Getting Started with Project Manager (Time and Expense)

Project Manager (Time and Expense) is a ready-to-use application that provides project managers with the key tools to easily manage and track projects to completion and facilitate communication and collaboration with team members. Use Project Manager (Time and Expense) to:

Schedule and track project tasks, issues, and expenses.
Calculate and track date dependencies between related tasks.
Assign tasks and issues to team members.
Notify team members of task assignments or schedule changes.
View task expenses as soon as they are entered.
Evaluate project resources and budget allocations.
Enable team members to update others on the status of their tasks.

You can use Project Manager (Time and Expense) just as it is or easily customize it to suit your business needs. You can add team members, create new views and forms, add new fields or modify existing ones, and much more.

This guide provides instructions for performing the set-up tasks necessary to get Project Manager (Time and Expense) ready for use by your project team and for customizing Project Manager (Time and Expense). If you plan on making any customization changes, proceed to Customizing Project Manager (Time and Expense) to learn about the tasks you need to perform.

Setting Up Project Manager (Time and Expense)

Before your team starts to use Project Manager (Time and Expense), you need to perform the following tasks (in the order listed):

Add project resources
Add and assign tasks
Add issues and documents
Share your application with team members
Set up e-mail notifications

If you already have some project information in another application, such as Microsoft Excel or Microsoft Project, you don't have to retype it — you can import it directly into QuickBase.

Importing Your Data

You can import data from another application into Project Manager (Time and Expense) by saving it as a comma-delimited (.CSV) or tab-delimited (.TSV) file. Most popular spreadsheet and database programs can export data in these formats. You can also copy and paste tabular data from Microsoft Word into QuickBase. For example, you might want to import a project schedule kept in Microsoft Project, a task list that's kept in an Excel spreadsheet, or copy and paste resource information from a table in Microsoft Word into QuickBase.

Tips

Before importing your data into Project Manager (Time and Expense), be sure to delete the sample data.
To update existing records in an application, you must specify the key field as one of the fields into which you want to import data. Learn more

Importing Microsoft Project Data

You can import the basic features of a Microsoft Project file into QuickBase including the task name, task duration, start and end dates, and finish-to-start predecessors with no lag time. Summary tasks are imported as regular tasks with the duration of the task set to the date span of the tasks previously summarized. Learn about dependencies in QuickBase

When you import Microsoft Project data, QuickBase automatically calculates the successor tasks for each task in your application. Make sure that you do not import successor task data into QuickBase.

To import Microsoft Project data:

In Microsoft Project, open the file that you want to import into QuickBase.
From the File menu, choose Save As. The Save As dialog box is displayed.
From the Save as type list, select CSV (Comma delimited) (*.csv), and then click Save.
In the Export Format dialog box, select Default task information for the Selective data option, and click Save.
In QuickBase, open the application into which you want to import data.
In the menu bar on any application page, click Go To, and then click Import/Export.
Click Import data into this application, and then select the Tasks table as the table into which you want to import data.
In the From a file section, click Browse, select the comma-delimited (.CSV) file that you want to import, click Open to close the Choose file dialog box, and then click Import File. QuickBase analyzes your data, and then displays the results.
Check the results to ensure that the:

First row of data contains field names. If not, clear the First Row is List of Field Names check box.
Importing from Microsoft Project check box is selected (checked).

Check the drop-down lists at the top of every column and select the existing field that corresponds to the data you are importing, and then click Import. (See tip)
Note: When importing will result in the creation of new fields (columns in a view), QuickBase displays a warning message asking you to confirm the action. To confirm the action, click OK. Otherwise, click Cancel.
Select the field that corresponds to each option listed on the Choose Project Parameters page, click Next, and then click Go to the application overview page.

Tip

If you cannot find an existing field that corresponds to a particular column of your file's data, then do one of the following:

To prevent that column of information from being imported into your table, select the Do Not Import option immediately above the field label.
To create a new field (column) in your table, select the Create New Field option immediately above the field label.

Importing a Microsoft Excel Spreadsheet

In Microsoft Excel, open the spreadsheet that you want to import into QuickBase.
From the File menu, choose Save As. The Save As dialog box is displayed.
From the Save as type list, select one of the following file types, and then click Save:

Text (Tab delimited) (*.txt)
CSV (Comma delimited) (*.csv)

In QuickBase, open the application into which you want to import data.
In the menu bar on any application page, click Go To, and then click Import/Export.
Click Import data into this application, and then select the table into which you want to import data.
In the From a file section, click Browse, select the comma-delimited (.CSV) or the tab-delimited (.TSV) file that you want to import, and then click Open. The Import Data page is redisplayed.
Click Import File. QuickBase analyzes your data, and then displays the results.
Check the results to ensure that the first row of data contains field names. If it doesn't, clear the First Row is List of Field Names check box.
Check the drop-down lists at the top of every column and select the existing field that corresponds to the data you are importing, and then click Import. (See tips)
Note: When importing will result in the creation of new fields (columns in a view), QuickBase displays a warning message asking you to confirm the action. To confirm the action, click OK. Otherwise, click Cancel.

