Generate a Project Status Report for a reporting period
Overview¶
The Project Status Report is a PDF you build from a project to share progress with your board, a committee, or owners. Choose a reporting period, such as last month, and the report shows what happened on the project during that period: which tasks closed, which are open, which are overdue, and what was paid. Each figure for the period appears next to the figure for the project to date.
Leave the period empty to report on the whole project, from its start date to today.
Setup¶
Anyone who can open a project can generate its report, including roles with view only access to Projects. See the role reference for what each role can do.
If you do not see "Projects" in the left navigation, your role does not include access to Projects. Ask your Account Admin.
The report is built from the project's stages, tasks, scope, payments, change orders, photos and notes. Keep task statuses and dates current before you generate it. The report places each task in the period by its dates and status.
How-to¶
Open the report window¶
Select "Projects" in the left navigation. This opens the Projects list.
Select the project. This opens the project page.
Select "Actions", then "Generate Report". This opens the "Generate Project Report" window at the "Details" step.
Set the title, description and reporting period¶
Enter a "Report Title". The title is required, and the window does not move on without it.
Optionally enter a "Description". The description prints on the cover page under the title.
Under "Date range", select the "From" date, then the "To" date. This sets the reporting period for every section of the report.
To report on the whole project instead, leave both dates empty. The report then covers the project's start date through today.
Set both dates. A period applies only when both "From" and "To" are filled in.
Choose and order the sections¶
Under "Sections to Include:", clear any section you do not want in the report. All six sections are selected to start: "Budget and Timeline summary", "Milestones", "Schedule", "Financials", "Photos" and "Notes".
Select "Continue". This opens the "Order" step.
Drag the sections into the order you want them to print, then select "Continue". This opens the "Photos" step.
Choose photos and notes¶
The "Photos" step lists the project photos uploaded during the reporting period, newest first. Every photo is selected to start. Select a photo to remove it from the report, or use "Select all" to select or clear every photo.
Select "Continue". This opens the "Notes" step.
The "Notes" step lists the project notes created during the reporting period, with replies under the note they answer. Every note is selected to start. Review the list and clear the checkbox on any note you want to leave out.
With no reporting period, both steps list all of the project's photos and notes.
Preview and download the report¶
On the "Notes" step, select "Preview Report". This builds the PDF and opens the "Preview" step.
Review the report. Select "Back" to change anything, then preview again.
Select "Download PDF". This downloads the report to your computer and closes the window.
A copy of the PDF is also saved to the project, named with the project name and the report date. To find it, open the project's "Photos & Files" tab, then select "Files".
Reference¶
What each section shows for the reporting period¶
Cover page. Shows the report title, description, "Report Date" and "Reporting Range". With no period selected, "Reporting Range" runs from the project's start date to today.
Reporting period label. The "Budget and Timeline summary", "Milestones", "Financials", "Photos" and "Notes" sections each show a "Reporting period" label with the dates the section covers. The "Schedule" section states the period in the line above its chart.
Budget and Timeline summary. The Budget half shows "Total Contract Amount", "Total Paid to Date", "Remaining" and "Budget Utilization" for the whole project. With a period selected, "Paid This Period" is added, showing payments dated within the period. The status line shows the amount paid "This period", then the amount paid "Project to date". The Timeline half shows the project's "Start Date", "End Date", "Duration" and "Progress" for the whole project.
Milestones. One row per stage, with the stage name, a status circle, "N of M tasks complete" and a progress bar. With a period selected, a stage expands into a task table only when at least one of its tasks belongs to the period. A stage with no tasks in the period is shown as a single row. With no period selected, every stage that has tasks expands.
Schedule. One chart covering the reporting period plus a one-month look-ahead after the "To" date. A band above the chart marks where "Reporting period" ends and "Look-ahead" begins. A vertical line marks today. Stages, tasks and subtasks appear as bars, with completed and overdue work marked. Stages with no work inside the chart's dates are left off.
Financials. One row per scope line item, grouped by scope section, with a total for each section and "TOTAL PROJECT COSTS" at the bottom. With a period selected, the columns are "Original Budget", then "Change Orders" and "Payments" under "This period", then "Change Orders", "Payments" and "Remaining Costs" under "Project to date". Each column is totalled on its own. With no period selected, the columns are "Original Budget Amount", "Change Orders", "Payments", "Total Costs to Date" and "Remaining Costs".
Photos and Notes. Show the photos and notes you selected in the window. A section with nothing selected is left out of the report.
Milestone task table¶
| Column | What it shows |
|---|---|
| Task | The task name. Only top-level tasks are listed here. Subtasks appear in the "Schedule" section. |
| Start | The task's start date |
| Completed / End | For a completed task, its completion date. For a task with no completion date, its end date. |
| Status | "Completed", "Overdue", "In Progress", "On Hold", "Requires Attention" or "Not Started" |
The "N of M tasks complete" count and the progress bar always describe the whole stage. A reporting period changes which task rows are listed, never the count.
Which tasks appear in an expanded stage¶
| Task | Listed when a period is selected? |
|---|---|
| Completed, with a completion date or end date inside the period | Yes |
| Completed, with a completion date or end date outside the period | No |
| Completed, with no completion date and no end date | No |
| Open, with an end date before the "From" date | Yes |
| Open, with today between its start date and end date | Yes |
| Open, with dates that overlap the period | Yes |
| Open, scheduled to start and end after the "To" date, and not in progress today | No |
| Open, with no start date and no end date | No |
With no period selected, every task is listed. A task that matches more than one row is listed once.
Overdue tasks¶
A task is marked "Overdue" when it is not complete and its end date is before today. A task due today is not overdue.
How a completed task is dated¶
The report places a completed task in the period by its completion date, not its scheduled end date. SmartProperty sets the completion date when the task is marked "Completed".
When you change a task's status to "Completed", the completion date is the task's end date. If the end date is empty or later than today, the completion date is today.
When you select the circle next to a task name on the "Stages & Tasks" tab, then select "Yes" in the "Complete Task" window, the completion date is today.
Changing a completed task back to another status clears its completion date.
Tasks completed before release 5.1.0 have no completion date. For those tasks, the report uses the end date instead.
How payments and change orders are dated¶
A payment counts toward "This period" when its payment date falls within the period. A change order counts toward "This period" when its change order date falls within the period. A change order without a change order date uses its approval date.
Troubleshooting¶
If the window does not move past "Details", enter a "Report Title".
If the report covers the whole project when you expected a period, check that both "From" and "To" are filled in on the "Details" step.
If the "Photos" or "Notes" step shows "No photos available for the selected date range." or "No notes available for the selected date range.", no photos were uploaded or notes created during the period. Widen the period, or leave it empty to include everything.
If a completed task appears in the wrong period, check the task's end date. Tasks completed before release 5.1.0 are placed by their end date.
If "Preview Report" shows "Export PDF failed.", select "Preview Report" again. Contact SmartProperty if the problem continues.