In the work breakdown, you can set up the stages and tasks to be completed for the project. For each stage the billing method and fee value is set to control how the client will be invoiced. Tasks can be assigned to staff to complete by a due date to help you plan their scheduled work. There are two views available for the work breakdown: simple view, and the full work breakdown view.
Getting started
Setup required before use | Who can use it? | Where is it? |
User* Assistant project manager* Project manager Director access Assistant administrator System administrator
*Can view projects only. Project Manager level or higher required to add new projects. | Projects > Work breakdown |
What is the work breakdown?
The work breakdown structure is used to organize the project work into sections that must be completed. The sections available are:
Phases - group together 2 or more stages of work. Display the phase level totals reports, or on the invoice to the client.
Stages - setup a stage for each major deliverable for the project. Stages are shown on the invoice, and control how the invoicing process works with the stage fee types. Stages also control how data is transferred to your accounting system with Synergy add-ons using the cost centers and discipline mapping options.
Tasks - create tasks to outline each step of work required to complete the goals of the stage. Staff use tasks when entering timesheets. Set a due date for when staff should have the task should be completed by.
Tip: Phases are only available in the Synergy Business and Enterprise products.
Different actions are available in the work breakdown based on your staff access level. Project managers and above can edit the work breakdown structure and add / edit the details shown. User access level staff can view the list of project tasks and update the percentage complete for each task that is assigned to them. Stage fee details are hidden from staff with user access level.
A simple work breakdown structure is created by default to allow the project fee to be easily invoiced to the client. Simple projects only have tasks. Convert the project to have a full work breakdown structure when you want to break up the project into sections or steps using phases and stages. Automatically setup the work breakdown structure by using the work breakdown templates.
If you are using Synergy Business, when you extend a project, all stages extend to the same end date.
Full work breakdown
In the full work breakdown, you can add phases, stages and tasks into the project work breakdown. The full work breakdown will appear automatically if the project was created using a 'work breakdown template'. Or you can convert a simple project to a project with a full work breakdown.
With the full work breakdown you can:
Setup multiple stages of work to track different deliverables for the project.
Each stage allows you to setup the invoicing options such as fee value, fee type, cost center, and discipline.
Group stages together using phases for reporting and invoicing purposes.
Add tasks to outline what work needs to be completed for each stage.
Assign the tasks to the staff, and set target due dates for the tasks to be completed.
Update the progress of the stages and tasks to let the team know the current status of that part of the work.
Read a step by step guide on the full work breakdown view.
Tip: If the project was setup using a 'project fee' then a simple work breakdown is created by default. The simple project can be converted to a full work breakdown when required using the 'add work breakdown' button.