Project Management

Colabmacs12/8/25About 6 min

Project Management

Overview

Projects are organizational units used to contain and manage work done within a facility. In Colabmacs, users always work within a project context, allowing for effective resource allocation, cost tracking, and team collaboration. Projects are managed by teams and can be configured with spending caps, expiration dates, and specific access controls.

Understanding Projects

What are Projects?

Projects serve as containers for:

Resource bookings and usage
Team collaboration
Cost allocation and billing
Work organization and tracking
Access control and permissions

Key Characteristics

Team-Based - Projects are managed by Teams
User Membership - Users can be members of multiple projects
Project Types - Each project has a designated type (Academic, Industrial, etc.)
Rate Groups - Project types determine billing rates when billing features are enabled
Flexible Configuration - Can include budgets, timelines, and custom settings

Project Types

Overview

Project Types categorize projects and determine billing rates through associated Rate Groups. This allows facilities to apply different pricing structures based on project classification.

Default Project Types

Colabmacs comes with two default project types:

Academic - For educational and research institutions
Industrial - For commercial and industrial clients

Go to Resources in the main menu
Select Project Types

Breadcrumb: Resources > Project Types

Project Types List View

Project Types List

The Project Types page displays a table with the following columns:

Column	Description
Checkbox	Select multiple project types for bulk actions
NAME	Name of the project type (sortable)
SLUG	URL-friendly identifier
REQUIRES APPROVAL	Indicates if projects of this type need approval (❌ = No approval required)
RATE GROUP	Associated rate group for billing (e.g., Business, Personal, Default, Industrial, Academic)

List Features

Search Bar - Filter project types by name or slug
Filter Icon - Apply advanced filters to the list
Bulk Selection - Select multiple items using checkboxes
Create Project Type - Blue button in the top-right corner
Pagination - Navigate through multiple pages (showing "1-20 of 20" at bottom)

Example Project Types

From the screenshot, common project types include:

Business - business | Rate Group: Business
Personal - personal | Rate Group: Personal
Barber - barber | Rate Group: Default
Refractory Materials Repairer - refractory-materials-repairer | Rate Group: Default
Fiberglass Laminator and Fabricator - fiberglass-laminator-and-fabricator | Rate Group: Default
Industrial - industrial | Rate Group: Industrial
Academic - academic | Rate Group: Academic

Creating a Project Type

Step 1: Access Creation Form

Navigate to Resources > Project Types
Click "Create Project Type" button (top-right)
The creation form will open with the "Details" tab active

Step 2: Fill in Project Type Details

Create Project Type

Breadcrumb: Resources > Project Types > Create Project Type

Name (Required)

Enter a descriptive name for the project type
This will be visible when creating new projects
Examples: "Academic Research", "Commercial Services", "Government Contract"

Slug (Optional)

URL-friendly identifier for the project type
Automatically generated from the name if left blank
Used in URLs and API calls
Format: lowercase with hyphens (e.g., "academic-research")

Requires Approval (Checkbox)

Check this box if projects of this type need administrative approval before activation
Unchecked (default) = Projects are active immediately upon creation
Checked = Projects remain in "Pending" state until approved

Rate Group (Required)

Select the billing rate group to apply to projects of this type
Determines pricing for resource usage
Click the + icon to create a new rate group
Dropdown shows available rate groups

Description (Optional)

Rich text editor with formatting options:
- B - Bold text
- I - Italic text
- 🔗 - Insert links
- 🖼 - Add images
- ⛶ - Fullscreen mode
Toggle between Write and Preview modes
Provide additional context about when to use this project type

Step 3: Save the Project Type

Choose one of three options:

Cancel - Discard changes and return to project types list
Create & Add Another - Save this project type and immediately create another
Create Project Type - Save and return to project types list

Managing Projects

Accessing Projects

Navigation:

Go to Resources in the main menu
Select Projects

Breadcrumb: Resources > Projects

Projects Dashboard

Projects List

Located in the top-left, this widget shows:

Time Period Selector - Dropdown to select range (30 Days default)
Count - Number of new projects in selected period (e.g., "1")
Trend Indicator - "No Increase" or change percentage

Projects List Features

Search Bar - Filter projects by name, tags, or team

Create Project Button - Blue button in top-right to create new projects

Filter Icon - Apply advanced filters

Bulk Selection - Checkboxes to select multiple projects

Projects Table Columns

Column	Description
Checkbox	Select projects for bulk actions
NAME	Project name (sortable)
TAGS	Project tags for organization (shown as "—" if none)
STATE	Current status (ACTIVE or PENDING)
TEAM	Associated team name (clickable link)

State Indicators

ACTIVE (green badge) - Project is active and operational
PENDING (blue badge) - Project awaits approval (if project type requires approval)

Example Projects

From the screenshot:

doc test project - Active | Team: doc test
documents prep - Active | Team: Jay Test
default - Active | Team: Demo
ColabDocs - Active | Team: Colabmacs Documentation
Idea Lab - Pending | Team: Khushi's Team
The Idea Lab - Pending | Team: Jay's Team
colabdocs - Active | Team: Jay's Team

Pagination

Bottom-right shows current range: "1-23 of 23"
Navigation controls: ⏮ ◀ 1 ▶ ⏭

Creating a Project

Step 1: Access Creation Form

Navigate to Resources > Projects
Click "Create Project" button
The creation form opens with two tabs: Details and Project Options

Step 2: Details Tab

Create Project - Details

Breadcrumb: Resources > Projects > Create Project

Name (Required)

Enter a descriptive project name
Will be visible to all project members

Slug (Optional)

URL-friendly identifier
Auto-generated from name if left blank
Format: lowercase-with-hyphens

Tags (Optional)

Add tags for organization and filtering
Click + icon to add multiple tags
Searchable field with autocomplete

State (Required)

Pending (default) - Project awaits activation or approval
Other states available in dropdown

Team (Required)

Select the team that will manage this project
Click + icon to create a new team
Dropdown: "Click to choose"

Project Type (Required)

Select from available project types
Determines billing rate group
Click + icon to create a new project type
Dropdown shows all configured project types

Rate Group (Required)

Select billing rate group
May be pre-filled based on project type
Click + icon to create a new rate group

Visibility (Optional)

public (default) - Visible to all users
private - Restricted visibility
Controls who can see and access the project

Settings (Optional)

Click + Add row to add custom settings
Configure project-specific parameters

Description (Optional)

Rich text editor with formatting tools
Toggle between Write and Preview modes
Document project objectives, scope, and details

Created By (Required)

Auto-filled with current user
Shows user avatar and name (e.g., "Jay Patel")
Can be changed via dropdown if needed

Step 3: Project Options Tab

Switch to the Project Options tab for additional configuration:

Budget limits
Expiration dates
Custom fields
Access controls
Other project-specific settings

Step 4: Save the Project

Choose one of three options:

Cancel - Discard changes and return to projects list
Create & Add Another - Save this project and immediately create another
Create Project - Save and return to projects list

Important Notes

Single Project Facilities

Info: If your facility does not use the concept of Projects, you may create a single Project to represent all work done within your facility and use that for all Users.

This approach: