# Project-Based Work (https://terac.com/docs/experts/working/projects)

How ongoing projects work, from the project handbook and office hours to tracked hours and payouts.

Project-based opportunities are ongoing work over a period of time, paid by the hour or per task. Instead of a single payout when you finish, you are paid on the project's payout schedule for the hours or tasks you complete.

## Getting Started on a Project [#getting-started-on-a-project]

A project's application usually ends with a few setup tasks, such as signing a contract, joining the project's Slack, or installing the time tracker. When they are done, you see **You're in**, and from then on you work from the project's handbook.

## The Project Handbook [#the-project-handbook]

Open the project from **Home** to reach its page. The handbook is your home for the project: it covers how to do the work, how you get paid, and who to contact. It has these tabs:

* **Instructions**: how to do the work.
* **Materials**: documents, videos, and other files the project gives you, when it has any.
* **Time**: on hourly projects. **Schedule** is where you plan the hours you will work, and **Tracked** shows the time the tracker has recorded.
* **Payout**: what you have earned on this project, and what has been paid.

Beside the tabs you will find:

* **Payout**: **Your rate**, **Paid to date**, and **Next payout**.
* **Your schedule**, on hourly projects: the next hours you planned. Click it to open **Schedule**.
* **Office hours**, if the project holds them: **Join the call** while one is live, or **Add to calendar** for the next one.
* **Who to contact** about the project.
* **Project links**, such as the **Project Slack channel**.
* **Documents**, including **My contract** if you signed one.

On an hourly project, the **Start Tracking Hours** button at the top opens the time tracker.

> Sophia can read your project's handbook, so you can ask her about the
> instructions, materials, office hours, or payout schedule.

## How Projects Pay [#how-projects-pay]

Each project sets its own payout schedule, such as weekly on a set day or monthly on a set date. The **Payout** tab and the **Next payout** card show it.

* **Hourly projects** pay for the time you track in Insightful. Only tracked hours are paid, and they are reviewed before they are paid. A project pays for all of your tracked time, for productive time only, or for productive and neutral time; **How payable hours work**, in **Tracked** on the **Time** tab, shows which, with each kind of time marked **PAID** or **NOT PAID**. See [Time Tracking with Insightful](https://terac.com/docs/experts/working/time-tracking).
* **Per-task projects** pay for the tasks you complete.

Each payout is added to your Terac balance, where you can [cash it out](https://terac.com/docs/experts/how-to/payments). Until your first payment is approved, the Payout tab says **Your first payment will appear here once it is approved.**

## Planning Your Hours [#planning-your-hours]

On an hourly project, **Schedule** on the **Time** tab is where you mark when you plan to work, this week or next. You and your project manager both see these hours, so the project knows how much time it can count on. Planning hours is not the same as tracking them: you are paid only for the time you track.

* Click **Add hours** to place an hour in the first free spot, then drag, resize, or delete it to fit your plans.
* Hours you planned on your other opportunities show too, so you can see your whole week.
* Nothing is saved until you click **Save changes**. **Discard** drops your changes.
* You can only change this week and next week.
* **History** lists every change to your week, newest first.

## Tracked Hours [#tracked-hours]

On an hourly project, **Tracked** on the **Time** tab shows your time by week or by day, counted in your own time zone. It leads with your **Payable hours**, then splits your time into **Productive**, **Neutral** (including any app the project has not categorized), **Unproductive**, and **Idle**, where idle is time the tracker was running with no keyboard or mouse activity. Idle time is paid only on a project that pays for all tracked time. New hours appear here within about an hour of being tracked.

## FAQ [#faq]

### When do I get paid on a project? [#when-do-i-get-paid-on-a-project]

On the project's payout schedule, shown on its Payout tab. You are not paid when you finish setup: you are paid for the hours or tasks each payout covers.

### Where do I find the project's Slack or office hours? [#where-do-i-find-the-projects-slack-or-office-hours]

On the project's page, under **Project links** and **Office hours**. You can also ask Sophia for the office hours link.

### My project is still "In Progress". Is something wrong? [#my-project-is-still-in-progress-is-something-wrong]

No. A project stays in progress for as long as you are working on it.

### What happens if I am taken off a project? [#what-happens-if-i-am-taken-off-a-project]

We email you that you have been offboarded, and you are taken off everything related to the project, including its time tracker. The project then shows **Rejected** in your history. What you were already paid for the project stays in your Terac balance, and you can keep applying to other opportunities.

### What happens when a project ends? [#what-happens-when-a-project-ends]

We email you that it has ended, and you are taken off its time tracker. What you were already paid stays in your Terac balance.

## What's Next? [#whats-next]

If your project is hourly, set up [Time Tracking with Insightful](https://terac.com/docs/experts/working/time-tracking).