How projects work
A project is one job, from the day it's booked to the day the last print ships. Its bookings, proposals, invoices, contracts, questionnaires, messages, galleries and tasks all sit on one page, and the project moves across a board of stages so you can see where every job stands at a glance.
Projects are included on every plan, Free included.
A wedding, start to finish
Say Ellis and Morgan accept your wedding proposal. You create a project called Ellis and Morgan wedding with Ellis as the primary contact, then add the proposal to it. The booking it became, the deposit invoice and the signed contract come along by themselves.
Two months later you book their engagement shoot from inside the project, so it lands there too. Their planner emails about the timeline, and you add that thread, so the planner shows up under the project's people. When you send the couple a timeline questionnaire, you start it from the project's Documents tab, so it's filed there too. You add a few tasks: confirm the second shooter, book the album designer, order album proofs.
On the day, the project sits in In progress. The money cards at the top tell you the deposit is paid and the balance is still outstanding. After delivery you drag the card to Delivered, where it waits while the album order comes through. When everything's done, you archive it.
At no point did you hunt through your inbox, your invoices list and your galleries to piece the job together.
What lives in a project
- Bookings, with their dates. A project can hold several, like an engagement shoot and the wedding.
- Documents: proposals, invoices, contracts and questionnaires.
- Messages: the email threads with your client and anyone else involved.
- Galleries, from sneak peeks to the full delivery.
- Tasks, the to-dos only you see. See How tasks work.
- People: your primary contact plus anyone else on the job.
- Notes, private to you.
Nothing is copied. Each record stays where it always was, and the project gives you one more way to reach it. See Everything on a project page.
Stages
Every project sits in one stage. You start with Not started, Booked, In progress and Delivered, and you can rename them, recolor them or add your own. See Setting up stages and project types.
A stage is your own marker. Moving a card doesn't email your client, check that invoices are paid or change any booking. You decide when a job is delivered.
Projects, contacts and bookings
A contact is a person. A project is a piece of work. One family might give you a project every autumn, and each year's sessions, invoices and gallery stay with that year's project.
A booking or proposal keeps the documents it was created with, and when you add it to a project, its invoices, contracts, questionnaires and email threads come with it. See What comes along with a booking or proposal.
Paperwork you create later, like a prints invoice or a timeline questionnaire, belongs to the contact rather than the booking. The project is where you keep it with the job: pick the project on the form as you create it, or start it from the project's Documents tab. A booking or document belongs to one project at a time.
Inquiries stay outside projects. Questionnaires you sent from an inquiry stay with it after it's booked, so add any you want in the project one at a time. See Managing inquiries.
When a project is worth it
Projects are optional, and every booking, invoice and gallery works without one. Reach for a project when a job has more than one moving part:
- Weddings, with an engagement shoot, a contract, a payment schedule, a planner and an album order months later.
- Commercial clients, like a brand that books three shoots across a year, with a producer, an agency contact and usage paperwork.
- Families and newborns, where a bump session, a newborn session and a print order are really one job.
For a single mini session with one booking and one gallery, the booking page already has everything, so you can skip the project.
Your client never sees it
Projects are only for you. Your client doesn't see the project, its stage, its people or your notes. They keep getting the same booking pages, documents and galleries as before.
Getting started
- Go to Projects → All projects and choose New project. See Creating a project.
- Add the work you've already done. See Adding records to a project.
- Move the card as the job moves. See Using the projects board and list.
Frequently asked questions
Do projects cost extra?
No. Projects and tasks are part of every plan, including Free, and there's no limit on how many projects you create.
Will my client get an email when I create a project or change its stage?
No. Projects are private organization, so nothing is sent when you create one, move it or archive it. Your client only hears from you when you send them something.
Can one booking be in two projects?
No. A booking, document, thread or gallery belongs to one project at a time. To move it, remove it from the first project, then add it to the other.
Do I have to go back and put my old work into projects?
No. Projects are optional, and older bookings and documents keep working on their own. A good place to start is your next few weddings, adding older jobs only when those clients come back for more.