Tips

To ensure that QuickBase does the best job possible analyzing the structure of your spreadsheet, you should import only column headings and data into QuickBase. Remove all rows that contain explanatory text before you save the spreadsheet as a tab-delimited (.TXT) or comma-delimited (.CSV) file.
If you cannot find an existing field that corresponds to a particular column of your file's data, then do one of the following:

To prevent that column of information from being imported into your table, select the Do Not Import option immediately above the field label.
To create a new field (column) in your application, select the Create New Field option immediately above the field label.

Copying and Pasting Information from Another Application

If the information that you want to import resides in a table in Microsoft Word or in a spreadsheet program, you can bring it into Project Manager (Time and Expense) by copying the information in the source application and then pasting it into Project Manager (Time and Expense).

To copy and paste data from another application:

In your source file (for example, Project), highlight the text that you want to copy, and choose Copy from the Edit menu.
Open Project Manager (Time and Expense), click Go To, and then click Import/Export.
Click Import data into this application, and then select the table into which you want to import data.
In the From the Clipboard section, paste the data that you want to import, and then click Import Data. QuickBase analyzes your data, and then displays the results.
Check the results to ensure that the:

First row of data contains field names. If not, clear the First Row is List of Field Names check box.
Importing from Microsoft Project check box is cleared (unchecked).

Check the drop-down lists at the top of every column and select the appropriate Project Manager (Time and Expense) field for the data that you are importing, and then click Import. (See tip)
Note: When importing will result in the creation of new fields (columns in a view), QuickBase displays a warning message asking you to confirm the action. To confirm the action, click OK. Otherwise, click Cancel.

Tip

If you cannot find an existing field that corresponds to a particular column of your file's data, then do one of the following:

To prevent that column of information from being imported into your table, select the Do Not Import option immediately above the field label.
To create a new field (column) in your table, select the Create New Field option immediately above the field label.

Adding Resources

You need to add the names, roles, and contact information for the members of your team to the Resources application so that you can assign tasks to them. If you haven't imported this information, then you need to manually enter it.

Tip

You can automatically add resources to the Resources table while assigning tasks or issues by selecting Add a new resource from the Assigned To drop-down list. If you do this, remember to return to this table and finish filling out the role and contact information for each user that you added.

To add a record:

In the upper right corner of a view, click Add a New Record.
or
In the menu bar of any application page, click Go To, and then click Add a New Record.
In the text boxes provided, enter the necessary information. At a minimum, you should enter a User Name and an Hourly rate for each team member.
Note: You can completely set up your application before rolling it out to team members by adding new (or local) users to the project. Learn how
To save the information you entered, click Save. To save the information you entered and continue adding records, click Save & Add Another.

Note: An asterisk (*) indicates a field that you must fill in.

To create a local user when adding data to an application:

Add a new record or edit an existing one.
From a User field drop-down list (for example, User Name in the Resources table), select Add a New Resource or Add New Choice to open the User Picker, and then click Create a New User in the upper right corner.
For help using the User Picker, click the Common Questions link in the lower left corner.
Enter the first name, last name, and e-mail address of the user, click Create, and then click OK to close the User Picker.

Adding and Assigning Tasks

Once you have imported or added the resources, you can add or import the tasks associated with the project. If you are importing a task list, do not import task assignments. You must use Project Manager (Time and Expense) to assign tasks to team members. To prevent a column of data from being imported, select the Do Not Import option immediately above the field (or column) label.

When adding tasks, be sure to specify the duration of each task and its predecessors so that QuickBase can calculate and track dependencies for you. Learn about dependencies in QuickBase

To assign a task to a team member:

Open a view that contains all the tasks that you need to assign (for example, open the Open Tasks By Finish view).
Next to the first task in the view, click Edit.
From the Assigned To drop-down list, select the team member to whom you want to assign the task or select Add a new resource to create a new (or local) user, and then click Save. To save your changes and continue making task assignments, click Save & Next.

Note: Any new users that you add are automatically added to the Resources table. Remember to return to the Resources table and finish filling out the role and contact information for each user that you added.

