Project statuses are customizable categories that reflect the different phases of your business flow. As your work with a project progresses, you can move that project from one status to another. This movement between statuses helps you track the progress of your projects and stay organized.
Understanding Lead and Job statuses
Project statuses in Dubsado are divided into two main categories:
Lead statuses: These statuses typically represent the early stages of your client relationship or project.
Job statuses: These statuses usually represent active client work, in-progress projects, or completed projects.
Each business that uses Dubsado has a slightly different definition of Lead and Job project statuses, since each business is unique.
If you're unsure where to begin, start by writing out your business process in bullet point format. This helps identify different phases of your work, which become your project statuses.
Common examples of project statuses
Lead statuses:
Inquiry
Consultation Booked
Proposal Sent
Contract Pending
Job statuses:
Active Project
Revisions
Final Delivery
Complete
Managing your project statuses
To create, edit, or organize your project statuses, navigate to the main Projects page and click Manage (gear icon) in the top right corner of the page.
By default, you'll land on the Project Statuses tab, where you can manage all your project statuses. The tab is divided into two sections: Leads and Jobs.
Creating a new project status
To create a new project status:
Enter a status name in either the Leads or Jobs section.
Click the Create button.
The status will be added to your available options and can be assigned to projects immediately.
Organizing your project statuses
Once you've created your project statuses, you can reorganize them to match your business flow.
Drag and drop the status tiles to rearrange them. Project statuses work best when aligned chronologically, but feel free to create an organization system that works best for your specific business needs.
Editing or deleting a project status
To edit or delete an existing project status within the Manage view, hover your mouse over that status.
Then, to edit, click the pencil icon. Update the name and save your changes.
To delete a project status, click the trashcan icon next to the status name.
Using project statuses
Once you've set up your project statuses, you can:
Assign a status to new projects when creating them (see Creating projects)
Change a project's status as it progresses through your business flow
Filter your projects by status to focus on specific phases of work (see The Projects page)
Easily view and track how many projects are in each phase of your business process
Project statuses also integrate with workflows, allowing you to automate status changes as projects move through your business process. For example, you can set up a workflow to automatically move a project from a Lead status to a Job status after a contract is signed.
FAQ
If I delete a project status, what happens to projects that were assigned to that status?
When a project status is deleted, projects assigned to that status are automatically reassigned to Lead: No status or Job: No status, based on the type of status you're deleting.
Can I convert a Lead status to a Job status?
No, you cannot convert a Lead status to a Job status or vice versa. However, you can move projects from a Lead status to a Job status as they progress through your business flow.
Is there a limit to how many project statuses I can create?
No, you can create as many project statuses as needed to match your business workflow. However, for clarity and ease of use, we recommend keeping your status list streamlined and focused on your key business phases.
How do project statuses work with workflows?
Workflows can be set up to automatically move projects between statuses by using a Change project status action. This is helpful if you want Dubsado to help you stay organized automatically.
For example, you might create a workflow that changes a project's status from "Proposal Sent" to "Contract Pending" after a proposal is completed.