Setup: Project Work Tracks

 

 

When would I use this?

• Most of your new projects are one kind of job, and you want that track picked automatically.
• You want an emergency track for tarp-offs and leak calls that skips proposals.
• Your insurance jobs go through steps your retail jobs don’t, like Contingency Agreement, Adjuster Meeting and Supplementing.
• Repair jobs are quick, and your team doesn’t want to click through ten stages to close one out.
  
  

Before you start

• Only users with Feature Settings access can manage tracks. By default, that’s Admins and Managers.
• Set up your stages and statuses first. A track is built from the stages and statuses in your library. See “Setup: Project Stages and Statuses.”
• Changes affect everyone. Every project on a track uses that track’s stages and statuses.

 

How do I open Tracks in Exterio?

Go to Settings > Feature Settings > Projects > Tracks.

Each track shows how many stages it has, how many projects use it and whether it’s active. Your default track has a DEFAULT label.

 

How do tracks, stages and statuses fit together?

Part	What it is	Where you set it up
Stages and statuses	Your library of every step a job can go through	Stages & Statuses
Track	The stages and statuses one kind of job uses, picked from that library	Tracks > Configure

For example, your Insurance track might use Lead, Inspection, Contingency Agreement, Adjuster Meeting, Supplementing, Scheduling, Production, Quality Control, Invoicing and Close Out. Your Retail track might use Lead, Inspection, Estimating, Proposal, Job Won, Production, Quality Control, Invoicing and Close Out.

Stages that are shared, like Production and Invoicing, are the same stage in both tracks.

 

What tracks should I set up?

Start with one track for each kind of job that moves through different steps. Most companies need two to four.

Track	Good for	Stages it might skip
Retail	Homeowners paying out of pocket	Contingency Agreement, Adjuster Meeting, Supplementing
Insurance	Storm and claim work	Proposal, if your estimate comes from the claim
Repairs	Small, quick jobs	Inspection, Proposal, Quality Control
Emergency	Tarp-offs and urgent calls	Most sales stages. Go straight from Lead to Production

If two kinds of jobs follow the same steps, use one track for both. You can tell them apart with work types instead. See “Setup: Project Work Types.”

 

How do I create a track?

Click Add Track, fill in the details, and click Add Track. Then choose its stages.

1. Click Add Track.
2. Enter a Name, like “Insurance” or “Repairs.”
3. Add a short Description, like “Insurance claim projects.”
4. Pick a Color.
5. Turn on Set as default if this track should be picked automatically for new projects.
6. Click Add Track.
7. Click Configure on the new track to choose its stages. See the next section.
8. Click Configure on the track.
9. Under Available Stages, click Add on each stage you want.
10. To take a stage out of the track, click the X on the stage under Active Stages.
11. To choose a stage’s statuses, click Expand on the stage, then check the statuses this track should use and uncheck the rest.
12. Click Set Default next to the status a project should start in when it reaches that stage.
13. Click Save & Return.

To change a track’s name, description, color or default setting later, click the pencil on the track, make your changes, and click Save Changes.

 

How do I choose the stages for a track?

Click Configure on the track, add the stages you want, choose their statuses, and click Save & Return.

The Configure page has two lists:

List	What’s in it
Active Stages	The stages this track uses, in order
Available Stages	Every other stage in your library

Need a stage that isn’t in your library yet? Click Create New Stage at the bottom of Available Stages.

 

Can I change the order of stages in a track?

Not on the track itself. Stages appear in the same order in every track, and that order is set on the Stages & Statuses page. On the Configure page, click Edit global order to go there.

Because the order is shared, arrange your stages so they work for every track. A track simply skips any stage it doesn’t use.

 

How do I set the default track?

Click the pencil on the track, turn on Set as default, and click Save Changes.

The default track is picked automatically when someone creates a new project. Your team can still choose a different track. Only one track can be the default at a time. Usually it’s the one most of your jobs follow.

 

How do I turn off a track?

Turn off the switch in the Active column.

An inactive track can’t be picked for new projects. Turn the switch back on any time to bring it back.

 

Tips and gotchas

• Keep it to as few tracks as you need. Every track is another choice your team has to make on every new project. If two tracks have almost the same stages, combine them.

• Set your most common job as the default. If 90% of your work is retail, make Retail the default so your team rarely has to change it.

• Check the statuses in each stage. When you add a stage to a track, check its statuses under Expand. A track can use only some of a stage’s statuses. For example, a repair track might use only Scheduled and Complete in Production.

• Set a default status for every stage. That’s where a project lands when it moves into the stage. Without one, your team has to pick a status every time.

• Don’t forget Save & Return. Changes on the Configure page don’t count until you click it.

• Add new stages to every track that needs them. A new stage or status in your library doesn’t show up on projects until it’s part of a track.