Adding Issues and Documents

Project Manager (Time and Expense) gives you the ability to associate, or relate, an issue or document with a particular task. When you first set up Project Manager (Time and Expense), you can independently add issues and documents by either manually adding the information or importing it. Later on, if you want to associate an issue or document with a particular task, you can easily do it. You can also automatically associate a new issue or document with a particular task by adding the issue or document directly from the task to which it relates.

Relating an Existing Issue or Document to a Task

Open a view that contains the issue or document that you want to associate with a particular task.
Next to the issue or document that you want to relate to a particular task, click the View button ().
From the Relates to Task drop-down list, select the title of the task to which the issue or document relates, and then click Save.

Adding a New Issue or Document Directly from a Task

Open a view that contains the task that you want to associate an issue or document with.
Next to the task that you want to associate an issue or document with, click the View button ().
In the Issues section of the page, click Add New Issue, or
In the Supporting Files section of the page, click Add New Document.
Enter the necessary information, and then click Save.

Note: When you use this method to add a new issue or document, the Relates to Task field automatically displays the title of the task to which it is related. To maintain the relationship between the issue and the task, do not make any changes to this field.

Sharing Project Manager (Time and Expense) with Your Team

In order for your project team to use Project Manager (Time and Expense), you must give them access to it. When you invite members of your team, you must assign a role to them. The type of role you assign determines what different types of users can see and do in Project Manager (Time and Expense). For each role, you specify access rights, which views team members can access, and which Overview page displays when they open Project Manager (Time and Expense). For more information, see About Roles.

To share an application with team members:

In the menu bar on any application page, click Share, and then click Share Application with Additional Users.
In the text box, enter the e-mail addresses or QuickBase screen names of the people you want to share the application with, or select users from a list by clicking Select Users to open the User Picker.
Use spaces, commas, semicolons, or line breaks to separate your entries.
For help using the User Picker, click the Common Questions link in the lower left corner.
From the access level drop-down list, select the role you want to assign these users, and then click Next.
To indicate that the list of users is correct, click Next. To make changes to the list, click Start Over.
To let your users know that you have granted them access, edit the e-mail message, and then click Send. Otherwise, click Skip.

Setting Up Record Change Notifications

You may want to notify yourself or other team members when new tasks or issues are added to Project Manager (Time and Expense). For example, you may want to notify team members when new tasks or issues are assigned to them. You can automatically inform others when tasks or issues are added by setting up e-mail notifications.

To create a record change notification:

In the menu bar on any application page, click Customize, and then click Display the Customization Sidebar.
Under the E-Mail heading in the Customization sidebar, click the name of the table for which you want to create a record change notification.
Click Go To Record Notifications, and then click Create New Notification.
In the Notification Name text box, enter a name for the notification that you are creating.
In the Notify Whom box, select the appropriate option. For more information about the options listed, see Creating a Record Change Notification.
If you selected Others, enter the screen name, group name, or e-mail address for each user to whom you want to send the notification, or select users from a list by clicking Browser Users to open the User Picker.
Use spaces, commas, semicolons, or line breaks to separate your entries.
Note: For help using the User Picker, click the Common Questions link in the lower left corner.
In the Notify Me When box, click the appropriate check boxes.
To customize your e-mail notification, click the plus (+) sign next to Advanced Options, make the necessary changes, and then click Save. For more information about customizing e-mail notifications, see Using the Advanced E-Mail Notification Options.

Customizing Project Manager (Time and Expense)

Project Manager (Time and Expense) is composed of four tables — Tasks, Issues, Document Library, and Resources. You can make changes to any of these tables by clicking Customize in the menu bar of any Project Manager (Time and Expense) page. This guide provides instructions for performing the following customization tasks:

Adding and modifying fields
Customizing forms
Customizing views and reports
Customizing the Overview page

Adding and Modifying Fields

You can add new fields to any of the tables (Tasks, Issues, Resources, Document Library) that make up Project Manager (Time and Expense), or you can make changes to existing fields. You can change the name of a field, change its field type, modify the properties of a field, or change the order in which fields appear in views.

Adding New Fields

QuickBase offers many types of fields — from generic field types such as a Text field to more specific field types such as a Phone Number or E-mail Address field. You choose a field's type based on the type of data the field will contain. Use the most specific field type possible when defining your fields. To learn more about field types, see About Field Types.

You can also add fields that perform calculations on other fields. These fields are known as formula fields. The names of all formula field types begin with "Formula." If you add a formula field, then you must enter a formula in the Formula text box on the Field Properties page. To learn how to access the Field Properties page, see Changing the Properties of a Field. To learn how to use formulas, see Using Formulas in QuickBase. For detailed information about functions, refer to the Formula Functions Reference.

