Projects — the job everything else belongs to
A project is one build: an address, and everything that happens there. Its SOQ, sheets, documents, tenders, contracts, payments, schedule and messages all belong to it, and the people you bring onto it see that one job and nothing else of yours. Nothing on the hiring side of QSME works without a project, so it is the first thing you make.
This page covers making one, the selected project and why most pages ask for it, the project page, inviting people and what each role can do, units, public listing, and finishing or deleting a project.
Where it sits
Sidebar → Projects, on the Hiring for a project side. If you only look for work, there is no Projects page; a project you are invited to is reached from the project picker instead. On the phone app, Projects is a tab of its own.
| Tab | What it lists |
|---|---|
| Mine | Projects you own. |
| Following | Projects someone else owns that you are on. Accepting an invite follows the project for you, which is why they appear here. |
Search by name, address or description, and narrow by Status and Type above the list. Filters narrows by location, and by visibility on Mine.
The selected project
The picker at the top of the sidebar shows which project you are working on. SOQ, Sheets, Documents, Tenders, Contracts and Project Payments all show the selected project and nothing else, which is why they ask you to choose one when none is chosen. Switch project and every one of them follows. On the Looking for projects side, the picker also lists projects you have been invited to, with your role beside each.
A project becomes the selected one when you choose it in the picker, open it on the Projects page, press the tick on its card under Mine (which selects it without opening it), or have just made it. The choice is not remembered between visits: when you open QSME it starts on whichever of your own projects changed most recently.
The sidebar follows your role on the selected project:
| Your role on it | What the sidebar shows |
|---|---|
| Owner or Manager | Everything for running the job — even if you normally work on the Looking for projects side. |
| Investor | Projects, Project Payments, Documents and Calendar only. |
| View or Bid | Your usual sidebar. |
Making a project
New project on the Projects page. Create → Project from the + menu does the same, and so does Create project here on a Site Research result, with the address already filled in.
| Step | You choose |
|---|---|
| 1. What kind of project | New Build, or Renovation — then Simple (a kitchen, bathroom or one room) or Large (structural work, or several rooms). |
| 2. What type of property | Residential or Commercial. |
| 3. The basics | The address and a project name of at least 3 characters. |
| 4. Review | Check it, add a manager if you want one, and press Create Project. |
The address. Start typing and pick from the list — in New Zealand it is the official LINZ address register. A picked address puts a pin on the map, shows a snapshot of the site, and is offered as the project name. You can type an address by hand instead; it simply has no pin or snapshot. If there are projects at that address already, QSME tells you. Renovations, new stages and second jobs at the same place are normal; carry on if this is new work.
Manage it with someone? On the review step, pick people from your contacts, or add someone new. Once the project exists, each is e-mailed an invite to manage it with you. It is optional, and if an invite fails to send, the project is still made — send it again from the project page.
A new project starts as Planning and Private, with an empty SOQ. Units, documents, budget and the rest are added from the project page.
Your plan never stops you making a project. QSME's price follows how many projects you are running at once. If this one would change what you pay, the review step says so before you press Create, and the new rate is confirmed with you before anything is invoiced. Completed and Cancelled projects do not count as running.
The project page
Opening a project gives you its whole picture.
| Part | What it is |
|---|---|
| Messages · Daily log · On site | The project's conversation, its daily log, and — for the owner and managers — who is on site today and the sign-in poster for the gate. |
| People | Who is on the project and as what, who follows it, and invites still waiting. |
| Site research | In New Zealand: the map, boundary, zoning, services and hazards for the address. |
| Addresses on this project | One build can span more than one title. The owner or a manager can add up to 10 more addresses, from the lookup or typed by hand. |
| Cost overview | SOQ estimate, committed, paid, the variance, and proposals received. Owner, managers and investors only. |
| Open work area | Awarded contracts, and anything waiting on you. |
| Timeline and checklist | Pick the template that fits the job and QSME lays the build out stage by stage, with its consents, inspections and certificates. Needs a plan that includes it. |
| Schedule | What is on, what is waiting, the next few jobs. See the schedule. |
| Tender report · Units · Recent activity | Each tender with its status and proposals, the units, and what changed lately. |
Editing. The owner's ⋯ → Edit project details changes the name, build scope, type, address and map pin, status, visibility, budget, description and cover image. Moving the address or pin after the project is made goes to QSME to approve, and the pin stays locked until it is. Status is yours to set — Planning, Design, Tendering, Construction, Completed, On hold or Cancelled. QSME does not move it for you.
People and roles
Invite on the project page — the owner's on the web, and a manager's too on the phone app. Choose what they can do, then who.
| Role | What they can do |
|---|---|
| View | See the project and its documents. No money. |
| Can bid | View, and bid on the project's tenders. No money. |
| Investor | See every figure — budget, payments, ledger — read-only. Cannot edit, bid or spend. |
| Manager | Run the project with you: build the SOQ and tenders, handle documents, invite people. Sees the money. |
| Owner | You. Only the owner awards a winning bid, adds a contract, adds units, edits the project's details and deletes the project. |
Two ways to invite
Whoever you invite needs a QSME account to accept; the invite asks them to sign in or make one. An invite sent to someone's QSME account works only for that account.
- By name. Pick from your contacts, or add someone new with a name and e-mail address, and they are saved to your contacts. Each person gets their own link by e-mail, good for 30 days, and shows on the project as Invited until they accept. Their ⋯ sends the e-mail again (another 30 days) or cancels the invite. A contact with no e-mail address and no QSME account cannot be reached, and is greyed out.
- Share a link. Generate Invite Link, then copy it or send it by WhatsApp. Anyone who opens it and signs in joins at that level, so send it only where you mean to.
Changing roles. The ⋯ beside a member changes their role or removes them from the project. A manager can change and remove viewers, bidders and investors. Only the owner makes someone a Manager, or changes or removes one.
Manager seats come from the owner's plan. You count as one, and each person with Manager access on any of your projects counts once, however many projects they run. View, Can bid and Investor never take a seat.
Units
For a job with more than one home or tenancy — townhouses, a block of flats, stages. Only the owner adds units.
- Add units — a name, How many? (up to 100 at once, numbered "House 1", "House 2" and so on), the type, bedrooms, bathrooms, and floors with a size for each.
- AI from documents — pick up to 10 of the project's documents, or upload them, and AI reads the units out of the plans. You review the list and save it. It carries on while you work, but keep the tab open until it finishes. It uses AI credits, refunded if it fails.
Units feed the SOQ: a pocket can apply to all units or to selected ones. See the SOQ guide.
Public or private
In New Zealand, Visibility in Edit project details decides who outside the project can see it.
| Private | The default. Only you and the people you invite. |
| Public | Anyone signed in to QSME can open it and follow it. It also gets its own page on the open web and is listed on Browse Projects. |
| Regional | Anyone signed in to QSME can open it and follow it. No page on the open web. |
Listing a project never shows its money — see who sees the money — and does not make its schedules or sheets readable.
Finishing, and deleting
When the job is done, set its status to Completed (or Cancelled) in Edit project details. There is no separate archive. It stays in your list with everything in it, the Status filter hides it when you want, and it stops counting as a project you are running.
Deleting is for a project made by mistake. The owner's ⋯ → Delete project asks you to type delete first, because it takes the tenders, documents, units and history with it, and cannot be undone. Everyone you invited loses access at the same moment. Managers cannot delete.
For AI assistants (MCP)
Connect an assistant at qsme.co.nz/connect. It works as you and sees only what you can see. More in the MCP guide.
| Tool | What it does | Scope |
|---|---|---|
list_projects | Projects you can see, with the ids every other tool needs. {scope?} — mine (yours), involved (yours and those you are invited to), or all (the default, which adds other people's public projects). | read |
get_project | One project: address, status, dates, units, your role on it, and the budget if you may see money. {project_id} | read |
No assistant can make, edit or delete a project, add units, or invite anyone. Those are done on the page.
If something looks wrong
| What you see | What it means |
|---|---|
| A page asks you to choose a project | None is selected. Pick one at the top of the sidebar. |
| The selected project changed when you opened SOQ, Sheets or Tenders | Those need Owner or Manager access, so QSME moved you to a project you can work on. |
| A different project is selected after coming back | The choice is not kept between visits. QSME starts on your own most recently changed project. |
| A project you were invited to is not under Mine | Mine is projects you own. It is under Following. |
| "Project name already exists" | Each of your projects needs its own name. |
| "A location change is pending admin approval" | The address or pin was changed after the project was made. QSME approves it. |
| "All manager seats on the plan are in use" | Take Manager away from someone, invite them as View or Investor, or ask us about more seats. |
| "This invite was sent to somebody else" | Sign in as the account it was sent to, or ask the owner to invite you. |
| "This account bids for work rather than posting it" | Your account type cannot run projects. Change it in Settings. |
Still stuck? hello@qsme.co.nz, or +64 27 338 8500.