Closing and Reopening Jobs

A job's status controls what can still happen on it: whether costs and revenue can be coded to it, whether its budget and commitments can change, and whether it shows in everyday lists. Change the status as the work moves along: activate the job when work starts, put it on hold when work pauses, close it when the work is done and the last costs are in, and archive it when you no longer want to see it.

Before You Begin

• You need Edit access to Jobs & Costing. Company Admins, Accountants and Project Managers have it. See Roles and Permissions.
• To activate a job, it needs at least one active cost code assigned and the company needs at least one active cost type.

Navigation

Jobs & Costing → Jobs → open the job → Status list at the top right of the job page.

The Five Statuses

Status	Meaning
Draft	Set up but not started. You can still change the job number and original amounts. Nothing can be posted to it.
Active	Work in progress. Costs and revenue can be coded to it.
On Hold	Work paused. Costs can still be coded to it, but each line needs an adjustment reason.
Closed	Work finished. Late costs still need an adjustment reason; the budget and commitments can no longer change. The closing date is recorded as Closed On.
Archived	Retired. The job leaves the everyday lists and accepts nothing more. This cannot be undone.

Allowed Changes

You can move a job only along these paths. The Status list on the job page offers only the statuses you can move to next, and the confirmation window is named after the action.

From	To	Action	Reason Required
Draft	Active	Activate	No
Draft	Archived	Archive	Yes
Active	On Hold	Put On Hold	No
Active	Closed	Close	No
On Hold	Active	Resume	No
On Hold	Closed	Close	No
Closed	Active	Reopen	Yes
Closed	Archived	Archive	Yes
Archived	—	None	—

Step by Step: Changing a Job's Status

1. Open the job.

2. In the Status list at the top right, choose the new status. A confirmation window opens that explains the change.

   

   Figure 7-32 Closing J-2004 asks for confirmation first.

3. If the window shows a Reason box (for Reopen and Archive), type why you are making the change. The reason is kept in the job's History.

4. Click the action button (Close in the figure above), or Cancel to keep the current status.

Structally reloads the job page with the new status.

The confirmation windows say:

Action	Text in the Window
Activate	The job starts accepting coded costs and revenue.
Put On Hold	New costs are flagged while the job is on hold. Existing postings stay.
Close	The job stops accepting new costs. Posted costs and revenue stay on the job. You can reopen it later.
Resume	The job accepts costs again without flags.
Reopen	The job accepts costs again. A reason is recorded.
Archive	The job leaves every list and its cost code stops accepting postings. A reason is recorded.

Figure 7-33 Putting a job on hold.

Every job in Cedar Ridge Contracting has already been activated, so the Activate window comes from the training company:

Figure 7-34 Activating a new job in the training company Cedar Ridge Training.

Closing a Job

Close a job when the work is complete and you expect no more costs. When you click Close:

• the status becomes Closed, and Closed On on the Details card shows today's date (you cannot choose another closing date). In the training company, Cedar Ridge Training, job J-101 closed on October 24, 2026 shows Closed On 2026-10-24;
• posted costs and revenue stay on the job and in every report;
• a cost posted to the job later needs an Adjustment Reason on its line;
• the job's budget and commitments can no longer be created, edited or approved.

Figure 7-35 A closed job: J-2003 Harborview Apartments Renovation.

1. The Closed status.
2. Closed On: the day the job was closed.

Reopening a Job

Reopen a closed job when more work or billing is needed. Choose Active in the Status list, type a Reason and click Reopen. Closed On is cleared. If you click Reopen without a reason, the window says Enter a reason.:

Figure 7-36 Reopening a closed job needs a reason.

Archiving a Job

Archive a draft job you will never start, or a closed job you no longer want to see. Type a Reason and click Archive.

Figure 7-37 Archiving a job.

Archiving cannot be undone

An archived job cannot be reopened or edited, and nothing can be coded to it. Its page stays available from the Jobs list (choose Archived or All in Status), with its history, but without the Status list or Edit Job.

What Each Status Allows

	Draft	Active	On Hold	Closed	Archived
Listed in the Job column of bills, expenses, vendor credits and journal entries	No	Yes	Yes, as (On Hold)	Yes, as (Closed)	No
Post costs to the job	No	Yes	Yes, with an Adjustment Reason	Yes, with an Adjustment Reason	No
Listed on invoice and credit memo lines (revenue)	No	Yes	No	No	No
Create, edit or approve a budget	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	No
Create, edit or approve a commitment	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	No
New change orders	Yes	Yes	Yes	No	No
Edit the job	Yes	Yes, except number and original amounts	Same as Active	Same as Active	No
Assign or unassign cost codes	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No
Shown in the Jobs list's default view (Active and On Hold)	No	Yes	Yes	No	No
Shown in the Budgets list	Yes	Yes	Yes	Yes	No

Costs on On-Hold and Closed Jobs

When a bill, expense, vendor credit or journal entry line names a job that is on hold or closed, an Adjustment Reason box appears on the line. A line without a reason is refused with Job J-2003 is closed; give an adjustment reason. (or … is on hold; …).

Figure 7-38 A late cost on a closed job, with its adjustment reason.

1. The job, shown with (Closed) in the list.
2. Adjustment Reason: required for on-hold and closed jobs.

These lines post normally, and they are listed for review: as On-Hold or Closed Job in Job Costs and, for the current month, under Needs Attention on the Overview.

Worked Example: Closing J-2003

J-2003 Harborview Apartments Renovation was planned to end on March 31, 2026. The owner paid every certified billing in full, and the job was closed with Closed On 2026-04-30. Its page now shows Job to Date Cost 991,766.00 against Job to Date Revenue 960,000.00: a loss of 31,766.00, the same as its last approved forecast.

In October, a hauling company sends a late invoice of 640.00 for final haul-off. Instead of reopening the job, the bookkeeper enters the bill on account 5050 Equipment Rental, codes it to J-2003 · 31-100 · EQP, and types the adjustment reason Late vendor invoice after closeout, as in the figure above. Once posted, the job's cost to date becomes 991,766.00 + 640.00 = 992,406.00, and the line is listed for review in Job Costs. (The bill is illustrative; it is not in the sample company.)

Common Mistakes and Troubleshooting

Message or Symptom	Why It Happens	What to Do
A job needs at least one active cost code and one cost type before activation.	The job has no active cost code assigned, or the company has no active cost type.	Assign a cost code on the job page, or activate a cost type.
Enter a reason.	Reopen or Archive was clicked with an empty Reason.	Type a reason.
A reason is required to reopen a closed job. / A reason is required to archive a job.	The reason was blank when the change reached Structally.	Try again with a reason.
Job J-1008 is not active yet. (on a bill or expense)	The job is still a draft.	Activate the job.
Job J-2003 is closed; give an adjustment reason.	The line names an on-hold or closed job.	Type an Adjustment Reason on the line.
Job J-1001 is archived. (with your job's number)	The line names an archived job.	Choose another job.
Budgets cannot change on a closed or archived job.	You tried to add or approve a budget on a closed job.	Reopen the job first, if the change is justified.
Commitments cannot change on a closed or archived job.	You tried to approve a commitment on a closed job.	Reopen the job first.
Archived jobs cannot be changed.	The job is archived.	No action; archived jobs are final.
The job is missing from the Jobs list	The list shows active and on-hold jobs by default.	Choose Closed, Archived or All in Status.
This job was changed by someone else. Reload the page and try again.	Someone changed the job after you opened it.	Reload the page and try again.

Related Topics

• Creating and Managing Jobs
• Coding Transactions to Jobs
• Job Costs and Cost Transfers
• Forecasts and WIP Schedules