Project Status & Workflow

Every project in NexusRMS follows a defined status lifecycle that governs which actions are available, how equipment is reserved, when financial documents are generated, and how dashboards filter data. This article explains each of the nine project statuses, the parallel warehouse status track, the transition rules that control movement between stages, and the project stage system for custom workflows.

The nine project statuses

A project moves through nine statuses from initial enquiry to completion. Each status has a designated colour used consistently across the interface — in status badges, kanban columns, calendar entries, and reports.

1. Inquiry (purple)

The project begins as an inbound enquiry or lead. The client has expressed interest but no formal pricing has been prepared. Use this status to capture initial requirements — dates, venue, equipment wishlist — before committing to a quote. Equipment is not reserved at the Inquiry stage, so availability is unaffected.

2. Quote (blue)

A formal quote has been generated and sent to the client. Equipment is now soft-reserved, meaning it appears as tentatively allocated on the availability calendar but can still be overridden by a confirmed booking. The client can review and approve the quote via their Client Node portal.

3. Confirmed (green)

The client has accepted the quote and the booking is secured. Equipment moves to a hard reservation — it is locked to this project and cannot be double-booked. Transitioning to Confirmed triggers deposit invoices (if configured in your financial settings) and sends notifications to assigned crew members about the upcoming job.

4. Prepped (blue)

The warehouse team has prepared and packed all equipment for this project. Transitioning to Prepped typically happens after the warehouse prep process is complete. The project is ready for dispatch but equipment has not yet left the building.

5. Out of Warehouse (orange)

Equipment has been dispatched from the warehouse and is in transit to the venue or client location. This status is set automatically when a linked transport trip is marked as departed, or it can be set manually if transport is not tracked in NexusRMS. At least one equipment item must have been checked out before this status can be applied.

6. In Progress (yellow)

The event or hire period is actively running. Crew time tracking is enabled at this stage, and any on-site issues such as equipment swaps or additional items are logged. The project remains In Progress until the event ends or the hire period expires.

7. Returned (teal)

Equipment has arrived back at the warehouse and is awaiting check-in inspection. This status is set when a return transport trip is completed or when warehouse staff begin scanning items back in. The project stays in Returned until all items have been checked in and condition reports are finalised.

8. Completed (grey)

The project is fully closed. All equipment has been checked in, damage has been assessed, and the final invoice has been issued. Completed projects become read-only. To make further changes, a CoreAdmin must reopen the project, which returns it to an earlier status with a full audit log entry.

9. Cancelled (red)

The project has been cancelled. Cancelling automatically releases all equipment reservations, removes crew assignments from schedules, and cancels any pending transport trips. If a cancellation fee applies, NexusRMS generates a cancellation invoice based on your financial settings. A cancelled project can be reopened — it returns to the Inquiry status and all reservations must be re-established from scratch.

Warehouse status workflow

Running in parallel with the project status is a separate warehouse status that tracks equipment preparation independently. This allows warehouse staff to manage their workflow without needing to change the overall project status. The eight warehouse statuses are:

1. Pending — The project is confirmed but the warehouse has not started preparation
2. Confirmed — The warehouse team has acknowledged the job and scheduled preparation
3. Prepped — All equipment has been picked, tested, and packed
4. Dispatched — Equipment has left the warehouse
5. On Location — Equipment is confirmed as delivered to the venue
6. Expected Back — The return date is approaching and the warehouse is expecting equipment
7. Delayed — Equipment has not been returned by the expected date
8. Returned — All equipment is back in the warehouse and checked in

Warehouse statuses update automatically when linked transport trips change state, but they can also be set manually from the project’s warehouse interface.

Status transition rules

Not every status transition is permitted. NexusRMS enforces the following rules to maintain data integrity and prevent workflow errors:

• No skipping from Inquiry to Prepped — A project must pass through Quote and Confirmed before reaching Prepped (unless auto-confirm is enabled on a recurring project, which skips Inquiry and Quote)
• Completed requires all equipment returned — The project cannot move to Completed until every equipment item has reached the Returned warehouse status
• Cancelled projects reopen to Inquiry — When a cancelled project is reopened, it returns to the Inquiry status and all previous reservations must be re-established
• Backward transitions require CoreAdmin — Moving a project backwards (e.g., from In Progress to Confirmed) is restricted to CoreAdmin users and generates an audit log entry with the reason for the reversal
• Out of Warehouse requires checked-out items — The Out of Warehouse status cannot be set unless at least one equipment item has been checked out from the warehouse

Project stages

In addition to the main project status, NexusRMS supports project stages for tracking granular milestones within a project. Each stage is represented by the ProjectStage model and includes the following fields:

• stage_name — The name of the milestone (e.g., "Client site visit", "Rigging plan approved")
• stage_type — A categorisation for the type of stage
• status — One of three values: pending, completed, or skipped
• due_date — When the stage should be completed by
• completed_at and completed_by — Timestamp and user who marked the stage as done
• is_required — Whether the stage must be completed before the project can advance
• sort_order — The display order of stages within the project
• notes — Free-text notes about the stage

Required stages act as gates — the project cannot progress past certain statuses until all required stages for that phase are marked as completed.

Activity log and audit trail

Every status change is recorded in the project’s History tab. The log captures the previous status, the new status, the user who made the change, a timestamp, and an optional note explaining the reason. This audit trail is essential for dispute resolution, compliance, and understanding how a project progressed through its lifecycle. Backward transitions always require a note.

Notifications on status changes

Status transitions trigger automatic notifications to relevant team members:

• Project manager — Receives an email and in-app notification whenever the project status changes
• Crew members — Notified when a project moves to Confirmed (job confirmed, appears on their schedule) and when it moves to Cancelled (job removed from their schedule)
• Warehouse staff — Notified when a project reaches Confirmed so they can begin preparation planning

Notification preferences can be customised under Configuration > Communication Settings.

Tips

• Use the kanban view to visualise your pipeline — The kanban board groups projects by status, giving you an instant overview of your workload across all stages
• Set up required project stages for complex events — Stages like "Risk assessment approved" or "Client deposit received" ensure nothing is missed before the project advances
• Review the History tab when investigating issues — The complete audit trail shows exactly who changed what and when

Next steps

Continue to the next article to learn about equipment check-in and check-out, where you will see how to scan items in and out of the warehouse, record condition, and track every movement with a full audit trail.