Why and how do I link users to projects & projects to users?

TimeSite Pro enables either automatic or manual linking between users and projects. Thus, users can be linked to the projects that they are working on, and projects can be linked to the users that are recording time and expense details relating to the project. If a user isn't automatically or manually linked to a project, then the project (and client possibly) is not visible to the user when adding a timesheet record either in the Timesheet screen or in our mobile app. 

You can check what projects a user has been linked to via Admin > User > [select the user record] > Links > Load and show links. 

These links are also used to specify the cost and bill rates that apply to the work performed by users working on the project. As these rates may change over time, these links also record the effective date (as start and end date) of each rate change. 

Click Settings > System Settings > Linking Users, Projects and/or Tasks to select either Automatic linking (default) or Manual linking between users and projects. 

If Automatic linking is selected, then new users are linked to all existing projects when they are added to TimeSite Pro. Similarly, new projects are linked to all existing users when a new project is added to TimeSite Pro. 

If Manual linking is selected, then you will use the Links panel in the User administration screen to specify the link between a new or existing user to the project/s that they will contribute to. Similarly, you will use the Linked users panel in the Project administration screen to specify the links between the project and the users that will contribute to it. 

Automatic linking can be constrained by the use of Departments. If Use departments to restrict auto-linking is enabled, then users are automatically linked to a project (and vice versa) only if the Department specified for the user and project match. You can enable the use of Departments in user and project records via Settings > System Settings > Features > Your company settings > Enable Department allocation for users and projects.