Add your first client and project

Create a client under a brand, add its first project on a billing model, and set a budget so the team has a target.

This article gets a client from zero to a project the team can log time against. It takes three short steps: create the client, add a project, set a budget.

Steps

Go to Clients & projects in the sidebar, then Clients, and click New client.
Enter the client's name and pick the brand it belongs to. Save.
Go to Projects (or open the new client and use Add project). Enter the project name, pick the client, and choose the billing type.
Save, then open the project's page. In the right column, fill in the budget as a dollar amount or hours. It saves when you click away.
Assign team members to the project so it appears in their project picker.
For a drawdown retainer, open the client's page and add the first retainer period with its amount and dates. See Set up retainer periods and department allocations.

What each billing type means

Billing type	How it behaves
Drawdown retainer	A fixed monthly amount the team draws down against. Overages are pre-paid.
Fixed monthly fee	A flat fee for an agreed scope. Hours are tracked but never billed.
Hourly	Logged hours billed at each person's rate from approved time.
Project or deposit	A quoted price per project, often with a deposit up front.
Media pass-through	Ad or influencer spend billed through with a management fee.

What to check

A company record in the CRM and a client record in time tracking are linked but distinct. When a deal is won, the deal's owner and account manager carry over to the client so delivery and billing see the same people.
Rates come from rate cards in this order: per-project override, per-user, per-tier, agency default. Entries snapshot the rate at log time, so later rate changes do not move historical revenue. See Settings, then Rate cards.
If you are moving from another tool, the migration hub creates clients and projects in bulk.

Questions

Which billing types can a project have?

Drawdown retainer, fixed monthly fee, hourly, project or deposit, and media pass-through. Each project chooses one; a client can hold projects of different types.

Why can't a teammate see the project in their picker?

People log time only on projects they are assigned to. Assign them on the project page. Account directors are added to every project automatically.