Why Can't I See Certain Clients, Projects, or Activities?

Applies to: Workforce · Premium · LawBillity

If a client, project, or activity you need isn't in the dropdown when you log time, it's almost always one of four things. Go through them in order. If you're not an admin, you'll need your admin for most of the fixes.

Note: Your firm may use different names, such as Customers instead of Clients, Matters instead of Projects, or Service Items instead of Activities. See Renaming Clients, Projects, and Other Terms (Term Settings).

1. It's Disabled

Clients, projects, and activities that are no longer used can be disabled or closed. They drop out of dropdowns but keep their history.

Clients: on the client list, switch the filter from Active to All and check the client's status.
Projects: on the project list, check whether the project is closed.
Activities: in Admin > Settings > Customize > Custom Lists > Activity, set the filter to Disabled and look for it. See Managing Custom Lists.

2. You Don't Have Access

Admins choose which clients and projects each person can see:

Client access: set to All, No, or Some for each user, in Admin > Settings > System Settings or on the user's Access Permissions tab in Admin > Manage Users. See Choosing What Each User Can See (Access Permissions).
Project access: if Project Level Access Permissions is enabled in System Settings, access is given per project on the project's Users tab. See Managing Project Access and Team Members.

New users get access to all clients only if the firm default says so. New admins always get all clients.

3. An Activity Group Is Filtering the List

If the client or project has an activity group, you only see the activities in that group. Ask your admin to add the activity to the group. See Setting Up Activity Groups.

4. It Hasn't Been Created Yet

It may not exist yet. Ask your admin to add it. See How to Create a New Client or How to Create a New Project.

Common Problems

A coworker sees the client but you don’t. It's an access setting (cause 2).
A new hire can’t see any clients. The firm default for new users is No access. Give them access on their Access Permissions tab.
You see the client but not the activity you need. It's usually an activity group (cause 3).
A whole menu or page is missing. Employees don't see admin and billing pages, and some features aren't on every plan. See What Employees See vs. What Admins See.