Project Settings

Project Settings control how projects are structured and managed within IntelliSales CRM. Configure project statuses, task statuses, and create reusable templates with pre-defined phases and tasks.

Navigate to Admin > Project Settings.

Project Statuses

Project statuses track the lifecycle of a project from initiation to completion.

Configuring Statuses

1. Select the Statuses tab.
2. Click Add Status to create a new status.
3. Configure:
   • Name (required) — e.g., "Planning", "In Progress", "On Hold", "Completed", "Cancelled"
   • Color — visual identifier shown on project cards and lists
   • Icon — an icon displayed alongside the status name
   • Is Default — whether this status is automatically assigned to new projects
   • Is Closed — whether this status represents a completed/terminal state
4. Save.

Status Properties

Property	Description
Name	The display name of the status
Color	A color code used for visual identification in the UI
Icon	An icon displayed next to the status name
Is Default	When enabled, new projects are created with this status. Only one status can be the default.
Is Closed	When enabled, projects at this status are considered finished. Closed statuses are excluded from active project counts and dashboards.

Recommended Status Set

Order	Status	Color	Icon	Is Default	Is Closed
1	Planning	Gray	ClipboardList	Yes	No
2	Not Started	Blue-gray	Clock	No	No
3	In Progress	Blue	Play	No	No
4	On Hold	Amber	Pause	No	No
5	Review	Purple	Eye	No	No
6	Completed	Green	CheckCircle	No	Yes
7	Cancelled	Red	XCircle	No	Yes

info

The status marked as Is Default is used as the initial status for new projects. Ensure it represents the starting state (typically "Planning" or "Not Started"). Statuses marked as Is Closed signal that no further work is expected.

Task Statuses

Task statuses are separate from project statuses and track the state of individual tasks within projects.

Configuring Task Statuses

1. Select the Task Statuses tab.
2. Click Add Task Status.
3. Configure:
   • Name (required) — e.g., "To Do", "In Progress", "In Review", "Done"
   • Color — visual identifier
   • Is Done — whether this status means the task is complete
   • Is Default — whether new tasks are created with this status
4. Save.

Task Status Properties

Property	Description
Name	The display name of the task status
Color	A color code for visual identification
Is Done	When enabled, tasks at this status are considered complete. This affects progress calculations and reporting.
Is Default	New tasks are created with this status. Only one task status can be the default.

Recommended Task Status Set

Order	Status	Color	Is Default	Is Done
1	To Do	Gray	Yes	No
2	In Progress	Blue	No	No
3	In Review	Purple	No	No
4	Done	Green	No	Yes
5	Blocked	Red	No	No

tip

Keep task statuses simple. Most teams need 3-5 statuses. Too many statuses add overhead without improving visibility.

Project Templates

Templates are reusable project structures that standardize how projects are set up. Instead of creating every project from scratch, select a template to pre-populate phases, tasks, and settings.

Creating a Project Template

1. Select the Templates tab.
2. Click Create Template.
3. Configure the template fields:

Field	Required	Description
Name	Yes	Template name, e.g., "Standard Implementation", "Website Redesign"
Description	No	What this template is for and when to use it
Color	No	A color used to visually identify the template in the list
Icon	No	An icon displayed alongside the template name
Estimated Days	No	The typical total duration in days for projects using this template

4. Click Save to create the template.

Template Phases

Phases break a project into major milestones or workstreams. Each template can have multiple phases that are created automatically when a project uses the template.

Adding Phases to a Template

1. Open a project template.
2. Switch to the Phases tab.
3. Click Add Phase.
4. Configure:

Field	Required	Description
Name	Yes	Phase name, e.g., "Discovery", "Design", "Development", "Testing", "Launch"
Color	No	Visual identifier for the phase
Sort Order	Yes	The sequence number determining the order of phases (1, 2, 3...)
Estimated Days	No	Days allocated to this phase

5. Save.

Example: Implementation Project Phases

Sort Order	Phase	Color	Estimated Days
1	Discovery & Planning	Gray	5
2	Configuration	Blue	10
3	Data Migration	Purple	5
4	User Training	Amber	3
5	UAT & Go-Live	Green	5

Template Tasks

Each phase can have pre-defined tasks that are created when a project is instantiated from the template.

Adding Tasks to a Phase

1. Open a phase within a project template.
2. Click Add Task.
3. Configure:

Field	Required	Description
Title	Yes	Task name, e.g., "Conduct stakeholder interviews", "Configure user roles"
Description	No	Detailed instructions for what needs to be done
Assignee Role	No	Which role should handle this task (the actual person is assigned at project creation)
Due Days From Start	No	Number of days from the project start date when this task is due
Estimated Hours	No	Time estimate for completing the task
Priority	No	Task priority level (Low, Medium, High, Urgent)

4. Save.

Example: Discovery Phase Tasks

Title	Assignee Role	Due Days	Est. Hours	Priority
Conduct stakeholder interviews	Project Manager	3	4	High
Document current processes	Business Analyst	5	8	High
Identify integration requirements	Technical Lead	5	4	Medium
Create project plan	Project Manager	5	6	High
Get sign-off on scope	Project Manager	7	2	High

warning

Task templates create real tasks when a project is instantiated from the template. Ensure task titles and descriptions are generic enough to apply across different project instances.

Preview Project from Template

Before using a template to create a project, you can preview what will be generated:

1. Open the template.
2. Click Preview.
3. The preview shows:
   • All phases in order with their estimated durations
   • All tasks within each phase with assignee roles, due dates, and priorities
   • A timeline view showing the overall project duration
   • Total estimated hours across all tasks
4. Use the preview to verify the template is complete before creating a project from it.

tip

Review the preview after making changes to a template. It is easy to miss a task or phase when editing, and the preview gives you a complete picture.

Using Templates

When a user creates a new project, they can select a template from the dropdown. The project is created with all the template's phases and tasks pre-populated. Users can then customize the specific project as needed:

• Adjust due dates based on the actual start date
• Assign specific people to tasks (replacing role-based assignments)
• Add or remove tasks for the specific project
• Modify phase durations

tip

Create templates for your most common project types. An implementation team might have templates for "Small Implementation (30 days)", "Medium Implementation (60 days)", and "Enterprise Implementation (90 days)".

Custom Project Fields

Add module-specific custom fields to projects through the Custom Fields page (select "Projects" as the module). Common custom fields for projects include:

• Budget (Currency)
• Client Sponsor (Text)
• Risk Level (Select: Low / Medium / High)
• Go-Live Date (Date)
• Project Code (Text)

Best Practices

1. Build templates from experience — create templates based on projects you have already completed successfully.
2. Keep templates maintained — update templates as your processes evolve.
3. Use realistic time estimates — over-optimistic estimates set projects up for failure.
4. Include buffer phases — add review or buffer time between major phases.
5. Use assignee roles, not specific users — templates should be reusable across teams. Assign roles like "Project Manager" or "Technical Lead" and let the project creator assign specific people.
6. Set meaningful priorities — not every task is high priority. Use priority levels to help team members focus on what matters.
7. Preview before using — always preview a template before creating a project from it to catch any missing phases or tasks.
8. Version your templates — when making significant changes, consider creating a new template version rather than modifying the existing one.

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Next: Targets Setup — Configure performance targets and assignments.