Monument

Your First Project \u2014 Quick Start

An end-to-end walkthrough from creating a project to sending your first invoice.

Overview

This guide walks you through the core Monument workflow โ€” creating a project, adding tasks, scheduling resources, tracking time, and sending an invoice. By the end, you'll understand how the main features connect.

Step 1: Create a Project

  1. Click Projects in the sidebar.
  2. Click New Project.
  3. Enter a name (e.g. "Smith Residence") and select a contact (client).
  4. Set the project start date and end date.
  5. Choose a fee type โ€” fixed fee, time and materials, or percentage.
  6. Click Create.

Your project now appears in the project list with its auto-generated project code.

Step 2: Add Tasks

  1. Open your new project and go to the Tasks tab (or view it on the Schedule).
  2. Click Add Task to create a top-level phase (e.g. "Schematic Design").
  3. Click the + button on a phase to add sub-tasks (e.g. "Site Analysis", "Concept Plans").
  4. Set start and end dates for each task.
  5. Optionally set estimated hours to track progress against budget.

Step 3: Allocate Resources

  1. Navigate to the Schedule page.
  2. Find your project in the Gantt view at the top.
  3. In the resource swim lanes below, click on a team member's row to create an allocation.
  4. Select the task to allocate them to.
  5. Set the hours per day or total hours and the allocation period.
  6. Click Save in the schedule save bar.

The resource's swim lane now shows a coloured bar for the allocation, and the financial projections update to reflect the staffing cost.

Step 4: Track Time

  1. Navigate to Time in the sidebar.
  2. On the weekly calendar, click and drag on a day to create a time block.
  3. Select the project and task for the time entry.
  4. Enter a description of the work done.
  5. The entry saves automatically.

Alternatively, use the Timer โ€” click the play button, select a task, and Monument tracks elapsed time until you stop it.

Step 5: Create an Invoice

  1. Navigate to Invoices in the sidebar.
  2. Click New Invoice.
  3. Select the project and client.
  4. Add line items โ€” choose from progress claims, time entries, expenses, or fixed amounts.
  5. Review the total and click Send to email the invoice to the client.

What's Next

You've just completed the core Monument workflow. To go deeper: