> ## Documentation Index
> Fetch the complete documentation index at: https://docs.msportal.ai/llms.txt
> Use this file to discover all available pages before exploring further.

# Read project phases and tickets

> Find project tasks, interpret statuses and hours, and understand which details your account can see.

Open **Projects**, select the project, then choose **Phases**. Company users read the plan made available by their MSP. MSP staff use the same reader controls and may have additional editing actions.

## Find the work

<Steps>
  <Step title="Check the available view">
    Projects with phases show a phase table. Projects with several tasks but no formal phases can show **Project Tasks** directly. A project with no phases and at most one ticket normally uses the simpler Overview instead. MSP native-project editors can still have Phases on an empty plan.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Expand a phase">
    Select a phase row with a chevron and ticket count to expand its tickets; select it again to collapse. Indented phase rows show the plan's parent/child grouping. **Unphased Tickets**, when present, lists tickets without an assigned phase.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Read the ticket row">
    Review **ID**, **Ticket**, **Status**, **Owner**, **Schedule**, and available **Hours**. A faded, crossed-out ticket with a green check is closed. **Not set** for Owner means no owner is displayed. The row's title and ID are labels, not links to the support-ticket conversation.
  </Step>

  <Step title="Expand additional details when available">
    Use the small expand control beside the ticket title for available custom fields or time details. Its presence does not guarantee time records exist. Field access, project settings, account type, and available data determine what appears.
  </Step>
</Steps>

On smaller screens the phase table hides Schedule and Progress; nested ticket rows also hide Owner. Use a wider window to read those columns. A missing column is not proof the underlying value is absent.

## Sort phases

Use **Sort phases and tasks**, initially **PSA order**, above the phase table:

| Option             | Result                                                                                                                                         |
| ------------------ | ---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- |
| **PSA order**      | The supplied plan order.                                                                                                                       |
| **Scheduled date** | Earlier starts first, then end dates; missing dates sort after dated work.                                                                     |
| **Status**         | In-progress phases first, then not started, then complete. Within phases, open tickets precede closed tickets and are grouped by status label. |
| **Name**           | Alphabetical names within the phase hierarchy and ticket groups.                                                                               |

<img src="https://mintcdn.com/msportal/qpdBpWGevPXfju6k/images/product/project-phase-sort-options.png?fit=max&auto=format&n=qpdBpWGevPXfju6k&q=85&s=cd22d32699cc2c5ef2dd22e158a31f47" alt="Sort phases and tasks menu with PSA order, Scheduled date, Status, and Name selected" width="384" height="252" data-path="images/product/project-phase-sort-options.png" />

This menu was captured in the MSP Demo view. Sorting changes the displayed order; it does not save a new plan order or change dates in the connected system. Parent/child phase grouping is retained.

The direct **Project Tasks** table uses its own column sorting and filters instead. Use Ticket or ID text filters, Status or Owner selectors, the Schedule date filter, or the Hours range where available. Its Schedule filter uses the start date, falling back to the end date; it does not search every day spanned by a task. Summary cards describe the supplied tasks and do not recalculate for these table filters.

## Interpret status and progress

| Measure                     | Meaning                                                                                                                                                                                    |
| --------------------------- | ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------ |
| Phase **Complete**          | When associated tickets are available for status calculation, all of them are closed. Otherwise the phase's recorded status or actual finish determines completion.                        |
| Phase **In Progress**       | An associated ticket remains open, or the phase's own status, actual start, or logged hours indicates activity. It can appear with zero displayed hours.                                   |
| Phase **Not Started**       | Neither of those conditions is present in the available data.                                                                                                                              |
| Phase **Hours**             | Actual hours, followed by an estimate when one is available. A positive overage badge shows hours above that estimate.                                                                     |
| Phase **Progress**          | Actual hours divided by the estimate. The number can exceed 100%; this is hours usage, not percentage of work completed. With no estimate, the row may show Done, hours logged, or a dash. |
| Header phase hours/progress | Totals from phase records. The header estimate uses scheduled phase hours and can differ from a row that falls back to its budget estimate.                                                |
| **ticket hours**            | A separate total from ticket records. Do not add this to phase hours as though they were separate work.                                                                                    |
| Direct-task **Completion**  | Closed tasks divided by total supplied tasks. This differs from the phase hours-based Progress measure.                                                                                    |

Company hours depend on what the MSP shares. Some current displays show **0h** when hours are unavailable to your account. Zero or missing values alone do not establish that no work has occurred. Ask your MSP to explain unexpected totals or stale information.

## Time details and Company access

MSP staff can expand supported tickets to read available time history: **Date**, **Person**, **Duration**, **Type**, **Notes**, and **Billable**. Hover over shortened text to read its tooltip. **Load more** appears when another page of history is available. **Check data** flags records whose total hours are zero; it is not a successful time audit.

Company users should not expect access to this detailed ticket-history view. A **0 time entries** result can reflect access restrictions even when shared summary hours exist. Ask your MSP for the appropriate progress or time summary. A billable label is not an invoice or confirmation of payment.

MSP staff can use [phase and ticket action menus](/user-guides/projects/use-phase-ticket-actions). For a new support request, [start with the Home AI Assistant](/user-guides/ticketing/open-a-ticket).

## FAQs

<AccordionGroup>
  <Accordion title="Why is Phases missing?">
    Your MSP may not have enabled it, the project may lack the required phase/task data, or a small project may use Overview. Ask the MSP to check access and display settings; Company users do not change their own permissions.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Why does a phase not expand?">
    Expansion requires available inline tickets. A phase can show status without exposing its tickets, because status and ticket visibility are separate. Look for the chevron and count; ask your MSP if work appears missing.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Does 100% Progress mean the phase is finished?">
    No. In the phase table it measures hours used against the estimate. Check Complete status and the underlying tickets separately. The direct Project Tasks Completion bar instead counts closed tasks.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Why does In Progress appear with zero hours?">
    An open associated ticket can make the phase In Progress. Hours may also be missing, unshared, or not yet synchronized. Zero displayed hours does not prove the phase has not started.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Does sorting move tasks or save a new PSA order?">
    No. Sorting only changes this display. It does not move a ticket between phases, reschedule it, or rewrite the source plan.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Why do the task summary counts stay the same after filtering?">
    The summary describes the tasks supplied to the view. Column filters narrow the direct Project Tasks table, not those summary cards.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Why can I not see the owner's name or schedule on my phone?">
    The nested ticket table hides Owner at smaller widths and Schedule on small screens. Widen the view before assuming the value is missing.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Can Company users read technicians' detailed time notes here?">
    Do not assume so. The detailed ticket-history view is restricted; a zero-entry result can reflect access, not an absence of work. Ask your MSP for a shared summary.
  </Accordion>

  <Accordion title="Can I open a support ticket from these phase rows?">
    These rows describe existing project work. To request help, go to Home and use the AI Assistant; the [ticket guide](/user-guides/ticketing/open-a-ticket) also explains the manual alternative.
  </Accordion>
</AccordionGroup>