The Settings tab holds a project's identity (code, name, description), ownership (manager, customer), status and priority, dates, visibility and how progress is calculated. It also shows the project's SolaCount finance setting, its billing policy and which features are on, and — for owners and administrators — the Danger zone to archive the project.
Use it when a project is set up wrongly (wrong customer or manager), when dates move, when the project finishes (status Completed), or when it should be archived. Project managers maintain it; owners and administrators archive projects and decide whether a project is billed through SolaCount.
Your language and light/dark theme are not project settings: they follow your Solavel account (see Language and theme).
Where to find it
| Sidebar | Project section (under the project picker) → Settings (last item) |
| URL | /projects/{project}/settings |
| Command palette | Settings · {project name} under Current project |
The tab is shown on every project, on every plan, to everyone who can open the project. People without edit rights see the page read-only. The organization-wide SolaCount connection is a different page: Integrations in the Workspace part of the sidebar (/projects/settings/integrations) — see Integrations.
Screen tour
The page is a single narrow column of cards:
| Card | What it contains |
|---|---|
| Project settings — Project identity, ownership, visibility, workflow, and safe operating policy. | Badge Editable or Read only (top-right); the project name, description (or No description yet.), a status badge (Active green, Archived red, Completed blue) and a priority badge (amber for High/Urgent). |
| Integrations — SolaCount finance for this project | Finance status badge and the Finance integration choice. |
| General — Identity, ownership, and dates. | Code, Name, Description, Status, Priority, Manager, Customer, Start date, Target date, End date, Default hourly rate, Approval contact email and the tick box Require customer approval of time before billing; save bar Changes save to this project. with Save changes. |
| Visibility & progress — Who can see this project and how progress is calculated. | Visibility, Progress mode; read-only Workspace and Portfolio (project group). |
| Billing policy — Rate and customer approval are edited under General. Billing type and currencies stay in the existing billing workflow. | Read-only summary: Billing type (Fixed, Hourly, Non Billable), Customer approval, Approval contact (or Selected customer email). |
| Feature status — Read-only. Feature availability is managed by organization flags. | On/Off for Tasks, Time tracking, Reports, Calendar, Activity, Timeline, Team, Files. |
| Note | React settings can edit safe project fields only. Rate, currency, billing, and approval-policy changes remain outside this React screen. The note is older than the two new fields: billing type, billing currency and cost rates are still outside this screen, but the Default hourly rate and customer approval are edited here. |
| Danger zone — Archiving hides the project from active lists. It can be restored by setting status back to Active. | Archive project (owners and Projects Administrators only). |
If the project cannot be loaded you see Couldn’t load settings.
Fields
| Field | Required | Rules / defaults | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| Code | Yes | Up to 64 characters; unique within the organization. | Short identifier shown with the name and typed to confirm archiving, e.g. ALN-FIT. |
| Name | Yes | Up to 255 characters. | |
| Description | No | Free text. | Shown under the name in the header card. |
| Status | Yes | Active (default), Completed, Archived. | See Statuses. |
| Priority | No | —, Low, Medium, High, Urgent. | |
| Manager | No | Unassigned or an eligible person. | Must be an active organization member with SolaProjects access; otherwise "Only active organization members with Projects app access can be assigned." |
| Customer | No | Unassigned or a customer of your organization. | Shown on Overview and reports; used for billing when SolaCount is connected. |
| Start date | No | Date. | |
| Target date | No | Date. | Shown on Overview as the target. |
| End date | No | On or after the start date. | |
| Visibility | No | Workspace (default), Internal, Private, Public. | Records how widely the project is meant to be shared. Who can actually open it is still decided by membership and roles (see Team access). |
| Progress mode | No | From tasks (default) or Manual. | From tasks = share of tasks done. |
| Default hourly rate | No | A number from 0.01 to 999,999.99; leave empty for none. | Used for new billable time entries (hint "Used for new billable time entries.", or "Not used while the project is non-billable."). The value is shown only to people who may edit the project. |
| Approval contact email | No | A valid email address, up to 255 characters. | The address customer approval links go to. Hint: "Leave blank to use the selected customer's email." |
| Require customer approval of time before billing | No | Tick box, off by default. | When on, approved billable time waits for the customer on Customer Approval. It needs a Customer with an email address or an Approval contact email; otherwise the save fails with "Customer approval requires either a customer with an email address or an override approval contact email." |
The billing type, billing currency and cost rates are not editable here (they are set in SolaCount). The default hourly rate and customer time approval are, since 5 October 2026.
Tasks
Edit the project details
- Open the project → Settings.
- Change fields in General and/or Visibility & progress.
- Click Save changes (bottom of General). One save stores both cards.
- You see Project settings saved.
Errors appear at the top of General and under the field (for example "The code has already been taken." or "The end date field must be a date after or equal to start date."). Without permission: "You can’t edit these settings." Other failures: "Could not save settings. Please try again."
