> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.timetracker.in/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Create your first project

> Add a client, create a project, set a budget and add your first tasks in TimeTracker – the structure every hour you track will hang off.

Everything in TimeTracker hangs off a project, so this is the setup that matters
most. It takes about five minutes.

The order is always the same: **client first, then project, then tasks.**

## 1. Add the client

A **client** is a company you bill. Even if you only have one, create it – projects
belong to clients, and the [client portal](/portal/overview) and client-level rates
depend on it.

<Steps>
  <Step title="Go to Clients">
    Choose **New client**.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Enter the company name">
    "Bluebird Coffee".
  </Step>

  <Step title="Add contact and billing details (optional)">
    Needed when you invoice, not now.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Save" />
</Steps>

Full detail: [create a client](/clients/create-a-client).

<Tip>
  Working on something internal – your own website, R\&D, admin? Create a client called
  "Internal" and put those projects under it. Then you can report on internal versus
  client time in one filter.
</Tip>

## 2. Create the project

A **project** is one engagement for that client. Bluebird might have a Website
Redesign and a Monthly Retainer – two projects, one client.

<Steps>
  <Step title="Go to Projects">
    Choose **New project**.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Name it">
    "Website Redesign". Name it the way your team says it out loud.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Pick the client">
    Bluebird Coffee.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Set a budget (optional)">
    See below.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Add project members (optional)">
    Who works on it. This also affects who can see it. See
    [project members](/projects/project-members).
  </Step>

  <Step title="Save" />
</Steps>

Full detail: [create a project](/projects/create-a-project).

## 3. Choose a budget

A budget is optional, but it is what turns TimeTracker from a time log into a
profitability tool. Match it to how you sold the work:

| You sold                   | Set                              |
| -------------------------- | -------------------------------- |
| A fixed fee of \$40,000    | A **money** budget of \$40,000   |
| A block of 600 hours       | An **hours** budget of 600       |
| 40 hours a month, ongoing  | A **monthly** hours budget of 40 |
| Time and materials, no cap | No budget                        |

**Example.** Northwind agreed \$40,000 for Bluebird's redesign, so that is a one-time
money budget. Their separate 40-hour-a-month retainer is a monthly hours budget that
resets each period.

See [hours vs money budgets](/budgets/hours-vs-money-budgets) and
[recurring retainers](/budgets/recurring-retainers).

<Note>
  Budgets need a paid plan. On Free, create the project without one and add it when you
  upgrade – nothing is lost.
</Note>

## 4. Set up sections

**Sections** are the phases or columns a project's tasks move through. Each project
defines its own, so a design project and a build project can work differently.

A common set:

* To do → In progress → In review → Done

Or by phase:

* Discovery → Design → Build → QA → Launch

Full detail: [project sections](/projects/project-sections).

## 5. Add tasks

A **task** is a unit of work. Someone tracks time against it.

<Steps>
  <Step title="Open the project and go to Tasks">
    Choose **New task**.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Name it">
    "Homepage wireframes".
  </Step>

  <Step title="Put it in a section">
    "Discovery", or whatever fits.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Assign it">
    To Sarah.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Add an estimate">
    8 hours. A prediction, not a limit. See
    [task estimates](/tasks/task-estimates).
  </Step>
</Steps>

### How granular should tasks be?

A useful rule: **a task should be somewhere between half a day and two weeks of
work.**

* Too small ("reply to email") and people spend more time logging than working.
* Too big ("build the website") and you cannot tell where the hours went.

You can always break a big task into [subtasks](/tasks/subtasks) later.

## 6. Check your rates

Hours are priced by whoever tracked them. If nobody has a rate, you will see hours in
your reports and no money.

<Steps>
  <Step title="Go to Settings → Rates" />

  <Step title="Set a billable rate for each person">
    What you charge for their hour.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Add cost rates if you have Pro">
    What their hour costs you. This is what produces margin.
  </Step>
</Steps>

If this client pays a single agreed rate regardless of who works, set it at the
client or project level instead. See
[how rates are chosen](/rates/how-rates-are-chosen).

## What it looks like when it is done

Northwind Studio after five minutes:

```
Bluebird Coffee (client)
└── Website Redesign (project, $40,000 money budget)
 ├── Discovery
 │ ├── Discovery workshop 12 h est. → Priya
 │ └── Homepage wireframes 8 h est. → Sarah
 ├── Design
 │ └── Visual design 60 h est. → Sarah
 └── Build
 └── Front-end build 140 h est. → Jonas
```

Sarah can now start a timer on "Homepage wireframes", and every hour lands in the
right place automatically.

## What to do next

<CardGroup cols={2}>
  <Card title="Track your first hour" icon="stopwatch" href="/getting-started/track-your-first-hour">
    Put the structure to use.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Setup checklist" icon="list-check" href="/getting-started/setup-checklist">
    The rest of the setup.
  </Card>
</CardGroup>

## Permissions

| Action           | Capability            | Roles                         |
| ---------------- | --------------------- | ----------------------------- |
| Create a client  | `client.manage`       | Owner, Admin, Project Manager |
| Create a project | `project.manage`      | Owner, Admin, Project Manager |
| Create a task    | `task.create`         | Everyone except Client        |
| Set an estimate  | `task.reviseEstimate` | Owner, Admin, Project Manager |
| Set a budget     | `budget.manage`       | Owner, Admin, Project Manager |
| Set rates        | `rate.manage`         | Owner, Admin, Project Manager |

## Common questions

<AccordionGroup>
  <Accordion title="Do I have to create a client?">
    Yes – projects belong to clients. If the work is internal, make a client called
    "Internal".
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Can I track time without any tasks?">
    You can record time against a project directly. Tasks give you far better
    reporting, so use them where you can.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Can I add a budget after work has started?">
    Yes. Burn is calculated from the time already recorded, so the budget is correct
    immediately.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Can I copy a project structure for the next client?">
    Set up one project the way you like it and reuse that shape. See
    [create a project](/projects/create-a-project) for what is available.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="What if the client changes the scope?">
    Change the budget. Burn recalculates against the new figure – nothing already
    recorded is affected.
  </Accordion>
</AccordionGroup>

## Related guides

<CardGroup cols={2}>
  <Card title="Projects overview" icon="folder" href="/projects/overview">
    Everything a project can do.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Budget vs estimate" icon="scale-balanced" href="/concepts/budget-vs-estimate">
    Two numbers people mix up.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Track work for a client" icon="route" href="/guides/track-work-for-a-client">
    The full journey, end to end.
  </Card>

  <Card title="Tasks overview" icon="circle-check" href="/tasks/overview">
    Boards, lists, filters and bulk edits.
  </Card>
</CardGroup>