From the first quote to the finished job.

Use the same browser as your Invoices, Time and Expenses records.

How to manage a job from start to finish

1. Create the project. Click Open free project tools. Enter a project name and customer name, select USD or CAD, and add an optional due date. Enter your budget, or 0 if you have not set one. Add the job description.
2. Plan the work. Type a task under New task and click Add checklist task. Add up to 50 tasks. Choose Planned or In progress and click Save project. Tick completed tasks and save again as the job progresses.
3. Prepare a quote if needed. Click Create project quote, then Open created document draft. Review the budget-based price, scope, customer and business details, taxes and dates. Save changes in the invoice workspace before returning. This creates a draft, not a customer approval or sent quote.
4. Record actual work. Open Time and Expenses with the links in the project workspace. Use exactly the same customer name and currency. Put the job name in their Project field for readability. Save your hours and purchases in those tools; receipt attachments remain in Expenses.
5. Link the records. Return to Projects and click Refresh records. Expand Link time entries and Link expenses, tick the relevant entries, then click Save project. Expand Link quotes and invoices to attach existing local documents. Records are linked by your selection, not by matching a project name automatically.
6. Review the job. Check tracked minutes, recorded time value, expenses and unbilled billable work. The overview includes nonbillable time at its entered rate, so it is not an accounting profit report. Different currencies are never converted or combined.
7. Prepare the invoice. Click Invoice unbilled work, then open the created draft. It includes only linked, billable, uninvoiced records, up to 100 lines. Review business details, taxes and discounts and download your invoice. Creating a draft marks those source records invoiced; nothing is sent automatically.
8. Finish and keep copies. Set the project to Completed and save. Download job sheet PDF for a printable overview. Export project backup regularly and keep separate backups from Invoices, Time and Expenses. Use Archived to keep a finished job without deleting its history.

Example: a CAD 200 website update

Create “Website update” for Maple Studio with a CAD 200 budget. Add tasks for the design update and customer review. Record 90 billable minutes at CAD 60/hour in Time and a CAD 25.50 billable purchase in Expenses. Link both records here. The overview shows CAD 90 of time, CAD 25.50 of expenses and CAD 115.50 of unbilled work. Invoice unbilled work creates those two lines before any invoice taxes or discounts. The CAD 200 quote is an estimate and is not added again.

Choose how you bill the job

For actual time and expenses, use Invoice unbilled work. For an agreed fixed price, open the linked quote and convert it to an invoice in the invoice workspace, then link the new invoice here. Quote conversion does not mark time or expenses invoiced. Do not use both methods to charge for the same work.

Cloud-connected time

If your time ledger is connected to a cloud account, create the time invoice in Time first. Add expenses to that draft in Expenses, then refresh Projects and link the invoice. This preserves the existing cloud billing protection. Projects and job sheets remain local; any cloud invoice save is an explicit action in the invoice workspace.

Backup and restore

Export project backup downloads a JSON file containing project details, checklist and record IDs. Import project backup accepts that file up to 4 MiB and adds projects without overwriting existing IDs. Restore source records separately with their own tools where supported. Expense archives currently have no automatic restore; project import does not recreate receipts, time or invoices. Missing links are shown so you can review or remove them.

Troubleshooting

• No records appear: save them on the same browser and site, match customer and currency exactly, and click Refresh records. Records assigned to another project are unavailable until unlinked there.
• Document buttons are disabled: save the project first. Unsaved edits must be saved before you generate a document.
• The invoice has no eligible work: link billable records that have not already been invoiced. Nonbillable and previously invoiced work still appears in the overview.
• A record changed in another tab: refresh and review the latest totals. Reopen a project from the list to replace unsaved edits with its latest saved details.
• Device storage cannot update: close other Invoices, Time, Expenses and Projects tabs, then reload. Clearing site data removes local records; keep backups.

Back to project workspace ↑

Free tools with clear limits

Up to 500 projects per browser, 50 checklist tasks per project and 4 MiB for the project ledger. Each project can link up to 500 records of each type; individual invoices support 100 lines. Original records retain their existing tool limits. There is no automatic cloud project saving, customer portal, team collaboration, email scheduling or payment collection in this release. Printable job sheets may contain internal cost information; review before sharing.