# Creating a Project Every job in PAI starts with a project. The project is the container — it holds your estimates during the bidding phase, your budget once you're live, your call sheets, your vendor assignments, and your financial tracking through to the final invoice. Creating one takes about thirty seconds, but what you fill in at this step shapes how the work appears throughout the system. --- ## Creating a Project Click **+ Add Project** on the Projects page, or open **Add New...** at the top of the left navigation and choose **Project**. The **Add Project** window asks for: - **Project Name**: required - **Project Type**: **PAI** (standard production budgeting, the default) or **AICP** (the AICP commercial production format). The type sets the estimate's structure and default views; see [Project Types](#project-types) below. - **Client**: required. Search existing clients, or type a new name and choose **Create "{name}"** to make a name-only record on the spot. - **Tags**: optional - **Custom Job Code**: shown only if Job Codes are enabled in Organization Settings. Optional; a custom job code displays instead of the system project or estimate number (see [Reference Numbers](./Reference-Numbers.md)). - **Min Hours**: the minimum hours for labor lines using a Days unit: **5**, **8**, **10** (the default), or **12 Hours** **Create** stays inactive until the project has a name and a client. Once created, PAI assigns an estimate number (E###) immediately and opens the new estimate, ready for line item work. --- ## Project Types The project type decides how the estimate is organized. It's set at creation and can't be changed afterward, so choose it deliberately. - **PAI** projects start with an empty estimate. You add lines as you go, and they group by resource type and category. - **AICP** projects start with the full AICP line structure already in place: every section from **A. Prep Crew** through the post sections, each pre-filled with its standard line items at zero quantity. You bid by filling in quantities and rates rather than adding lines. AICP projects also default to AICP views, and their estimates print with the **PAI AICP** template (see [Sharing Estimates](./Sharing-Estimates.md)). What you can change later is the project's rate card. Rate cards are built for a project type, though, so a project can only use a rate card set up for its own type. See [Rate Cards](../01-Organization-Setup/Rate-Cards.md). --- ## Client Association Every project must be associated with a client. This connects your project to the pipeline report, to campaign rollups, and to the "To:" address on your bid documents. If the client already exists, search and select. If not, you can create a new client record from the project creation modal — this creates a name-only record to keep you moving. To add the client's address (which appears below the name on externalized estimate documents), logo, and other details, open the full client record afterward in the Clients section. You can change the client afterward from the project **Dashboard** (**Overview → Project Overview → Client**). For more on managing client records and contacts, see [Client CRM](./Client-CRM.md). --- ## The Reporting Panel Once the project is created, the **Reporting** panel (previously called "Opportunity") is in the estimate sidebar (choose **Reporting** from the panel selector) and in the project **Dashboard** sidebar. It configures how the project reports into other areas of PAI: the pipeline report, the org calendar, and revenue forecasting. **Fields:** - **Opportunity Owner**: who is responsible for winning this job; defaults to the project creator - **Reported Version**: which version represents the current bid. Defaults to the most recent version automatically, or switches to the approved version when one exists. This also determines which estimate's calendar days appear on the organization calendar. You can override it to report a specific version; once overridden manually, it stays on that version until an estimate is approved. - **Probability (%)**: your read on likelihood of winning (0–100), starting at 0. PAI multiplies the reported version's grand total by this percentage to calculate expected revenue in the pipeline report. A $10,000 estimate at 50% probability = $5,000 expected revenue. - **Expected Close Date**: when you expect a decision. Pre-filled to the last day of the month the project was created in, so it's never empty - **Lead Source**: how the opportunity originated: **Inbound - Client**, **Inbound - New**, **Outbound - Account Growth**, **Outbound - Cold**, **Outbound - Warm**, or **Referral** - **Job Type**: categorizes the type of work (Production, Post, Photography, Livestream, and so on) - **Notes**: free text about the opportunity - **Loss Reason**: if the job is lost, why: **Estimate Too High**, **Project Lost Funding**, **Lost to Competitor - Budget**, **Lost to Competitor - Internal**, **Lost to Competitor - Director / Creative**, or **Client Not Awarded Job**. Recording it is how the pipeline report can tell you why bids are lost, not just how many. None of these affect the estimate itself. They exist to keep the pipeline and calendar views accurate. If your organization uses PAI for revenue forecasting, these fields are what makes that possible. --- ## What Gets Created Automatically When you create a project, PAI does a few things immediately: - Assigns an **estimate number** (E###) - Creates the first estimate version (**V01**) at the **New** stage: empty for a PAI project, pre-built with the AICP line structure for an AICP project - Applies your organization's default modifiers to the estimate (see [Default Modifiers](../01-Organization-Setup/Default-Modifiers.md)) You're ready to start building the estimate. See [Building an Estimate](./Building-an-Estimate.md) for what comes next.