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Branch preview: these instructions describe the unified Projects update. It appears when it is enabled for your portal. Until then, onboarding keeps its separate settings and company workspace.
This guide shows MSP staff how to run a project entirely in MSPortal, from a template through delivery and close-out. The project, phases, and tickets live in MSPortal, and no PSA records are created. Clients follow the parts you share in their branded portal. The example is a Client Workspace Launch with two phases, three tickets, a decision, and an action item.

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Before you start

  • You need an MSP staff account with project write permission and an active subscription. Building or changing templates needs project-settings permission.
  • You need a company and a saved project template. If the wizard shows No templates yet, follow Project Templates.
  • Turn off Enable Project Sync in each connected PSA’s sync settings under Settings > Integrations, and save. New projects use MSPortal only when no PSA project sync is set up. The PSA can stay connected for everything else.
  • Check the company selector and project display settings. Client users see only what their access allows.

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1. Create the native project

1

Open the wizard

Open Projects and click New project.
2

Choose the template

Under Template, pick your template. Each one shows its phase, ticket, and action counts. Pick a plain project type for this workflow. Onboarding templates add a client portal step and create a linked onboarding project.
3

Set the company and dates

Choose the Company, enter the Project name, and pick a Start date. Check the suggested name before you keep it. Click Next.
4

Check the destination

Wait for the check of the company’s PSA integration, and confirm the destination is MSPortal only. If it shows a PSA, close the wizard, turn off that PSA’s Enable Project Sync, save, and open the wizard again.
5

Review and create

Click Next and check the template, counts, company, project name, start date, and Target. Click Create project once. When it finishes, check the created counts and click Open project.
While PSA project sync is on, new projects are created in the PSA and need a valid company mapping. Turning sync off does not turn existing PSA projects into native ones. Existing PSA projects keep their provider, and supported edits need its project sync on.

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2. Explain the goal and client access

1

Open the details form

Click Edit Project Details in the page header.
2

Describe the outcome

Enter Project Goal, Project Description, and Current Phase, then click Save Changes. The current-phase label does not move or complete the delivery phases.
3

Choose client visibility

Tick Hide from company users to keep the project out of client views. Leaving it unticked does not override company scope, role permissions, or Settings > Projects > Project Settings > Client project access.
Also check the visibility of each update, milestone, decision, and deliverable. Keep internal notes internal and share only what the client should see.

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3. Review and adjust the delivery plan

Open Project Plan > Tasks, expand each phase, and check the generated tickets, dates, hours, and assignments. Native ticket statuses are Open, In Progress, Blocked, and Done. Changing a project goal or posting a client update does not change ticket status. Open Project Plan > Board and use Group by to read tickets by status, owner, or priority. The owner label follows your PSA’s wording. The native board has no drag controls, so use Project Plan > Tasks > Edit ticket to change status, assignee, or priority. See Read and filter project ticket Kanban. Use Project Plan > Schedule to review dated work. See Project Workspace and Project Calendar.
If a native ticket shows in Other, open Settings > Projects > Project Settings > Status Mapping and look under Ticket Statuses. Put Done in your completed column and Blocked in a blocked or on-hold column, then click Save. Keep any mappings your PSA projects still use.

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4. Record work and time

1

Open Log time

Open Overview > MSP Dashboard and click Log time in the time section.
2

Fill in the entry

Pick a ticket or Project (no ticket), set Work date, and enter Duration and Notes. Duration takes hours (1.5), hours and minutes (1:30), or minutes (90m). Start / end is an alternative. Check Billable.
3

Save

Click Save, then check the new entry and the hours total. Native time stays in MSPortal.
Tenants without an active PSA integration also get Start timer in the project header. PSA-connected tenants do not see Log time or new native timers, including on native records made for onboarding. You can still stop and save a timer that is already running. A running timer is not a time entry until you stop it and save the entry. Write clear notes. They help your team and feed AI summaries and project updates. Check the project and ticket before you save time.

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5. Track milestones, decisions, and deliverables

  • Project Plan > Milestones tracks milestone dates and completion.
  • Collaboration > Decisions holds approvals, questions, scheduling requests, and other answers you need to move work forward.
  • Collaboration > Action Items holds follow-up tasks apart from decisions and delivery tickets.
  • Project Plan > Deliverables tracks outputs, due dates, completion, and files.
Create each item in its own list, or use a phase or ticket action to start a linked item. Editors save as you type. A new item is created at once, so fill in its title, dates, owner, and visibility in the same sitting. In the example, record approval of the launch plan, prepare the handover guide, and track client acceptance. Completing an action item does not complete the project tickets.

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6. Explain progress with AI and updates

1

Open Project AI

Click Open Project AI at the right edge of the project page.
2

Ask for a draft

Click Draft update, or ask for a summary of current work, blockers, and next steps.
3

Review and apply

Check the reporting week, progress, next steps, risks, and client visibility on the proposal, then click Apply.
4

Check Updates

Open Collaboration > Updates and confirm the saved update. Text in the chat alone is not a saved update.
You can also write updates yourself under Collaboration > Updates. A client-visible update shows in the project for people who have access. It does not send an email or a meeting invitation. See Project AI, MCP, and Client Reviews for examples and connected workflows.
Saved weekly summary showing completed work, next steps, and risks from the native project.

A real AI draft, reviewed and applied to the walkthrough project.

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7. Review the project with the client

Use the project’s progress, milestones, deliverables, and open decisions to prepare the conversation. Add project blocks to a QBR report or add the project to a meeting agenda. Confirm the report or meeting is scoped to the right company and inspect the actual content before sharing it. Client access to a project, a report, and a meeting follows the permissions of each surface. Preparing a report or draft meeting does not itself send it to attendees.

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8. Finish and close out

1

Confirm with the client

Confirm the acceptance criteria and the final deliverables.
2

Finish the work

Mark finished tickets Done. Resolve the remaining decisions and action items. Complete the milestones and deliverables.
3

Publish a final update

Check the time records, then post an update that explains the outcome, the handover, and any follow-up.
4

Complete the project

Set the project’s status to Completed. For example, ask Project AI to propose the status change, check the target project, and click Apply. This closes the project and records its completion date. Health and status are separate.
5

Find it later

In Projects, click Closed or All to find completed work that no longer shows under Open.
Keep the project as the delivery record. Closeout does not require deleting its tickets, time, decisions, or updates. Reuse the template for the next engagement and update the template deliberately when the process improves.

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Forms and your workspace

A native project can collect forms from staff and clients without an onboarding portal. Staff choose which forms to share, and client roles need form-view and submission permissions. See Project Forms.

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Troubleshooting

Project templates

Maintain reusable delivery plans.

AI, MCP, and client reviews

Connect project evidence to updates, reports, and meetings.