Projects are created to represent a specific scope of work for your clients to allow for proper reporting, billing, and to create orders in Tread.
Projects in Tread work like templates. Setting up your project information upfront means that details flow down automatically to each order, so you don't have to re-enter them every day.
To get started, navigate to the Projects tab in the top left corner of your screen, then click New Project.
Step 1: Project Details
Fill in the following fields to set up the basics of your project:
Customer — Select an existing customer account or create a new one directly from this screen.
Project Name — Give your project a clear name (e.g., Montgomery Street Project).
Department — Assign a department if applicable (e.g., Hauling).
External ID — Optional reference ID for your own tracking (e.g., Mont Street).
Dispatch Number / Order PO — Add these if required for your workflow.
Phase Codes — If your project has phases, you can add a phase name and an associated phase code for each one. You can add multiple phases or just one.
This video shows you how to add multiple phase codes to a Project:
Step 2: Dates
Set a Start Date and Start Time for the project. If you don't yet know the end date, you can leave that field blank and fill it in later.
Step 3: Pickup and Drop-Off Sites
If you know your pickup and drop-off locations, you can add them here. These will default to every order created under this project, saving you from entering them each time.
You can add multiple pickup sites and multiple drop-off sites by clicking the + button on the right side of each field.
If you don't know the sites yet, you can leave this section blank and add them later at the order level.
Step 4: Materials
Add the material(s) you will be hauling on this project.
Select the material (e.g., Fill Sand) and enter the total quantity ordered for the project (e.g., 1,000 tons).
If you track material costs, you can enter buy and sell prices per material and link them to a specific pickup site.
💡 When you set a material with a linked pickup site, Tread will automatically apply the correct buy and sell price to the order whenever that site and material combination is selected. You can configure multiple material and site pairings on the same project.
Step 5: Order Defaults
These settings will pre-fill on every order created under this project:
Charge to Account — Specify the account your drivers should charge to on-site. You can set this to match your customer account or leave it blank.
Quantity per Day — Enter the expected tonnage or loads per day (e.g., 100 tons/day).
Trucks per Order — Set how many trucks you expect per order (e.g., 5 trucks).
Quantity per Truck — Set how much each truck will carry (e.g., 20 tons).
Units — Switch between per ton or per load depending on your workflow. If set to per load, you can choose between a specific requested amount or running (which allows drivers to keep making trips without a set limit).
Truck Type — Select a specific truck type if required (e.g., Tri-Axle Dump Truck). This helps Tread estimate how many loads are needed to reach the daily ordered quantity and also presets values on tickets.
Truck Work Duration — Optionally define how long each truck should work.
Step 6: Freight Rates
Freight rates control what you charge your customer and what you pay your vendors and drivers. See the full breakdown in the related article: Setting Up and Using Freight Rates.
Step 7: Tax and Contacts
Tax
You can apply a tax rate to the receivables invoice and choose which items it applies to:
Enter your tax rate (e.g., 8%).
Select whether the tax applies to freight and fuel surcharge rates, material rates, and/or add-ons.
💡 Tax only applies to the receivables (customer-facing) invoice, not to payables.
Contacts
You can assign the following directly at the project level:
Foreman — Assign a foreman to the project, or leave it blank to assign at the order level.
Collaborators — Add any users who should be able to view the project.
Salesperson — If salespersons have been set up in your user settings, you can assign one here. Salespersons must have access to the Projects page.
External Contacts — Add any external contacts and their phone numbers if needed.
Step 8: Attachments and Notes
You can attach any relevant files to the project and add notes that will appear directly on the order. Notes can be categorized as order notes, driver notes, or internal notes.
Example: "Watch out for street blockage on all roads."
Managing Existing Projects
Once a project has been created, you can:
Delete — Permanently removes the project.
Deactivate — Disables the project without deleting it.
Copy and Edit — Duplicates the project and allows you to update details such as the name and date. This is useful for repeating the same project on a different date without starting from scratch.
Let us show you how:
Questions? We're here to help! Contact us anytime at 1 (888) 558-7323 or email us at support@tread.io