To add a field:

In the menu bar on any application page, click Customize, and then click Display the Customization Sidebar.
Under the Fields heading in the Customization sidebar, click the name of the table to which you want to add a field, and then click Add New Fields.
In the Label text box, enter a name for the field.
From the Type drop-down list, select a field type that is appropriate for your data, and then click Add Fields.
Note: If you're not sure what type of field to use, select Text.
To add the new field to existing forms, select the check box next to each form that you want to add the new field to, and then click Save. The field is added to the bottom of each form that you specified.
To change the properties of the field that you just added:
On the Customize Fields page, click Edit next to the name of the newly added field, and then make the necessary changes.

Changing the Name of a Field

Some of the fields used in Project Manager (Time and Expense) are formula fields. If you change the name of a field that is used in a formula, the formula won't work. Before you change the name of a field, you should check to see if any formula fields refer to the field you want to change. If you find that a formula does reference the field you want to change, just make sure to update the field name in the formula.

To change the name of a field:

In the menu bar on any application page, click Customize, and then click Display the Customization Sidebar.
Under the Fields heading in the Customization sidebar, click the name of the table that you want to modify.
Next to the field that you want to change the name of, click Edit.
In the Label text box, edit the name, and then click Save.

Changing the Field Type

This action modifies all the data in a field (column) so that it conforms to the new field type. If the data cannot be converted, it is lost. To prevent the loss of data, we suggest that you duplicate the field and then change the field type of the duplicate. You can duplicate a field by clicking Duplicate a Field in the upper right corner of the Customize Fields page.

To change the field type:

In the menu bar on any application page, click Customize, and then click Display the Customization Sidebar.
Under the Fields heading in the Customization sidebar, click the name of the table that you want to modify.
Next to the field for which you want to change the field type, click Change Type.
Note: You cannot change the field type of a file attachment field.
From the drop-down list, select the new field type, and then click Convert Data.

Changing the Properties of a Field

Each field type has its own unique properties that you can modify to suit your needs. For example, for Date fields, you can specify the format that you want to use to display dates in a view. To learn more about a particular property, click field help icon next to the property that you want help with.

To change the properties of a field:

In the menu bar on any application page, click Customize, and then click Display the Customization Sidebar.
Under the Fields heading in the Customization sidebar, click the name of the table that you want to modify.
Next to the field that you want to change the properties of, click Edit.
Make the necessary changes, and then click Save.

Changing the Field Order

You use the Default Field Order page to change the default field order for any new views that you create.

Tip: To change the order in which fields (columns) display in an existing view, you use the Columns to Display section of the Edit View page. See Changing the Field Order in an Existing View for details.

To change the default field order:

In the menu bar on any application page, click Customize, and then click Display the Customization Sidebar.
Under the Fields heading in the Customization sidebar, click the name of the table that you want to modify.
Click I want to in the upper right corner of the page, and then click Change the Default Field Order.
Click a field to select it, and then click an arrow button (on the right side of the field list) to move the field up or down in the list.
Note: The field at the top of the list appears as the leftmost column in your view.
When you're done reordering fields, click Save.

Customizing Forms

You can modify the data-entry forms provided with Project Manager (Time and Expense), or you can create new forms. If you have added fields to any of the tables (Tasks, Issues, Resources, or Document Library), then you need to add them to the forms associated with that table. In general, you should add non-formula fields to all forms; however, formula fields need to be added only to forms used for viewing. To learn more about customizing forms, see About Custom Forms.

Creating a New Form

In the menu bar on any application page, click Customize, and then click Display the Customization Sidebar.
Under the Forms heading in the Customization sidebar, click the name of the table for which you want to create a custom form.
In the upper right corner of the page, click Create a New Form.
In the Form Name box, enter a name for your form, click the plus sign (+) to display the Form Properties, and then select or clear the options as appropriate. Learn about these options
From the drop-down list in each numbered row, select the field that you want to appear in your form, or add a section heading or explanatory text as appropriate. Learn about these options
When you are done creating your form, click Preview to see what your form looks like. When you're satisfied with the results, click Save.
To clear the form and start over, click Clear, and then click OK to confirm the action.

Tips

To reposition a form element, select the element (by clicking the icon), and then click Up or Down as appropriate.
To delete a form element, select the element, and then click Delete.
To insert a form element, select the element immediately below where you want to position the new element, and then click Insert.
For horizontal rules to be displayed in your form, you must define section headings. If you want to use horizontal rules but don't want section heading text to appear in your form, select Section Heading from the drop-down list but leave the box blank.
To place field names above fields, you must select Section Heading from the drop-down list. This allows you to vary the placement of field names from section to section. If you don't want section heading text to appear in your form, leave the box blank.

