Table of Contents
Overview
Create New Project from Quote
How to Create a Project from a Quote
What Information is Transferred?
Additional Logic and Tips
Navigation Between Quote and Project
Example Workflow
Overview
With BigTime’s Create New Project from Quote feature, you can seamlessly turn an approved quote into a live project — without re-entering data. This workflow is designed to save time, reduce manual errors, and keep your quoting and delivery teams aligned.
Once a quote reaches an eligible status (like Under Review, Approved Internally, Under Customer Review, or Approved), authorized users can convert it directly into a project. BigTime automatically transfers critical details such as tasks, budgets, billing models, and rate cards, ensuring consistency from proposal to execution.
This article walks you through:
- When and how to create a project from a quote
- What data gets mapped over
- How billing models and rate cards are handled
- Tips for managing linked quotes and projects
Use this process to maintain a clean handoff from sales to delivery, improve visibility across teams, and accelerate project kickoffs.
Create New Project from Quote
| Available for the following quote statuses: | |||
| Internal Review | Approved Internally | Customer Review | Approved by Customer |
Use this to turn an approved quote into a live project in BigTime.
Once a quote is finalized, you can convert it directly into a project. This saves time and ensures that all the details, including tasks, hours, fees, and billing structure, are carried over without manual re-entry.
| Permission required: Only users with the correct role (typically Admin or Manager) can create projects from quotes. |
How to Create a Project from a Quote
- Go to the Quote List (Sales → Quotes).
- Find a quote that’s ready for project setup.
- Open the Actions menu (three dots).
- Select Create New Project.
- A new browser tab will open with the Project Details screen pre-filled with data from the quote.
- Review the information, make any needed edits, and click Save Changes to create the project.
What Information is Transferred?
BigTime automatically maps key quote fields into the new project, ensuring accuracy and consistency.
| Quote Field | Mapped to Project Field |
| Quote Name | Project Name |
| Client | Client |
| Contact | Primary Contact |
| Task Items | Project Tasks, including: Task Name, Fee, Hours, Start/End Dates |
| Rate Card | Default Rate Card |
| Role-Based Cost Rates | Role-Level Cost Rates (Premier plan only) |
| Billing Model | Invoice Type (Time & Materials, Fixed Fee, etc.) |
| Total Fee / Hours | Fee Budget and Hour Budget per task |
Custom cost rates and manually adjusted bill rates in the quote will carry over to the project, but only sync correctly if your firm is on the Premier plan.
Additional Logic and Tips
-
Task-level data — Each task (also called an add-on or service item) from the quote becomes a separate task in the project. This includes:
- Estimated hours and fees
- Start and end dates (if provided)
- Fee types (for Item-Based Billing)
- Billing model logic — The project will inherit the quote’s billing model, which determines the invoice behavior (e.g., milestone-based, time-based).
- Rate card behavior — The rate card used in the quote becomes the default in the project. Any manual overrides to billing rates are preserved.
After the project is created, you’ll see a “View Project” button directly in the quote. You can also access the quote from inside the project using a backlink under the Project Details tab.
Navigation Between Quote and Project
Once the quote is approved and the project is created, a View Project button will appear directly in the quote record.
Likewise, within the Project Details tab in BigTime, you’ll find a back-link to the original quote. This bi-directional linking makes it easy to trace the origin of a project, review assumptions, or troubleshoot misalignments between quoting and delivery.
| Tip: Quotes and projects remain connected even if further edits are made to either side. However, updates made after conversion are not synced automatically — be sure to align manually if changes occur post-approval. |
Example Workflow
- Configure Clients and Contacts with the Client List view. Learn more:...
- Navigate to Sales > Quote List.
- Click Create Quote.
- Fill out Client Details and Project Name.
- Choose a Billing Model.
- Configure the quote using a template and adjust the rate card if needed.
- Edit the quote (optional) and Generate the PDF.
- Approve or Reject the quote.
Create a Project directly from an approved quote.