Closing a project

First published on July 8, 2025 , updated on July 8, 2025

In VOGSY, you have the option to either close or delete a project. For most situations, closing a project is the recommended choice. This article will guide you on how to close a project and explain why this is often a better option than deleting it.

Why close a project instead of deleting it?

When you close a project, you are essentially archiving it. All the data associated with the project, such as hours, costs, and invoices, is preserved. This allows you to access the project's historical data whenever you need it. Furthermore, a closed project can be reopened if necessary and can also be used as a template for creating new projects. You can learn more about creating new projects in our article, How to create a new project in VOGSY.

On the other hand, deleting a project permanently removes all its associated data. A project can only be deleted if there are no hours logged, no costs booked, and no invoices created for it. Once these actions have occurred, the project can no longer be deleted and can only be closed.

How to close a project

Follow these simple steps to close a project in VOGSY:

Open the project you wish to close.
Click on the project’s menu button.
From the dropdown menu, select Close project.

VOGSY will then close the project. Any active deliverables within the project will also be automatically closed.

What to do if a project can’t be closed

If you find that the Close project option is replaced with Show why project can't be closed, it means that VOGSY has identified issues preventing the project from being closed.

In this case, click on Show why project can't be closed. VOGSY will generate a report detailing the reasons why the project cannot be closed. Our FAQ section below outlines the most common reasons and their solutions. Once you have addressed the issues, you can attempt to close the project again.

What happens to deliverables in a closed project?

When a project is closed, all its active deliverables are automatically closed as well. Closed deliverables will be marked with a closed lock symbol and a read-only symbol, indicating that they can no longer be edited.

Frequently asked questions (FAQ)

The project contains unsubmitted time entries. What do I do?

Ask the employee to submit their time entries. If you have the Support Staff role, you can go to the employee's timesheet and submit it for them.

The project has unapproved time entries. How do I solve this?

The project manager should check their Actions view for any pending timesheet approval notifications.

The project has unapproved expenses. How can they be approved?

The project manager needs to approve or reject the expenses listed on their Actions view.

The project has uninvoiced time or expenses. What to do?

All approved time and expenses that need to be billed must be invoiced before the project can be closed.

A purchase invoice linked to the project needs approval. Who need to approve the purchase invoices?

The project manager should check their Actions view for any purchase invoice notifications that require their approval.

The project has uninvoiced purchase invoices. What needs to be done?

If a purchase invoice is booked as a cost on a deliverable, it must be invoiced to the customer.

Fixed-price deliverables are missing billing periods. What does that mean?

Every fixed-price deliverable must have a billing period. To add one, locate the deliverable, click its menu icon, select Invoicing schedule, and click ADD BILLING PERIOD.

Fixed-price deliverables have not been invoiced. What to do?

A project cannot be closed if the billing period for a deliverable has not passed yet. The project must stay open until the billing period is over and the deliverable has been invoiced.

Opening balances for revenue and costs are not specified. What to do?

For projects migrated from another system, you must assign the costs and revenues recorded in that system. Use the Project opening balance back-office module to set these balances for each deliverable.

Opening balances have not been invoiced. What does this mean?

If you indicated that an invoice should be generated for an opening balance when migrating a project, that invoice must be created before you can close the project.

A specific journal for closing projects is required. What should I do?

Financial transactions are created when a project is closed, which requires a specific journal. To create one (requires the Support Staff role), go to the Journals back-office module, click the + icon, and create a new journal named Opening balance projects with the type Opening balance ledger.