> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://help.getatelier.design/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Create a project

> Set up a project with its client, address, dates, budget and billing rate.

A project is one job for one client. It holds that job's timeline, tasks,
pinboards, schedules and files.

## Before you start

The client must exist first. If they don't, add them in **Library → Clients**.

## Create it

Go to **Projects** and choose **New project**.

Only the client and a name are required. Most studios name projects after the
address: `123 Maple Street, Springfield`, `456 Oak Avenue, Unit 4`.

## The fields, and where they show up later

Filling these in now saves work later, because Atelier reuses them across
documents.

### Status

Where the job is in your pipeline. New projects default to **Lead**.

| Status        | Meaning                                                               |
| ------------- | --------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| **Lead**      | Enquiry or pitch. Not yet signed.                                     |
| **Active**    | Live work.                                                            |
| **On hold**   | Paused, but expected to resume.                                       |
| **Completed** | Delivered.                                                            |
| **Lost**      | Didn't convert.                                                       |
| **Archived**  | Out of the way. Hidden from the main Projects list, still searchable. |

Change it any time from the project header.

### Dates

**Start date** and **End date** frame the project. **Install date** is the
day the job lands on site — the date lead times are measured against. These
sit behind the phase timeline on the project Overview.

### Budget

The total the client has agreed to. Atelier shows your running spend against
it on the schedule's **Financials** view, so you can see how much room is
left before you specify the next sofa.

### Hourly rate

One rate for every hour on this project, whoever logs it — the blended
arrangement. Leave it blank and each person bills at their own role's rate
instead, which is the usual case. See
[How hours are priced](/time-tracking/rates).

### Ship-to address

Street, apartment or suite, city, state, postal code, country. Printed on
purchase orders, so vendors know where to deliver. Often the site address
rather than the client's billing address — those are separate fields, on the
client record.

### Project type and style direction

**Project type** is a free label — *Single Family Residential*,
*Commercial*. It appears as a chip in the project header and is useful when
you filter later. **Style direction** and **description** are notes for your
team, shown on the Overview.

### Floor area

Area in m². Optional, useful for per-square-metre reporting.

## Add a cover image

The image on the project card is the first thing anyone sees in the Projects
grid. Set it from the project Overview — most studios use the hero render or
the main pinboard.