What are estimated start and end dates?
Estimated start and end dates are an early, approximate marker for when a Project's work is expected to begin and finish. They exist for the initial planning phase — before Positions and Allocations have been set up — and are replaced by real planning data as the Project takes shape.
Written By Lauri Eurén
Last updated 1 day ago
What they're for
When a Project is first created, you often know roughly when it should run but not yet who's on it or exactly when each person works. The estimated dates give the Project a sensible span so it shows up where you'd expect on the Timeline and in planning views during that early phase.
They're overridden by real planning
Once you add Positions and Allocations — and once people start tracking time — those become the real picture of when work happens, and they take precedence over the estimate. Treat estimated dates as a placeholder you set early and stop relying on as soon as the Project is properly planned, not as a hard schedule.