Editing an Existing Form

In the menu bar on any application page, click Customize, and then click Display the Customization Sidebar.
Under the Forms heading in the Customization sidebar, click the name of the table that contains the form you want to modify.
Click Edit next to the form that you want to modify, and then make the necessary changes.
When you are done making changes, click Preview to see what your form looks like. When you're satisfied with the results, click Save.

Customizing Views and Reports

You can modify any of the prebuilt views provided with Project Manager (Time and Expense), or you can create new views. If you have added fields to any of the tables (Tasks, Issues, Resources, or Document Library) and you want these fields to be included in existing views, then you must edit each view in which you want these fields to appear. You specify which fields to display in a view in the Columns to Display section of the View Builder.

To learn about customizing views, click the appropriate link below:

Creating a New View

In the menu bar on any application page, click Customize, and then click Display the Customization Sidebar.
Under the Views/Reports heading in the Customization sidebar, click the name of the table for which you want to create a view, and then click Create a New View.
Customize the view to suit your needs, and then click Display to see the results of your modifications. When you're satisfied with the results, click Save.
In the text boxes provided, enter a name and description (optional) for the view.
From the Display View to Users in These Roles drop-down list, select the appropriate option, and then click Save View.
Note: By default, all application users can access the newly created view.

Editing a View

In the menu bar on any application page, click Customize, and then click Display the Customization Sidebar.
Under the Views/Reports heading in the Customization sidebar, click the name of the table that contains the view you want to modify.
Next to the view that you want to modify, click Edit.
Make the necessary changes, and then click Display to view the results of your modifications. When you are satisfied with the results, click Save.

Changing the Field Order in an Existing View

In the menu bar on any application page, click Customize, and then click Display the Customization Sidebar.
Under the Views/Reports heading in the Customization sidebar, click the name of the table that contains the view you want to modify.
Next to the view that you want to modify, click Edit.
In the Your Columns box in the Columns to Display section, click a field to select it, and then click the arrow buttons to move the field up or down as desired.
Note: The field at the top of the list appears as the leftmost column in your view.
When you are done reordering fields, click Save.

Customizing the Overview Page

The Overview page is the home page for your application and it is, generally, the first page you or your users see when opening the application. Project Manager (Time and Expense) contains custom Overview pages for each default role — Team Member, Viewer, and Project Manager. Users who have been assigned the Team Member role see the Team Member Overview page when they open Project Manager (Time and Expense), while users who have been assigned the Viewer role see the Viewer Overview page. You can modify the existing Overview pages, or create your own. If you create your own custom Overview pages, make sure that you specify the custom Overview page to display for each role.

Creating an Overview Page

In the menu bar on any application page, click Customize, and then click Display the Customization Sidebar.
In the Customization sidebar, click Pages, and then click Add a New Overview Page in the upper right corner of the page.
In the Page Name box, enter a name for the Overview page.
(optional) In the Page Heading box, enter a title for the page. The title appears at the top of the Overview page, underneath the menu bar.
(optional) From the Extra Link drop-down list, select the text page to which you want to add a link.
Note: If you haven't created any text pages, then the drop-down list is empty.
(optional) In the Extra Link Text box, enter the text to display for the link.
Note: If you make a selection from the Extra Link drop-down list, then you must enter text in this box.
To prevent the Views box from displaying on the left side of the Overview page, clear the Views Sidebar check box.
For each section, define the type of section — view, text, or description — that you want to display by selecting the type from the drop-down list. Different options appear based on the section type you specify. Learn about these options
To see what your form looks like, click Preview. When you are satisfied with the results, click Save.

Editing an Overview Page

In the menu bar on any application page, click Customize, and then click Display the Customization Sidebar.
In the Customization sidebar, click Pages.
Next to the page that you want to edit, click Edit, and then make the necessary changes.
To see what your page looks like, click Preview. When you're satisfied with the results, click Save.

Associating an Overview Page with a Role

You can create several different Overview pages and display different ones based on the role assigned to a user. This allows you to deliver content that is relevant and timely to different members of your team.

To associate an Overview page with a particular role:

In the menu bar on any application page, click Share, and then click Manage Existing Sharing.
In the upper right corner of the page, click I want to, and then click Customize Roles.
Next to the role for which you want to specify an Overview page, click Edit.
From the Overview drop-down list, select the Overview page that you want to associate with this role, and then click Save.

Getting Started with Project Manager (Time and Expense)

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