Edition: Enterprise
User-level: Permissions are set at an Organisation level by System Administrators
Who this is for: Project managers, principals, finance team
Stage Management is being replaced by Project Breakdown. Everything you do on Stage Management can be done on Project Breakdown, and Project Breakdown adds more, including inline editing, budget lines and tasks.
This guide shows where each Stage Management action is on Project Breakdown.
Open Project Breakdown
Select Project Breakdown from the Breakdown menu.
Your phases and stages appear in a table, the same as they do on Stage Management.
Where to find each action
Row actions are in the ⋮ menu at the end of each phase or stage row.
What you want to do | On Stage Management | On Project Breakdown |
Add a stage | Select Add stage (or Add, then Add stage, if your project uses phases). | Select Insert in the table toolbar and choose Stage. To add a stage inside a specific phase, open the ⋮ menu on a row in that phase and select Insert Stage. |
Add a phase | Select Add, then Add phase. | Select Insert in the table toolbar and choose Phase. |
Edit a stage | Open the ⋮ menu and select Edit details. | Open the ⋮ menu and select Open Details to edit in the side panel. You can also click a cell in the table to edit it in place. |
Edit a phase | Open the ⋮ menu and select Edit details. | Open the ⋮ menu on the phase and select Open Details, or edit the name in the table. |
Change a stage's status, manager, discipline, fee type, fee or cap | In the Edit details window. | In the side panel, or in the matching column in the table. |
Change a stage's cost centre or rate group | In the Edit details window. | In the Cost centre and Rate group columns in the table. |
Duplicate a stage | Open the ⋮ menu and select Duplicate stage. | Open the ⋮ menu and select Duplicate Stage. |
Duplicate a phase | Open the ⋮ menu and select Duplicate phase. | Open the ⋮ menu on the phase and select Duplicate Phase. The copy is named "Copy of" followed by the phase name. |
Delete a stage | Open the ⋮ menu and select Delete stage. | Open the ⋮ menu and select Delete. A stage can't be deleted if it is used in an invoice, has transactions against it, or is not in a proposal status. |
Delete a phase | Not available. | Open the ⋮ menu on the phase and select Delete. This deletes the phase and all the stages in it. |
Invoice a stage | Open the ⋮ menu and select Invoice stage. | Open the ⋮ menu and select Create Invoice. The draft invoice opens. |
View a stage's financials | Open the ⋮ menu and select Project financials. | Open the ⋮ menu and select View Financials. |
View a stage's transactions | Open the ⋮ menu and select View transactions. | Open the ⋮ menu and select View Transactions. |
Search | Use the search bar. | Use the search box above the table. |
Filter & Sort | Select the filter icon, choose your filters, then select Apply. Select Clear to reset them. | Select the filter icon next to a column name, or use Filters at the top of the page, then choose your values. You can filter several columns at once, and Clear Filters removes them all. |
See fee or cap, net invoiced, invoiced % and WIP | Columns in the table, with totals at the bottom. | The same columns, with a totals bar. |
What is different
Some actions only show if you have the permission. View Financials, View Transactions and Create Invoice only appear on Project Breakdown if your role has access to financials, transactions and creating invoices. If you can't see one, ask your System Administrator.
Adding, editing, duplicating and deleting stages follows your stage permissions. You need Add and Edit All Stages, or Add and Edit My Stages for stages you manage. Deleting works the same way, with delete access for all stages or for stages you manage.
Duplicating happens straight from the menu. There is no window to fill in first. Rename or change the copy afterwards.
Edit in place. Click a cell in the table to change it, then use Tab or the arrow keys to move to the next one. You can work through several fields in a row without opening a full-screen pane for each change.
What you can do on Project Breakdown that you couldn't on Stage Management
Add, edit, split and delete budget lines on a stage. See Budget on Project Breakdown.
Set a stage’s start and end dates and colour in the stage details panel (⋮ > Open Details).
Reorder phases and stages. Use Move to Top or Move to Bottom in the ⋮ menu, or drag a row into place. You can drag a stage into a different phase.
Add a template to your project with Insert from Template in the page ⋮ menu.
Save the project as a template with Create Template in the page ⋮ menu.
Delete the project with Delete Project in the page ⋮ menu.
Switch between Planning and Delivery mode with the toggle at the top of the page.
Search for a phase or stage by name, and filter by column. Clear Filters removes all filters at once.
Save your own views of the table (Save custom view). Only you can see your saved views, and they’re available on every project you open.
Export the Breakdown’s Phases and Stages to Excel.
FAQ
Why Stage Management is being replaced?
Having two pages for the same job is confusing, so we are moving to one. Your projects, stages and phases are not changing, and they are the same on both pages.
Every action on Stage Management is available on Project Breakdown: add, edit, duplicate and delete stages and phases, invoice a stage, view financials, view transactions, search and filter. Two things work a little differently:
Duplicating a stage or phase happens straight from the menu, with no window to fill in first.
View Financials, View Transactions and Create Invoice only show if your role has the matching permission.
When will Stage Management be retired?
Stage Management will be retired on Dec 10, 2026. From that day, the old Stage Management link takes you to Project Breakdown for that project, so your bookmarks and links will still work.
You will get warning before it changes:
A banner on the Stage Management page links to the help guide and to Project Breakdown.
Reminders appear on the page in the weeks before the change.
Admins and project managers also get a release note and an email.
How do I open Project Breakdown?
Open a project.
Select Project Breakdown in the project menu.
Your phases and stages appear in a table. System Administrators should check that roles have the permissions their people need (see Permissions below).
Permissions
Adding, editing, duplicating and deleting stages follows the same stage permissions as before: Add and Edit All Stages, or Add and Edit My Stages for stages you manage. Deleting works the same way, with delete access for all stages or for stages you manage.
If you can't see Duplicate or Delete on a stage, you need permission for all stages, or permission for stages you manage and you must be the stage manager on that stage.
View Financials, View Transactions and Create Invoice depend on having access to financials, transactions and creating invoices.
Some columns also depend on permissions, as they did on Stage Management:
Fee/Cap needs access to project financials.
Fee type, discipline and cost centre need access to stage details.
Net invoiced and Invoiced % need access to invoices.
WIP needs access to WIP.
Ask your System Administrator if you need one of them.
Deleting stages and phases
A stage can't be deleted if it is used in an invoice, has transactions against it, or is not in a proposal status. A phase can't be deleted if any stage in it is in use.
Turning phases on or off
Use the table menu on Project Breakdown. You need the Add Phases permission and Business edition or above.
Note: You can't turn phases off while the project has more than one phase.
Table columns and views
Set up the table columns you want on Project Breakdown, and save your own table views there.
Bulk edit and export
Project Breakdown has Bulk Edit, so you can change several stages at once, and an Excel export of the table. Neither was available on Stage Management.
Other pages being retired
We plan to retire the Budget page and the Work Breakdown page in 2027. Stage Management is the first. We will send notifications and emails as each retirement gets closer.
You can already view, create and edit budget lines on a stage in Project Breakdown.