As your projects progress, they may go through various stages. These can be set up on the Projects->Setup screen. You can define the order in which the statuses appear. You can allow only a certain number of your staff members to edit the project permissions if you require; this is done on the Setup->Staff screen, in the Core Functions tab.

When a project is closed (completed) Pearl will automatically set the project to a certain status; this setting is in the Setup->Company defaults screen.

In a similar way to projects, your jobs can be set to different statuses. The Setup->Event Statuses screen will allow you to create a number of statuses, and choose which of these statuses are to be used for Jobs. The Setup->Company Defaults screen gives you the options for setting the “new job” status, and the “closed job” status.

When jobs are updated, the members can receive automatic email or SMS notifications. You can design the template for these emails to fit with your business requirements. Perhaps you might add a logo, or login information to your online project collaboration area so that clients can see how the project is progressing.

There is one default event notification template that is used for all events (which include internal tasks, company events and so on). This is editable by clicking Documents->System templates then opening the Event update email. Each separate job within a project can be set to use it’s own template. If you wish to do this, you will need to create extra templates in the Documents->Mailmerge Templates area. Make sure that the new template is active, and you will be able to choose it when creating the job.

You will need to create a contact for each of your staff members, subcontractors and clients before you can add them to a project or job. This is done using the Contacts->Create new option from the main menu. Please also read the “Contacts/CRM” training pack for detailed information on creating and managing your contacts.

Your project management module subscription will limit the number of staff that you can activate for the Project Manager. Activate certain members of staff for inclusion into the Project Management module on the Projects->Setup screen.

If you enter a mobile phone number for a contact they can be set to receive text messages with job updates and new job creation alerts.

Just as you can edit the email template that is sent out with job updates, you can edit your Quote and Invoice templates. You can also create extra templates in addition to the standard Pearl system templates, which will allow you to have different layouts for different projects or jobs, or even different invoices within jobs. Make your changes on the Documents->System templates screen.