Mark a project completed
Set Status to Completed → Save changes. Health on Reports shows Completed; the project stays in lists and can still be edited.
Change the project's SolaCount finance setting
-
In Integrations, open Finance integration:
Option Meaning Inherit organization setting (default) Follow whatever the organization has configured for SolaCount. Connected to SolaCount Use finance when the organization allows it. It cannot switch finance on if the organization or plan has it off. Internal project / finance disabled Make this an internal project — hide finance and block new billing, even when the organization is connected. -
The change saves immediately: Project finance setting updated.
Badges: Connected to SolaCount, Finance disabled by organization, Finance disabled for this project, Not included in plan, No finance permission, Finance unavailable. Only an organization owner or admin can change it; others see "Only an organization owner or admin can change this." Existing SolaCount documents and billed time are never deleted.
Archive a project
- In Danger zone, click Archive project.
- The Archive project dialog says "This project will be hidden from active lists. It can be restored later. Type its project code to confirm."
- Type the exact Project code (the field shows it as placeholder). The confirm button stays disabled until it matches.
- Confirm. You see Project archived. and return to the Projects list.
Errors: "Type the exact project code to confirm.", "You’re not allowed to archive this project.", "Could not archive the project."
Restore an archived project
Open its Settings, set Status to Active, Save changes. Owners and Projects Administrators can also use Restore on the Projects list.
Statuses and lifecycle
| Status | Meaning | Allowed |
|---|---|---|
| Active | Normal working project. | Everything. |
| Completed | Delivered; kept for reference. | Edit, reports, time history; reopen by setting Active. |
| Archived | Hidden from active lists and the project picker. | Restore (Active). |
Permissions
| Role | View | Edit General / Visibility & progress | Finance setting | Archive |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Organization owner | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Projects Administrator | Yes | Yes | Org admins only | Yes |
| Projects Manager who is a project Manager here | Yes | Yes | No | No |
| Projects Member, project Viewer | Yes (read-only) | No | No | No |
A Portal restriction on this project always wins. If settings editing is switched off for your organization, the page is Read only for everyone.
Worked examples
Example 1 — Customer correction (everyday)
Sara Khan notices Al Noor Showroom Fit-out (ALN-FIT) has no customer. She opens Settings, picks Customer Al Noor Trading LLC, clicks Save changes → Project settings saved. The Overview and Reports now show the customer.
Example 2 — From internal pilot to billed project to archive (full scenario)
| Step | Who | Action | Result |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Omar Haddad (owner) | Creates Showroom pilot (ALN-PIL), sets Finance integration Internal project / finance disabled. |
Project finance setting updated.; badge Finance disabled for this project; no billing possible. |
| 2 | Sara Khan (project Manager) | Sets Target date 15 Dec 2026, Priority High, Manager Sara Khan. | Project settings saved. |
| 3 | Omar | Client signs; switches to Inherit organization setting. | Badge Connected to SolaCount; Billing tab and Overview finance appear (AED). |
| 4 | Sara | Tries End date 1 Nov with Start 3 Nov. | Error: end date must be on or after start date. Fixes to 20 Dec. |
| 5 | Sara | After handover sets Status Completed. | Reports health Completed. |
| 6 | Omar | In March, Archive project, types ALN-PIL. |
Project archived.; project gone from the picker and active list. |
| 7 | Omar | Client asks for warranty work; Restore from Projects. | Status Active again; history intact. |
How it connects
| Where | Link |
|---|---|
| Projects | Code, name, status, manager and customer appear in the list; archive/restore. |
| Overview / Reports | Customer, manager, target date, status and health. |
| Budget and finance / Time approval & billing | Finance setting decides whether billing and SolaCount figures are available. |
| Integrations | Organization SolaCount connection. |
| Project groups | Portfolio shown read-only here. |
| Activity | Archiving and edits are logged. |
Language and theme
Language and theme start from your Solavel account; Arabic switches the layout to right-to-left. Use the moon/sun button in the top bar for dark or light mode (saved in this browser) and the globe button for English or Arabic (SolaProjects has only these two languages). See Top bar and account menu and Profile & account.
Tips and common problems
| Problem | Cause | Fix |
|---|---|---|
| Fields greyed out; badge Read only. | No edit rights, or settings editing is off. | Ask a project Manager or administrator. |
| The code has already been taken. | Another project in the organization uses it. | Choose a unique code. |
| Manager not in the list / refused. | Person lacks SolaProjects access or is inactive. | Give them access on the Portal Team page. |
| No Danger zone. | Only owners and Projects Administrators can archive. | Ask one of them. |
| Archive confirm stays disabled. | Typed code doesn't match exactly. | Copy the code from the placeholder. |
| Can't change billing type or rates. | Not editable on this screen. | Contact your administrator / use the billing workflow. |
| Finance switch refused. | Only org owners/admins can change it. | Ask the owner. |