How to Work With Proposals and Proposal Templates in Project Insight

What Are Proposals In Project Insight?

Proposals in Project Insight help teams estimate, approve, and track work before or after a project is created.

You can use a proposal before work begins, create a project from an approved proposal, add a proposal to an existing project, or use proposals to track changes in scope. Proposals can also help teams compare proposed totals, billable totals, and invoiced totals so they can see the relationship between what was estimated, what was worked, and what was billed.

In short, proposals help connect estimated work to project execution, billing, and financial reporting.

Best For

Use proposals when your team needs to:

• Estimate work before creating a project
• Prepare pricing or scope for sold work
• Build repeatable proposal templates
• Create a project from an approved proposal
• Add a proposal to an existing project
• Track scope changes or change orders
• Compare proposed totals, billable totals, and invoiced totals

Before You Start

To use proposals, your workspace needs the Proposals and optionally Proposal Templates add-ons.

If you do not see proposal options in your workspace, contact your Project Insight System Administrator, PMO Administrator, Customer Success representative, or get help at projectinsight.com/support.

When Should You Use A Proposal?

How to Create a Proposal for Future Project Work

Use this workflow when the proposal comes before the project.

1. Add a new proposal by clicking +Proposals from the Proposal Home (which can be accessed from the Main Home Screen)

2. Complete the information in the proposal form.

    

Proposal Home to add a new proposal

Create a Proposal 

3.  Add the customer, scope, pricing, line items, and any required proposal details.

4. Assign the proposal to a user, if needed.

5.  Save the proposal.

The information shown on the proposal form may vary based on your organization’s configuration, including optional custom fields.

If the proposal is assigned to another user, that user can be notified.

Basic Proposal: Get the value associated with what can be seen on the project overview. See project affiliation, related customer, and other basic details.

How to Create a Project From a Proposal

Use this workflow when the proposal has been accepted and the work is ready to become a project.

1. Click on Proposals from the Home Screen or your worklist. 
2. Open the detail page for the proposal you're working on.
3. Select the Create Project link or button.
4. Complete the Project Add/Edit form.
5. Choose a project template if your team uses templates.
6. Save the project.

Creating a project from the proposal links the proposal to the project. This connection supports reporting and helps teams compare proposed work to project execution.

How to Add a Proposal to an Existing Project

Use this workflow when the project already exists and you need to propose additional work, changed scope, or a change order.

1. Open the existing project.
2. Go to the project view for Invoice Records & Proposals.

3. Find the Proposals area.
4. Select + Proposal
5. Complete the proposal form.
6. Save the proposal.

When a proposal is created from an existing project, Project Insight may auto-populate project-related information into the proposal form.

Use this option when the original project is already underway but the scope changes, a client requests new work, a deliverable changes, or the team needs to document additional approved effort.

How to Review Proposal Value and Project Affiliation

A proposal can show important financial and project context, including:

• Proposal value
• Customer or stakeholder
• Project affiliation, if one exists
• Line items or deliverables
• Proposal assignment
• Proposal status
• Related billing or invoice activity, depending on setup

This helps the proposal become more than a static estimate. It becomes part of the project’s financial record.

Basic Proposal: see project affiliation, customer, and other details.

How To View Proposed Value Over Time

Use the Portfolio Allocation Report when you need to see proposed value spread across time.

This helps teams understand not only the total value of proposed work, but also when that value is expected to be realized. For teams using proposals as part of their sales-to-project workflow, this view can help connect future work, expected revenue, and project planning.

The Portfolio Allocation Report helps teams view proposed value over time so they can understand when project dollars are expected to be realized.

How Proposals Connect To Milestone Billing

Proposals can support milestone billing when your organization bills by phase, deliverable, payment event, or project stage. (See Basic Proposal Screenshot above)

This is helpful when the amount proposed needs to connect to when the work will be billed or recognized.

Use milestone billing when you need to:

• Bill based on project phases
• Bill based on deliverables
• Connect proposal amounts to billing schedules
• Track when proposed dollars may be realized
• Connect sold work to invoicing and project execution

How To Compare Proposed Totals, Billable Totals, And Invoiced Totals

Project Insight can help teams compare proposal values against billable and invoiced amounts.

