoice customers based on project billable lines, see How to Create Project Invoices in Business Central.