Recurring Projects

Recurring projects let you automate repetitive bookings so you never have to recreate the same job from scratch. Whether it is a weekly dry hire, a monthly equipment rotation, or an annual corporate gala, NexusRMS generates individual occurrences on your chosen schedule — each fully editable and independently trackable.

How recurring projects work

A recurring project consists of two parts: a parent project that acts as the template, and one or more occurrences that are the actual bookable instances. The parent holds the recurrence rule and default configuration (equipment, crew, transport, financials), while each occurrence is a real project with its own project number, status, and lifecycle.

• recurring — A boolean flag that marks a project as part of a recurring series
• is_recurring_parent — Set to true on the template project that defines the series
• recurrence_parent_id — Links each occurrence back to its parent project
• occurrence_number — A sequential integer identifying the position within the series (1, 2, 3, and so on)

Creating a recurring project

To create a recurring series, begin creating a project as normal — enter the name, client, contact person, dates, equipment, and crew. Before saving, toggle the Recurring switch to the on position. A Recurrence Settings panel appears where you define the schedule. Instead of the usual Create Project button, the form displays Create Recurring Series. Clicking this saves the parent project with is_recurring_parent set to true and begins generating occurrences according to your rule.

Recurrence rules (RRule format)

NexusRMS uses the RRule standard (iCalendar RFC 5545) to define recurrence patterns. This gives you precise control over scheduling. Common examples include:

• Every Monday — FREQ=WEEKLY;BYDAY=MO
• Every other week on Friday — FREQ=WEEKLY;INTERVAL=2;BYDAY=FR
• 15th of every month — FREQ=MONTHLY;BYMONTHDAY=15
• First Wednesday of each month — FREQ=MONTHLY;BYDAY=1WE
• Annually on 21 June — FREQ=YEARLY;BYMONTH=6;BYMONTHDAY=21
• Every 3 days — FREQ=DAILY;INTERVAL=3

The recurrence rule is stored in the recurrence_rule field as a standard RRule string. NexusRMS also provides a visual rule builder for users who prefer not to write RRule syntax directly — select the frequency, interval, and day options from dropdowns and the system composes the rule for you.

The Occurrences tab

Once a recurring parent project is saved, an Occurrences tab appears on the project show page. This tab is only visible on recurring parent projects and displays a badge with the total count of generated occurrences. The tab provides:

• A list of every occurrence with its occurrence number, date range, and current status
• Quick links to open each occurrence as a standalone project
• The ability to skip, unskip, or edit individual occurrences
• A Generate Now button to manually trigger creation of future occurrences

Auto-confirm occurrences

For trusted recurring bookings where client approval is not needed each time, enable the auto_confirm_occurrences flag in the Recurrence Settings. When enabled, newly generated occurrences skip the Inquiry and Quote statuses entirely and are created directly in the Confirmed status. This immediately triggers hard equipment reservations and crew notifications, removing the need for manual status progression on each occurrence.

Auto-generate invoices

The auto_generate_invoices flag works alongside auto-confirm to create a fully hands-off billing workflow. When enabled, NexusRMS automatically generates an invoice for each occurrence when it reaches the appropriate status. Combined with auto-confirm, this means occurrences are created, confirmed, and invoiced without manual intervention — ideal for standing orders and long-term contracts.

Billing frequency

The recurring_billing_frequency field controls how often invoices are issued for the series. Options include billing per occurrence (an invoice for each individual instance), monthly (a single consolidated invoice covering all occurrences in the month), or another custom interval. This allows you to match your billing cycle to whatever the client expects.

Skipping occurrences

Sometimes a recurring booking needs to pause for a specific date — a bank holiday, a venue closure, or a client request. Rather than cancelling the entire series, open the Occurrences tab on the parent project, locate the occurrence, and click Skip. You must provide a skip_reason explaining why the occurrence is being skipped (e.g., "Bank holiday — venue closed"). Skipped occurrences do not reserve equipment or assign crew. You can unskip an occurrence at any time before its scheduled date to reinstate it.

Editing the series versus a single occurrence

Each occurrence can be edited independently — adjust equipment quantities, swap crew members, change dates, or modify pricing for that specific instance without affecting the rest of the series. This is useful for one-off adjustments such as adding extra speakers for a larger audience on a particular date.

When you edit the parent project, NexusRMS asks whether to propagate the change to future occurrences. Changes to the parent can update all future unconfirmed occurrences, ensuring the series stays consistent when your default requirements change. Past and already-confirmed occurrences remain untouched unless you explicitly choose to update them.

Recurrence badge on the project list

Recurring projects are visually distinguished on the project list page. Parent projects display a recurrence badge icon, and occurrences show their occurrence number. This makes it easy to identify series at a glance when browsing your project list in any view — table, grid, kanban, or calendar.

Tips

• Start with auto-confirm for standing orders — If the client has a long-term contract, enable auto-confirm and auto-invoice to eliminate repetitive manual work
• Use skip rather than cancel — Skipping preserves the series integrity and keeps your occurrence numbering sequential
• Review the Occurrences tab regularly — Check that future occurrences have generated correctly and that equipment availability looks healthy
• Set billing frequency to match your client’s expectations — Some clients prefer per-event invoices whilst others want a single monthly statement

Next steps

Continue to the next article to learn about load planning, where you will discover how NexusRMS helps you optimise vehicle packing, weight distribution, and dispatch workflows for your project deliveries.