To review these totals:

1. Open the project.
2. Go to the Invoice Records & Proposals view.
3. Review the graph or totals for:
   • Proposed Totals
   • Billable Totals
   • Invoiced Totals

This comparison helps teams answer:

• What did we propose?
• What work has become billable?
• What has already been invoiced?
• Are we billing in line with the work being performed?
• Is there a gap between proposed value, billable work, and invoiced amounts?

How To Create Invoices From Proposals, Time Entries, Or Expenses

From the Invoice Records & Proposals view, teams may be able to create invoice records in different ways, depending on workspace configuration.

You can create invoices from:

• Proposal line items
• Time entries
• Expenses

Create An Invoice From Proposal Line Items

Use the Create New Invoice option from the proposal table to create an invoice based on proposal line items.

This is useful when billing is based on what was proposed or approved.

Create An Invoice From Time Entries Or Expenses

Use the Invoice Records table and select Add to create invoice records based on time entries or expenses.

This is useful when billing depends on actual work performed or costs submitted during execution.

How To Use Proposal Reports

Proposal reports help teams find, review, and manage proposal activity.

View Proposals Assigned To You

1. Go to the Project Insight reports area.
2. Run a Proposal report.
3. Under display or report type options, choose Proposals I’m Assigned To.
4. View the results.

View The Last Comment On Proposal Reports

1. Go to the Project Insight reports area.
2. Run a Proposal report.
3. In the table column selection options, add the Last Comment column.
4. View the results.

How To Connect Proposal Expenses To Project Tasks

Proposal expenses can be connected to corresponding project tasks when your team needs proposal line items, expense codes, and project execution to stay aligned.

1. Add an expense deliverable to the proposal.
2. Make sure the expense deliverable has an expense code.
3. Confirm that the expense code is defined in the add-on configuration.
4. Add the expense deliverable to the project.
5. In the proposal form, under Description, choose Add to Project.
6. After the expense deliverable is added to the project, it appears as a task in the project view.
7. When adding a work expense to the project task, the expense code can default from that setup.

How To Add A Project Task As A Proposal Line Item

If a proposal is affiliated with a project, you may be able to add project work back into the proposal as a line item.

1. Open the proposal in edit view.
2. Assign a project in the Project Affiliation field.
3. Once a project is affiliated, the Add from Project option appears under the proposal description area.
4. Select Add from Project.
5. Choose the project task or deliverable you want to add as a proposal line item.

Use this when the proposal needs to reference work already defined in the project.

How Open And Closed Proposal States Work

A proposal can be in an open or closed state.

When a proposal is open, users with the right permissions can continue editing or updating it.

When a proposal is marked closed, it cannot be edited or deleted.

Use the closed state when a proposal has been finalized, accepted, rejected, or otherwise locked for recordkeeping.

Common Questions

Can A Proposal Create A Project In Project Insight?

Yes. If the proposal comes before the project, users can open the proposal detail page and use the Create Project option to launch the Project Add/Edit form. Creating the project from the proposal links the proposal to the project for reporting and financial comparison.

Can A Proposal Be Added To An Existing Project?

Yes. Proposals can be added to existing projects to track scope changes, change orders, or additional approved work.

Can Project Insight Compare Proposed, Billable, And Invoiced Amounts?

Yes. In the Invoice Records & Proposals view, teams can compare proposed totals, billable totals, and invoiced totals. Proposed totals come from proposals, billable totals come from billable time entries multiplied by rates, and invoiced totals come from invoice records.

How Do Proposals Support Project Budget Tracking?

Proposals help capture the financial starting point for sold or requested work. When connected to a project, they help teams compare what was proposed to what was executed, billed, and invoiced.

Do Proposals Support Milestone Billing?

Proposals can support milestone billing workflows when billing is connected to phases, deliverables, or payment events. This helps connect proposed work to billing schedules and project execution.

In Short

Proposals in Project Insight help teams connect estimated or sold work to project execution.

You can use proposals to estimate work before a project exists, create a project from an accepted proposal, add proposals to existing projects for scope changes, compare proposed totals against billable and invoiced amounts, and support milestone billing or invoice workflows.

For teams managing project financials, proposals help preserve the connection between what was estimated, what was delivered, and what was billed.